The Bilingual Brain: And What It Tells Us about the Science of Language

The Bilingual Brain: And What It Tells Us about the Science of Language

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  • Create Date:2021-05-09 11:51:47
  • Update Date:2025-09-06
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  • Author:Albert Costa
  • ISBN:0141990384
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Summary

'Fascinating。 。 。 This engaging book explores just how multiple languages are acquired and sorted out by the brain。 。 。 Costa's work derives from a great fund of knowledge, considerable curiosity and solidly scientific spirit' Philip Hensher Spectator

The definitive study of bilingualism and the human brain from a leading neuropsychologist

Over half of the world's population is bilingual and yet few of us understand how this extraordinary, complex ability really works。 How do two languages co-exist in the same brain? What are the advantages and challenges of being bilingual? How do we learn - and forget - a language?

In the first study of its kind, leading expert Albert Costa shares twenty years of experience to explore the science of language。 Looking at studies and examples from Canada to France to South Korea, The Bilingual Brain investigates the significant impact of bilingualism on daily life from infancy to old age。 It reveals, among other things, how babies differentiate between two languages just hours after birth, how accent affects the way in which we perceive others and even why bilinguals are better at conflict resolution。

Drawing on cutting-edge neuro-linguistic research from his own laboratory in Barcelona as well from centres across the world, and his own bilingual family, Costa offers an absorbing examination of the intricacies and impact of an extraordinary skill。 Highly engaging and hugely informative,The Bilingual Brain leaves us all with a sense of wonder at how language works。

Translated by John W。 Schwieter

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Reviews

Vinod Ravi

An informative read on how multiple languages shapes our brain functions。 Short and fairly accessible, but I do wish it had gone easier on the technical/scientific jargon。

Manu

incredibly engaging little book about the bilingual brain。 loved all the examples that the reader could try out at home。

Sirina

I listened to this as an audio book。 My attention span isn't that great for listening so I feel like I can't give it an accurate rating。 I give it a 3 for content but take that with a grain of salt I listened to this as an audio book。 My attention span isn't that great for listening so I feel like I can't give it an accurate rating。 I give it a 3 for content but take that with a grain of salt 。。。more

Mehtap exotiquetv

Albert Costa räumt mit Mythen rund um Sprache auf。 Sind Bilinguisten wirklich schlauer und können Demenz die Stirn bieten?Interessant wird es erst als er erzählt wie das Beherrschen mehrerer Sprachen die Sprachfähigkeit beeinflusst。 So ist der Redefluss und „mir-liegt’s-auf-der-Zunge“ Momente wesentlich ausgeprägter als bei Monolinguisten。 Letztere schneiden in Vokabeltests sogar besser ab。 Obwohl bilinguale Menschen einen Wortschatz mit bis zu 35。000 Wörtern haben - Signifikant mehr als Einspra Albert Costa räumt mit Mythen rund um Sprache auf。 Sind Bilinguisten wirklich schlauer und können Demenz die Stirn bieten?Interessant wird es erst als er erzählt wie das Beherrschen mehrerer Sprachen die Sprachfähigkeit beeinflusst。 So ist der Redefluss und „mir-liegt’s-auf-der-Zunge“ Momente wesentlich ausgeprägter als bei Monolinguisten。 Letztere schneiden in Vokabeltests sogar besser ab。 Obwohl bilinguale Menschen einen Wortschatz mit bis zu 35。000 Wörtern haben - Signifikant mehr als Einsprachler。 Trotzdem diese Diskrepanz。Und im Bezug auf Demenz haben Bilinguisten tatsächlich einen Vorsprung, Demenz zu entschleunigen。 4 Jahre im Schnitt! Das liegt vor allem an der vorhandenen Dichte, die im Hippocampus und im Sprachzentrum vorhanden ist。 Je mehr Autobahnen, desto länger dauert der physische Verfall der Hirn-Materie, 。。。more

Marcus

11/10 bilingües, no nativos del español recomiendan este librazo para todos aquellos que estén interesados de entrar en más detalle a todo lo que tenga que ver con el bilingüismo。En serio, lo disfruté muchísimo!

