Afew years ago, when Anton­ella Sorace visited the European Central Bank in Frankfurt to talk about her research into bilingualism, she was astonished to find the bank’s multinational staff worrying about what should have been one of their families’ principal assets. “They had all kinds of doubts about the benefits of multilingualism for their children; they worried that their children weren’t learning to read or write properly – in any language,” she says. “I found it very instructive.” 几年前，安东尼拉•索瑞斯(Antonella Sorace)在法兰克福访问欧洲央行(ECB)，介绍她对双语的研究。她惊奇地发现，欧洲央行的多国职员们都在担忧一个“问题”，而这本来应该是他们家庭的主要优势之一。她说：“他们对多语种能力给子女带来的效益有各种疑虑，担忧自己的子女不能以任何一种语言好好掌握读写。我认为这是很有启发意义的。”

The Italian-born University of Edinburgh professor of developmental linguistics should set their minds at rest. Prof Sorace’s research has shown that speaking another language offers not only utilitarian communication ad­van­tages, but also has cognitive benefits. Her message to business is: “Hire more multilingual employees, because these employees can communicate better, have better intercultural sensitivity, are better at co-operating, negotiating, compromising. But they can also think more efficiently.” 这位出生于意大利的爱丁堡大学发展语言学教授，应该可以解除他们的疑虑。索瑞斯教授的研究显示，说另外一门语言不仅提供了实用的交流优势，也带来了认知上的益处。她给公司的建议是：“雇佣更多的多语言职员，因为这些职员可以更好地交流，有更好的跨文化敏感性，更擅长于合作、谈判、妥协，而且他们的思考效率也更高。”

Big multinational companies recognise the importance of language skills. McKinsey counts more than 130 languages spoken across the management consultancy, and offers a bursary to those who wish to learn another language before joining. Unilever estimates that up to 80 of the consumer products group’s 100 most senior leaders speak at least two languages. Standard Chartered seeks out bilinguals for its international graduate training scheme. 大型跨国公司都意识到语言技能的重要性。管理咨询公司麦肯锡(McKinsey)员工掌握的语言多达130多种，该公司还资助那些在加入公司前希望学习另外一门语言的人。联合利华(Unilever)估测，该消费用品集团的100名最高级别领导中，80%至少会说两种语言。渣打(Standard Chartered)的国际毕业生培训计划也物色双语人才。

These companies understand the functional benefits of having enough Mandarin-speakers to deal with suppliers in Shanghai, or French speakers sufficiently fluent to smooth relations with a customer in Carcassonne. 这些公司都意识到拥有双语员工的功能性效益，比如让说汉语的员工与上海供应商打交道，让说法语的员工与法国卡尔卡松(Carcassonne)的一家客户搞好关系。

But at a recent FT roundtable in partnership with Bilingualism Matters, a project led by Prof Sorace, executives and consultants said they also believed that companies benefited from the diverse background and skills of multilingual leaders – and would benefit more in future. 但在最近英国《金融时报》与索瑞斯教授牵头的项目“双语很重要”(Bilingualism Matters)合作举办的圆桌会议上，高管和咨询师都表示，他们还认为，企业能够获益于多语种领导人的多元化背景和技能，而这一点在未来会更重要。

“Multilingualism will be better valued and better leveraged by companies,” says Laurence Monnery, co-head of global diversity and inclusion at Egon Zehnder, the executive search company. “Multiculturalism makes bet­ter leaders.” 人力资源咨询公司亿康先达(Egon Zehnder)全球多元化和包容事务联席主管劳伦斯•莫内瑞(Laurence Monnery)说：“多语言能力将得到公司更多的重视和利用。多元文化缔造更好的领导。”

“Do multilinguals make better managers?” asks Ann Francke, chief executive of the UK’s Chartered Management Institute. “Probably the answer to that question is yes.” 英国特许管理协会(Chartered Management Institute)首席执行官安•法兰克(Ann Francke)说：“会说多种语言的人是不是更好的领导？这个问题的答案很可能是肯定的。”

Research shows bilinguals have an enhanced awareness of other people’s points of view, born from their deeper understanding, from an early age, that some people have a different perspective. They are also better than monolinguals at giving selective at­tention to specific features of a problem, while ignoring misleading elements, and at switching between different tasks. Prof Sorace points out that bilinguals do not switch off their “other” language, meaning their brains grow to be more adaptable than those of monolinguals – a vital asset in a complex business world. 研究显示，双语人士能够更好地意识到其他人的观点，因为他们在早年的时候就更深刻地明白，某些人有不同的视角。与只说一种语言的人相比，他们也更善于对问题的特定方面给予选择性的关注并忽视误导性的元素，以及在不同任务之间切换。索瑞斯教授指出，双语人士并不关掉自己的“另一种”语言，这意味着他们的大脑已经变得比单语人士更有适应能力；在复杂的商业世界中，这是一项关键资产。

