Americans have long debated whether the U.S. should have an official state language. The issue has been back in the spotlight in recent days since Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum said, “There are other states with more than one language, like Hawaii, but to be a state of the United States, English must be the principal language.” However, recent studies show that  switching between languages may actually make you smarter.  

switching between languages may actually make you smarter.   Yudhijit Bhattacharjee is a trilingual staff writer for the journal Science, and a regular contributor to our partner  The New York Times and Wired Magazine.