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Additional Resources (LU4)
Can bilinguals forget their native language?
Humans learned our native language when we are still children. Even before the baby is born, they are already exposed to the language and can differentiate 800 different sounds. A newborn baby will program their brain to understand language, and learn a language quickly and speak it. Take for example, bilinguals; they use their first language more, but it is possible for their native language to be replaced by their second language. An adopted child almost completely forgets their native language as the family who adopts them may speak a different language than their child's native language.  Being in a new environment causes them to have less exposure to the native language. An individual may not completely forget their mother tongue because the language has been deeply integrated with one’s brain, and it is one of the basic forms of communication. Laura Dominguez said that language loss (Attrition) is not bad. However, people's attitudes who like to change their grammar over time makes it look strange (Hardach, 2018).
Learning Foreign Languages: Good for Your Brain
Multilingualism, also known as the ability to speak and understand an array of languages, actually has benefits to the human brain. Learning a new language can actually increase the size of your brain, due to the increasement of the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. This is because by studying a new and foreign language, the brain is actually undergoing an exercise or workout. The amount of gray matter in the brain may increase as well. Besides, learning a different language helps in memory improvement, and researches has shown that learning languages can decrease the chances of having Alzheimer's or dementia by five years.
References
Here you will find all our references for this LU, including the ones used in our Q&A and our Additional Resources sections.