Precerpt from My 20th Language: Polylingualism and Fluency
Being polylingual is both a gift and a complexity. With twenty languages in active or passive use, my brain has become a vast library—rich, layered, and sometimes slow to navigate. When I reach for a word, I’m not just choosing the right term; I’m choosing the right language. This internal sorting process can create brief hesitation, especially when switching contexts or speaking spontaneously -- or when another language has a "better" word for what I want to say than the language I am speaking. It’s not confusion—it’s competition. Each language offers its own nuance, its own rhythm, and my brain weighs those options before committing. Studies show that bilinguals and polylinguals often experience this lexical competition, but they also demonstrate stronger executive function: better task-switching, sharper inhibition, and more flexible thinking. For learners, this means that acquiring multiple languages doesn’t dilute fluency—it deepens it. The occasional pause...