The benefits of learning another language aren’t limited to just getting by in another tongue. They may also extend to a host of hidden cognitive benefits that could protect your brain in the case of a serious health episode such as a stroke or dementia, according to a new study.

　　学习其他语种的好处不仅仅局限于会说几句外语，其实还可能有一系列认知方面的好处尚不为人知。一项新的研究称，如遇中风和痴呆等严重的健康威胁，外语学习的认知利益可以保护大脑。

　　Researchers from the UK and India gathered data from 608 stroke patients in Hyderabad, India, and found that people who speak more than one language have a greater chance to recover from a stroke than monolingual people.

　　来自英国和印度的研究人员收集了印度海得拉巴608名中风病人的数据，发现比起仅懂一种语言的人，说不止一门语言者患中风后康复的几率更大。

　　Bilingual people and those who speak more than two languages are said to be twice as likely to have normal cognitive functions after a stroke as monolingual people, even after taking into account other factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and age.

　　据悉，比起说一门语言的人，说两门及超过两门语言者在中风后能恢复正常认知水平的概率是前者的两倍，即便把抽烟、高血压、糖尿病和年纪等因素考虑在内亦是如此。

　　Previous research has also shown that bilingualism can delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

　　之前的研究同样显示双语制可以延缓阿兹罕默症的发生。

　　According to the researchers, the ongoing mental challenges involved with speaking more than one language may boost a person’s cognitive reserve, leading to an improved ability to cope with damage to the brain stemming from incidents like a stroke.

　　研究者称，说多门语言受到持续不断的脑力挑战，可以促进人的认知储备，因而在处理由中风等原因引起的脑损伤时，其能力也更强。

　　Switching from one language to another offers practically constant brain training which may be a factor in helping stroke patients recover.

　　语言间的切换事实上不断训练大脑，也许就是这个因素帮助中风病人康复。

　　It’s worth noting that the particularly impressive recovery results shown by patients in the study may be tied at least in part to the lingual characteristics of the area where the research was based. Hyderabad is a multicultural city that plays host to a wide range of different tongues, including Telugu, Urdu, Hindi, and English. As such, the ‘brain training’ people living in Hyderabad are exposed to and the theorised benefits resulting from it may not be replicated in equal measure elsewhere.

　　值得一提的是，研究中恢复效果好得惊人的病人多多少少和当地的语言特色有关。海得拉巴是个多元文化的城市，有多种语言，包括泰卢固语、乌尔都语、印地语和英语。如此，住在海得拉巴的“大脑训练”人群、及其理论上的优势也许在其它地方无法如法炮制。

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（编辑：何莹莹）