GONZA

Because of my history and especially that of my son, I have been familiar with the books on bilingualism for a long time and even if sometimes the conclusions they reach are not always the same, there is one thing that they all have in common, or at least all those I have read so far, and that is that they take into account the developing brain of infants, children and adolescents and the deteriorating brain of the elderly, Alzheimer's or dementia patients or people who have suffered a head inju Because of my history and especially that of my son, I have been familiar with the books on bilingualism for a long time and even if sometimes the conclusions they reach are not always the same, there is one thing that they all have in common, or at least all those I have read so far, and that is that they take into account the developing brain of infants, children and adolescents and the deteriorating brain of the elderly, Alzheimer's or dementia patients or people who have suffered a head injury of some kind。Personally, I would be interested to know more about what happens to the brain of an adult who suddenly has to live as if he were bilingual, let's say for example a person who lives abroad, who begins to dream in another language or whose foreign language also becomes the language in which, perhaps in specific contexts such as work, he thinks。 Maybe I haven't read this book or the other books on the subject very carefully, but it seems to me that the central part of people's lives has not been explored that much。 But maybe by bilingual brain we mean only the one we grew up with, which would be a real shame in terms of how much data could be collected and are not even considered。 Per via della mia storia e soprattutto per quella di mio figlio, i libri sul bilinguismo mi sono noti da tempo e anche se a volte le conclusioni a cui arrivano non sono sempre le stesse, c'é una cosa che li accomuna tutti, o almeno tutti quelli che ho letto fino ad ora ed é cioé che prendono in considerazione il cervello in via di sviluppo di infanti, bambini ed adolescenti e quello in via di deterioramento degli anziani, dei malati di Alzheimer o dementi o delle persone che hanno subito un trauma cranico di qualche genere。Personalmente mi interesserebbe sapere di piú cosa capita al cervello di un adulto che improvvisamente deve vivere come se fosse bilingue, mettiamo per esempio una persona che vive all'estero, che comincia a sognare in un'altra lingua o la cui lingua straniera diventa anche il linguaggio in cui, magari in contesti specifici come quello lavorativo, pensa。 Magari non ho letto tutto attentissimamente sia questo che gli altri libri sull'argomento, ma mi sembra che la parte centrale della vita delle persone, non sia stata poi approfondita tanto。 Ma magari per cervello bilingue s'intende soltanto quello che ci é cresciuto, il che sarebbe un vero peccato in termini di quanti dati potrebbero essere raccolti e non vengono invece nemmeno considerati。 。。。more

Patrycja

DNF at some 80%。。。 No idea why but the author bored me to death and as even as a die-hard language lover I somehow didn't make much of it。 Maybe it wasn't the right time though。 DNF at some 80%。。。 No idea why but the author bored me to death and as even as a die-hard language lover I somehow didn't make much of it。 Maybe it wasn't the right time though。 。。。more

Makayla H

This was fascinating!!

Glykeria Skamagki

The author explains through science and narrative the brain changes in bilingual kids, the difficulties at the beginning of their years and the benefits in later stages on their lives。 It's an interesting read which at times becomes a bit monotonous but there is always something to learn in each chapter。 Important points o feelings and use of language。 The author explains through science and narrative the brain changes in bilingual kids, the difficulties at the beginning of their years and the benefits in later stages on their lives。 It's an interesting read which at times becomes a bit monotonous but there is always something to learn in each chapter。 Important points o feelings and use of language。 。。。more

Julia

Dry as a bone and full of technical jargon。

LittleSophie

An enjoyably chatty and informed overview about the neuroscience of bilingualism。 Like an enthusiastic and funny professor, Costa guides the reader through the chapters, explaining studies and encouraging experimentation at home。 It's a topic that most be close to most europeans hearts and as such, the implications of earlier developed empathy etc。 are truly fascinating。 I would have liked a stronger conclusion, the book seemed to end rather timidly, but that's my only complaint。 An enjoyably chatty and informed overview about the neuroscience of bilingualism。 Like an enthusiastic and funny professor, Costa guides the reader through the chapters, explaining studies and encouraging experimentation at home。 It's a topic that most be close to most europeans hearts and as such, the implications of earlier developed empathy etc。 are truly fascinating。 I would have liked a stronger conclusion, the book seemed to end rather timidly, but that's my only complaint。 。。。more

