Being Bilingual Sparks Creativity

Boy playing with paint"Personally, I love the sounds and musicality of all languages. I was raised in a bi-lingual household. I spoke English outside the home when I was with people who did not speak Italian. This was particularly at school and at activities that had some connection to school – e.g. cub scouts, athletics, music etc. But at home it was Italian all the way.

Over the years, I have had the pleasure of working with a wide range of bilingual individuals in my creativity workshops. Many of these individuals demonstrated some high quality creative skill in their choice of art, and it was clear they were able to transfer that mindset into the success of other life endeavors. Interestingly, a lot of these individuals do not attribute their wonderful aptitudes to the fact that they were raised under the effects of two different languages – as I myself did not, especially as a young man.

Yet, I believe this kind of linguistic influence can spark early patterns of creative skill, thinking and vision that then snowball throughout life"

 

Read more from the Psychology Today article by Joseph Cardillo, Ph.D.