Most companies still value the practical rather than cognitive advantages of employing linguists. HSBC is one of the world’s most multinational emp­loyers and emphasises hiring and cultivating multilingual staff. But Jorge Aisa Dreyfus, Spanish-born co-head of learning, talent, resourcing and org­anisational development, says the bank is “probably still paying too much attention to [the fact] that you speak German, so you [can] handle all my German business”. 多数公司依然看重雇佣语言人才的实用价值而不是认知优势。汇丰(HSBC)是全球跨国程度最高的雇主之一，该行强调雇佣并培养多语种职员。但是，出生于西班牙的学习、人才、资源及组织发展联席主管乔治•爱莎•德雷福斯(Jorge Aisa Dreyfus)表示，该银行“或许依然过于注重这样一点，即如果你说德语，你就可以处理我这里的所有德国业务。”

In any case, for many companies from English-speaking cultures, pressure to employ a multilingual workforce has eased as English has spread as the language of business. 对很多来自英语文化的公司来说，随着英语作为商务语言的普及，雇佣多语种职员的压力已有所缓解。

Academics worry that this will make national policy makers and educators complacent. James Foreman-Peck of Cardiff Business School has assessed the cost to the UK economy of under-investment in language skills as “the equivalent of between a 3 and 7 per cent tax on British exports”. A recent study by the British Academy on “the state of the nation” concluded that the UK was entering a “vicious circle of monolingualism”. 学者担忧的是，这可能会让国家政策制定者和教育者自满。卡迪夫大学商学院(Cardiff Business School)的詹姆斯•弗里曼-派克(James Foreman-Peck)评估了语言技能投资不足对英国经济造成的代价，结论是“相当于对英国出口征收了3%到7%的税”。英国社会科学院(British Academy)最近关于“国情”的一项研究得出结论，英国正进入一个“单语文化的恶性循环”。

While the problem is particularly acute in the UK, other countries are also concerned. A 2006 report for the European Commission stated that “a significant amount of business” was sacrificed because of poor language skills across Europe. 虽然这个问题在英国特别严重，但其他国家也感到担忧。2006年为欧盟委员会(European Commission)制定的一份报告指出，由于欧洲各国较差的语言技能，已经损失了“很多的业务”。

Prof Sorace says the cognitive benefits of multilingualism can be ac­quired by adults who become proficient in a second language. But a downward spiral in the quality of language education undermines the potential to develop that proficiency. 索瑞斯教授表示，熟练掌握第二语言的成年人，可以获得多语种能力的认知效益。但语言教育质量的螺旋式下滑，削弱了培养这种技能的潜力。

Richard Hardie, who chairs UBS’s London operation, says the Swiss bank’s recruitment website used to specify it was looking for language skills. But it had to drop the requirement as the quality of linguists it was interviewing fell. 瑞银(UBS)伦敦业务主管理查德•哈迪(Richard Hardie)表示，瑞银招聘网站以前说明要有一定语言技能。但该行已不得不放弃这个要求，因为他们面试的多语种人才的资质不够。

Multinationals have the edge over smaller companies in being able to recruit bilinguals globally, or to give staff with language skills full-immersion assignments. 跨国公司相对于小公司有优势，因为他们能够在全球招聘双语人士，或者是给那些有语言技能的员工分配沉浸式任务。

Will Dawkins, of executive search firm Spencer Stuart, says “most enlightened companies” look for candidates for senior jobs who are not only multilingual but also have “performed a significant leadership task in another language”. 高管招聘公司史宾沙(Spencer Stuart)的威尔•道金斯(Will Dawkins)表示，“大多数开明的公司”寻求的高级职位候选人不仅会说多种语言，也曾“以另一种语言担当过重要的领导任务”。

Doug Baillie, chief human resources officer of Unilever, agrees: “Our most successful leaders are the ones who speak more than one language and travel to more than one geography.” 联合利华(Unilever)全球首席人力资源官道格拉斯•贝利(Doug Baillie)也认同：“我们最成功的领导就是那些说一种以上语言的人，并且去过多个地方。”

But big companies can sometimes be complacent. Tracey Roseborough, managing dir­ec­tor, international, at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, saw the advantages of multilingualism when working with high-potential managers at Standard Chartered, earlier in her career, but says the quality of language skills at some big American multinationals she has worked for has not matched up. “The quality of the conversations wasn’t the same,” she says. 但大公司有时候可能比较自满。英国特许人事和发展协会(Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development)国际部董事总经理特雷西•罗斯布罗(Tracey Roseborough)在职业生涯早期曾与渣打一些重点培养的经理人员合作，在此期间意识到了多语言的优势，但她也表示，她工作过的美国一些大型跨国公司的语言技能没有跟上步伐。她说：“对话的质量就是不一样。”

Prof Sorace advises companies to help combat prejudice and misconceptions about bilingualism and to ex­ploit the opportunity to integrate expatriates into their local communities, to the advantage of the employees themselves and their families. 索瑞斯教授建议企业帮助抗击有关双语的偏见和误解，并探索机会让外派人员融入本地社区，这有利于员工也有利于他们的家庭。

But her principal concern remains the failure of education systems to promote languages at school. Add the cognitive disadvantage that mono­linguals suffer to the more obvious communication deficit and countries’ neglect of languages translates into a tale of lost potential. 但她主要的担忧还是教育体系未能在学校推动语言教育。比较明显的沟通障碍，加上单语人士的认知劣势，意味着各国对语言教育的忽视导致失去潜力。