Judie

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it, click here。 Overall, I enjoy the book and learnt a few new things from the book which I, as a bilingual person, didn't realise in the past。 Given I wasn't born bilingual, some facts weren't as interesting to me, but that doesn't affect me to learn from it。 Just to make it clear, if you are thinking of the book, make sure you read the scope (which is clearly written in the preview): - It includes a lot of questions about "what's like to be bilingual" but doesn't give any tips about "how to be bilingual" - Li Overall, I enjoy the book and learnt a few new things from the book which I, as a bilingual person, didn't realise in the past。 Given I wasn't born bilingual, some facts weren't as interesting to me, but that doesn't affect me to learn from it。 Just to make it clear, if you are thinking of the book, make sure you read the scope (which is clearly written in the preview): - It includes a lot of questions about "what's like to be bilingual" but doesn't give any tips about "how to be bilingual" - Like the mentioned subtitle of the book, there are a lot of experiments related to languages。- It also includes more about "being bilingual since babies" which is then expanded to "becoming a bilingual person in adulthood"。 (not surprising if it's based on experimental results。) A few things that I picked up about the book: - There are at least 40% languages in the world that are tonal。 - Although people tend to forget certain words from time to time, people only forget a language if they no longer use it。 - Learning a third language is going to be as costly (in terms of time) as learning a second language。 - However, you may gain some advantages for knowing "how to switch" languages if you are already a bilingual speaker。- Surprising fact: Apparently, if you grow up being bilingual, you are better at putting yourself in other's shoes。- Note: Just like different communication in the same language will lead to a different social impact, speaking different languages may lead to different ways of communication and therefore some social impact。 。。。more

Ron

Read this one in Spanish。 As a bilingual myself, I was looking for answers to better understand the works of my brain。 Unfortunately the book falls short。Even though it has many interesting facts and description of experiments, there's not really actionable information, or really groundbreaking results。 A bit of a disappointment。 I suppose my expectations were too high。However It may add value to others。 Read this one in Spanish。 As a bilingual myself, I was looking for answers to better understand the works of my brain。 Unfortunately the book falls short。Even though it has many interesting facts and description of experiments, there's not really actionable information, or really groundbreaking results。 A bit of a disappointment。 I suppose my expectations were too high。However It may add value to others。 。。。more

