Chapter Eight: Music and Language
An episode of the Petit Sounds podcast, hosted by Petit Sounds, titled "Chapter Eight: Music and Language" was published on April 7, 2022 and runs 16 minutes.
April 7, 2022 ·16m · Petit Sounds
Summary
Around 90% of the world’s languages are tonal, meaning that unlike English, Spanish, or German, tone patterns are used to distinguish words and inflections. Speakers of tonal languages like Mandarin are more likely to develop perfect pitch, meaning they can tell what note is being played, without needing to hear another for reference. In this episode, Héctor and Elaine explore music, tone, and its relationship to language learning. Links Learning the "Special Note": Evidence for a Critical Period for Absolute Pitch Acquisition Critical period hypothesis Scotch Snaps in Hip Hop, by Adam Neely Music, Language, and the Brain, by Aniruddh D Patel A Generative Theory of Tonal Music, by Fred Lerdahl and Ray Jackendoff The Potential Role of Music in Second Language Learning, by Ieva Zeromskaite
Episode Description
Around 90% of the world’s languages are tonal, meaning that unlike English, Spanish, or German, tone patterns are used to distinguish words and inflections. Speakers of tonal languages like Mandarin are more likely to develop perfect pitch, meaning they can tell what note is being played, without needing to hear another for reference.
In this episode, Héctor and Elaine explore music, tone, and its relationship to language learning.
Links
- Learning the "Special Note": Evidence for a Critical Period for Absolute Pitch Acquisition
- Critical period hypothesis
- Scotch Snaps in Hip Hop, by Adam Neely
- Music, Language, and the Brain, by Aniruddh D Patel
- A Generative Theory of Tonal Music, by Fred Lerdahl and Ray Jackendoff
- The Potential Role of Music in Second Language Learning, by Ieva Zeromskaite
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