Alien B

3。7 Stars rounded up to 4 The content was interesting, well balanced and without a dogma to prove anything。 The writing style and presentation of information however was annoying for me to read。 In depth explanation below: Content: Albert Costa explores the topic of bilingualism and the brain in a broad scope, covering a lot of aspects rather than doing a deep dive into any one aspect。 The main topics are bilingualism and it's implications for brain development and brain aging, the effects of 3。7 Stars rounded up to 4 The content was interesting, well balanced and without a dogma to prove anything。 The writing style and presentation of information however was annoying for me to read。 In depth explanation below: Content: Albert Costa explores the topic of bilingualism and the brain in a broad scope, covering a lot of aspects rather than doing a deep dive into any one aspect。 The main topics are bilingualism and it's implications for brain development and brain aging, the effects of continuous use of multiple languages (on cognitive processing, brain networks and recovering from brain damage), and how decision making can differ when people use their first language vs their second language。 Though the book is titled the "Bilingual Brain" the content also looks into related topics, like the social phenomena related to being a non-native speaker (spoiler: (view spoiler)[ it's better to not have an accent than to have one if you want people to trust you and believe the things you say)。 (hide spoiler)] An interesting study: “In one study, researchers explored the extent to which skin colour and language affect the decisions children make about who they want to relate to。 [。。。] Did they choose a child with the same skin colour and foreign accent, or a child with a different skin colour and no foreign accent? It turns out that accent was the determining factor。 The children preferred to interact with other children of a different skin colour as long as they were native speakers of English; more so than with children with the same skin colour but who spoke English with a foreign accent。” The most interesting chapter in my opinion was the first one, which explores bilingualism in babies。 Costa covers the research of the effect of language on infants starting from in utero to the early years of childhood。 It's pretty amazing to see just how early infants recognize the language they are surrounded by, long before they start to speak。 One example: “Two-day-old babies whose mothers have spoken Spanish during the pregnancy tend to prefer to listen to phrases in Spanish even if spoken by a stranger, and those whose mothers speak English tend to prefer hearing phrases in English。” There were also some interesting insights in the last chapter, into how people's decision making is less emotionally driven when a problem is presented in their second language with research from behavioral economics。 It seems that we are worse decision makers in our first language than our second。 The author is very grounded in not exaggerating any claims the way pop science books sometimes do。 With all the data presented, the author is honest in describing the limitations of the studies, variability in data, or admitting that different studies sometimes get different results (like research into the claim that bilingualism delays the onset of Alzheimers)。 This is a book that illuminates the preliminary findings of an expanding field of research。 There is still a lot of work to be done before we can come to strong conclusions and the author is open about this。 The studies mentioned do not have any citations, which I find unfortunate because I would like to do a deeper dive into how these studies were conducted。 Writing Style The writing style gives me the impression that the author tried to dumb everything down for the reader to the point that it's pretty obnoxious。 After explaining an experiment, the author goes on to summarize the main idea again and again in simple language。 Most annoyingly, the author inserts metaphors and analogies after almost every mention of a research study to simplify it for the reader。 “It is as if we’ve reached the ceiling in our use of that system and, however much we exercise it, our performance does not improve significantly。 In baking terms: I cannot make a cake any better, I make it so well that no matter how hard I try, it just doesn’t get any tastier。” The idea is clear without translating into "baking terms"。 If anything the cake analogy muddles his point and makes it sound like he's explaining his idea to a small child。 Another strange analogy: “test scores that the participants obtained when they were eleven predicted their cognitive performance quite well at seventy-three, suggesting that intelligence is a fairly stable feature。 Think of it this way: if a child is much taller than average when he is eleven years old, he will likely continue being so when he is in his seventies。” This analogy is especially misfitting, since height is often NOT a stable feature before puberty。 The girls who were tallest in childhood can turn out to be average or even shorter than average when their peers catch up in height。 Boys are often shorter than average until they hit puberty, when they can become average or taller than average。 Height is not a good analogy for intelligence。 There are several expression inserted throughout the book that muddle his explanations。 Some examples: “As the saying goes, ‘a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”“It’s much like the saying ‘in for a penny, in for a pound。”“Ask and you shall explore, right?”I don't understand what any of these expressions mean。 One or two of these would be ok but these kinds of metaphors, analogies and expressions are inserted so often that I just found them distracting。 The data and analysis of the data would be much more clear。 Overall it was a good read because of the content。 The writing style lowers the quality of the book but despite that it's an interesting read。 。。。more

Matt

Wow! A lot to learn about here!As someone who is living in a bilingual household, was raised bilingually and is raising a son trilingually, then this book was a great insight into how our brains get to grips with language。Before reading this book, I had no idea how much work goes into learning your first language, how accents are formed or how difficult a second language is to learn。It makes me feel good about my learning level now。I’m natively bilingual and studying a third language (I’m ignori Wow! A lot to learn about here!As someone who is living in a bilingual household, was raised bilingually and is raising a son trilingually, then this book was a great insight into how our brains get to grips with language。Before reading this book, I had no idea how much work goes into learning your first language, how accents are formed or how difficult a second language is to learn。It makes me feel good about my learning level now。I’m natively bilingual and studying a third language (I’m ignoring my french my school time, because that amounts to nothing more than being able to get by on holidays in France but with zero conversations) and it really does take time to learn another one。4 stars 。。。more

Madelynp

This was a SUPER interesting book -- I teach a lot of bilingual students and reading this book helped me to better understand what is happening in their brains。。。and what is happening in mine, too (also as a bilingual speaker)。 The neuroscience was presented in an accessible way for the layreader, while Costa still pushes the reader to think long and hard about bilingualism。The last section on decision-making, especially in basing our decisions in logic rather than strictly in emotion, was VERY This was a SUPER interesting book -- I teach a lot of bilingual students and reading this book helped me to better understand what is happening in their brains。。。and what is happening in mine, too (also as a bilingual speaker)。 The neuroscience was presented in an accessible way for the layreader, while Costa still pushes the reader to think long and hard about bilingualism。The last section on decision-making, especially in basing our decisions in logic rather than strictly in emotion, was VERY interesting and makes me wonder if I should start writing my pro/con lists in my second language。 Costa does not (often) present value judgements of bilingualism, but as a proponent of bilingual classrooms, I found plenty in this book to not only continue arguing for such classrooms, but also to support my bilingual learners。 。。。more

Abraxas Longley

Fascinating exploration of the latest research neuroscientific on bilingualism。 The books can be dense at times and the pacing is lacking in some sections, but this can be overlooked on account of the quality and quantity of ideas and discoveries presented。

Petra X living life blissfully,not through books!

Currently reading the book。 I don't have anything better to do。 Update I remember reading in one of Oliver Sacks books of a professor who could no longer read English。 However, he could read Hebrew (written right-to-left)。 So he read books in Hebrew but wrote in English although he couldn't read what he'd written back。 I wonder if having a stroke and losing one language means you would lose all language, or retain one that has a considerably different structure?____________________My two cousins Currently reading the book。 I don't have anything better to do。 Update I remember reading in one of Oliver Sacks books of a professor who could no longer read English。 However, he could read Hebrew (written right-to-left)。 So he read books in Hebrew but wrote in English although he couldn't read what he'd written back。 I wonder if having a stroke and losing one language means you would lose all language, or retain one that has a considerably different structure?____________________My two cousins grew up speaking Spanish, English and Arabic at home, Hebrew and French in school。 Neither were particularly academic but both got into university by passing lots of language exams! My uncle was British, a doctor and an observant Jew。 He married his nurse, a Spanish Roman Catholic (not observant)。 The wedding was really great - she had a monsigneur in the family, we had a rabbi。 The monsigneur said something really not politically correct these days - Thank God there are no Protestants here and we can all have a drink! Avelina decided to convert to Orthodox Judaism rather than the reform for the wedding and they went off to live in Israel。They lived in the French Quarter of Jerusalem, and had a Muslim, Arab-speaking nanny because they wanted the children to be exposed to all religions and to speak Arabic。 My uncle spoke mostly English to them and my aunty mostly Spanish。 School was in Hebrew, but they taught French and English as foreign languages。 I have a cousin-by-marriage who speaks 16 languages, learned Mandarin in two years and has worked as a translator。 Her father was an importer and they travelled and lived in many countries。 She is terribly asthmatic and because of the steroids couldn't have children, so she went in to languages in depth enough to become a UN translator。 In the hospital I go to see my doctor, the Bumrungrad (view spoiler)[ I go there because it is the world's 9th best hospital and very cheap。 And you don't have to wait more than half an hour even if you don't have an appointment。 (hide spoiler)] in Bangkok, when I was an inpatient they sent me the customer service lady to see if everything was ok。 She was Mongolian and spoke perfect English, also Arabic (a lot of patients are from Saudi Arabia) and about 10 other languages too。 I am good at menus, can translate from many languages, i like to know what I'm eating when I go travelling, but I can't say more than please and thank you and how much in hardly any of them。There are many tribes and nations in Africa that are fluent in three or four languages, more than two is quite usual, I wonder if that is addressed in the book? If this book is about how children who are bilingual think, what, I wonder does it have to say about all these multi-lingual people who have spoken many languages since childhood?I keep finding and ordering interesting books。 I've got at least 300 I own and haven't read。 Plus the bookshop! 。。。more

Patrick Pilz

A quick short and good read on bilingual brain development from the leading expert in the field。 Especially interesting if you have kids which have been raised bilingual。

Mark

I wanted more from this, but Costa writes, mostly, like a real scientist: cautious, evidence-based hypothesis testing, free of claims of "settled" science and other BS (bad science) claims for which there is some but insufficient evidence。 Hint: There is never enough evidence to prove a hypothesis "correct"。 I was bemused by the pages of quotes and paraphrases from Thinking fast and slow in the last chapter, but there are worse topics for filler to reach 150+ pages。 I wanted more from this, but Costa writes, mostly, like a real scientist: cautious, evidence-based hypothesis testing, free of claims of "settled" science and other BS (bad science) claims for which there is some but insufficient evidence。 Hint: There is never enough evidence to prove a hypothesis "correct"。 I was bemused by the pages of quotes and paraphrases from Thinking fast and slow in the last chapter, but there are worse topics for filler to reach 150+ pages。 。。。more

Kārlis Dimdiņš

A book that philologists will like, although I am related to philology in terms of education, but I am not a philologist at heart。 Therefore, this book seemed rather dry and boring, of course, except for topics related to neurology。

Alberto

Es un libro fácil de leer, se lee relativamente rápido, aunque no pierde el rigor científico。 Es el resumen de sus 20 años de trabajo y me ha aportado algunas ideas nuevas y ha reforzado otras ideas que intuía que eran así。 Creo que vale la pena leerlo

Josh Marks

Explains all the good decisions I made in Argentina。

Skarlett Salazar-Mondragon

Very interesting book! Acosta discusses many studies done on bilingual brains from cognitive functions to ability empathize。 I liked how he also showed studies that conflict & lets readers know that not everything is conclusive, so more studies must be done to learn more。 My personal favorite section was towards the end when he discusses how our moral choices are affected depending on whether we're presented with moral dilemmas in languages we've spoken since childhood or languages we learned af Very interesting book! Acosta discusses many studies done on bilingual brains from cognitive functions to ability empathize。 I liked how he also showed studies that conflict & lets readers know that not everything is conclusive, so more studies must be done to learn more。 My personal favorite section was towards the end when he discusses how our moral choices are affected depending on whether we're presented with moral dilemmas in languages we've spoken since childhood or languages we learned after childhood。 If you're interested in either languages or the human brain, I would highly recommend this book。 。。。more

Melanie

Good book for readers who have little to no knowledge of Psycholinguistics。 For me, this book covered a lot of topics and research I had already known of (hence 3 stars)。 Buy this book if you're completely new to the literature surrounding bilingualism and cognitive science, as it is a great introduction to the discipline。 Good book for readers who have little to no knowledge of Psycholinguistics。 For me, this book covered a lot of topics and research I had already known of (hence 3 stars)。 Buy this book if you're completely new to the literature surrounding bilingualism and cognitive science, as it is a great introduction to the discipline。 。。。more

Katie Rybakova

Honestly I was expecting so much more。 At first Costa tries to make his research more layman friendly。 He gives up on that about a third of the way in and gets super technical。 Mind you, I study this often so don't shy away from the technical, but he just made it so clawingly boring。 I labored my way through this all summer and frankly am glad it is over。 It isn't informational enough to labor over, frankly。 It was a good sedative though! Honestly I was expecting so much more。 At first Costa tries to make his research more layman friendly。 He gives up on that about a third of the way in and gets super technical。 Mind you, I study this often so don't shy away from the technical, but he just made it so clawingly boring。 I labored my way through this all summer and frankly am glad it is over。 It isn't informational enough to labor over, frankly。 It was a good sedative though! 。。。more

Debbie

Excellent resource on the subject, but also of general interest。 Evidence-based。 Clear, entertaining writing。

Margaret

A fascinating and illuminating book, that examines the advantages - and bilingualism seems to come with no disadvantages - of having a brain that is comfortable with more than one language。 It can comfortably sort out differences, even before babies gain the ability to speak。 It can aid empathy and perspective-taking。 It can even delay the onset of dementia。 While generally clear while discussing scientific discoveries in this area, I was left occasionally bemused。 But Costa's light, and persona A fascinating and illuminating book, that examines the advantages - and bilingualism seems to come with no disadvantages - of having a brain that is comfortable with more than one language。 It can comfortably sort out differences, even before babies gain the ability to speak。 It can aid empathy and perspective-taking。 It can even delay the onset of dementia。 While generally clear while discussing scientific discoveries in this area, I was left occasionally bemused。 But Costa's light, and personal touch carried me forward, and his use of anecdotes illuminated ideas that might otherwise have been difficult to absorb。 A good read。 。。。more

Alex Beckett

Very interesting。 I thought the information was presented very clearly, given the nature of the author's task, and that he did well to avoid overloading it with too many complex or incomprehensible labels; at any point that this became possible, a helpful analogy or anecdote was given to help the reader。 Very interesting。 I thought the information was presented very clearly, given the nature of the author's task, and that he did well to avoid overloading it with too many complex or incomprehensible labels; at any point that this became possible, a helpful analogy or anecdote was given to help the reader。 。。。more

Aman

Dry, hard, dense, informative。