Connections Between Music and Language

Music has had a significant impact on the development of the English language. The oldest known musical instrument, a 40,000-year-old flute, suggests that music may have played a crucial part in the development of language. One theory suggests that music served as a precursor to language, allowing our ancestors to communicate emotions and ideas. Music and language activate similar areas of the brain, supporting this theory. Another theory suggests that music provided a rhythmic framework for early forms of language, as repetition and rhythm are important in both music and early language. Music also played a role in social bonding and cooperation, as it stimulates the release of neurotransmitters that make us feel good and willing to share with others. Additionally, music may have helped early humans remember and recall information, leading to the development of complex grammar and syntax. The relationship between music and language is still being researched, but it is clear that they h Have you ever wondered how the English language was created, and what influenced it throughout the centuries to make it what it is today? Well, I know I have, and so have the other students in the Gifted and Talented class at Crane Senior High School. CraneWave's Broadcasting Tune Brilliance is all about the history of the English language. In this episode, I, your host Kira, am going to be talking about how music has impacted the development of the English language, so listen on to find out everything you need to know. Did you note that the oldest known musical instrument predates earliest examples of written language by thousands of years? It is the 40,000 year old flute made from bird bone, and it was discovered in southwestern Germany. This suggests that music may have played a crucial part in the development of language. Music has always been an important part of human culture. It has ways of connecting us in ways words will never be able to. Recent research has shown that music may have affected the development of the English language in a number of ways, and that parts of their histories are closely linked. In this episode, I'll explain the multiple theories behind these links and how research has supported them. The first theory suggests that language and music evolved together, with music serving as a precursor to language. Music has allowed our ancestors to communicate emotions and ideas before the development of language, and therefore influencing how those feelings were later converged into words. It suggests that feelings and emotions stimulated by music later evolved into language and that music was the beginning of the expression of feelings. The ability to produce and understand complex sounds may have been a key factor in the development of both music and language. This theory is supported by the fact that music and language activate similar areas of the brain. This area is called the temporal lobe. The temporal lobe is a pair of areas on the left and right sides of the brain. Its role is to manage emotions, process information from your senses, store and retrieve memories, and understand language. Now for the second theory. This theory says that music provides a rhythmic framework for early forms of language. Early forms of language were predominantly based on rhythm and repetition. It is thought that music provided the structure for this early language because repetition and rhythm are an important part of music. These early languages were also tonal. This meant that the pitch of words was important for conveying their meaning. Pitch is about vibration and differing tone, so it is highly likely that music played a role in this early language because music is made up of different vibrations and tones, making it possible that these could have evolved to become the pronunciation of sounds and words. The third theory is that music played a role in the development of social bonding and cooperation. Music has been known to bring people together in several ways and make people feel things that they otherwise wouldn't. Music interacts with the brain and stimulates the release of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin. These make us feel good and serene with the things around us. In other words, putting people in a better mood. This is likely to make people more friendly and willing to share this happiness with others and cooperate or bond. This theory suggests that this in turn led to the development of the English language. When people bond and cooperate with one another, they need a way to communicate. This interaction with each other could have been one of the reasons for language. This theory is supported by research saying that music is shown to have a robust effect on our sensations. This means that it has a strong effect on how we feel. Our ancestors may have used music to create a sense of community and bond with one another. The final theory that I am going to talk about today is that music may have developed to enhance the English language. This suggests that the rhythmic and melodic patterns of music may have helped early humans to remember and recall information such as location of resources and things that were categorised as dangerous. Over time, these patterns could have evolved into complex grammar and syntax of modern language. I am an extremely forgetful person, so sometimes when I need to remember something, I sing the word or phrase that I have to do over and over in my head to help me remember. It is possible that the musical repetition and rhythm of how it is said helps it to really stick to my brain. When you think about it, the English language is patterns of letters that form different sounds and meanings, which is similar to songs. It is highly likely that the patterns of music had an influence on the English language because of their similarities and how closely they are linked together. Syntax and grammar rely on patterns and rules, so it is possible that these patterns and rules were influenced by music. While the exact role music had on the English language is still yet to be discovered, researchers do know that language and music are intricately linked and have several similarities which could have meant that music influenced the development of the English language along with other languages as well. It is certain that music played a significant role in human society and culture and still does to this day. For example, it is often used to aid with the learning and retention of language and patients who have suffered from neurological conditions that affect language processing have had effective results using music therapy. Music and language have evolved together over time and continue to shape each other. Music's rhythmic and melodic patterns, way of bringing people together, repetition and rhythms, way of expressing emotions along with many more of its features have influenced the English language in one way or another and helps make it what it is today. The relationship between music and language is an interesting one as its research is only just beginning and so it's decades before anything will be certain. I play the flute and piano and listen to a lot of music so I thought it would be an interesting topic to be able to learn about and teach people about because sometimes language and music seem like two completely different things but when you go into detail they are actually really similar and they contain many of the same features and rules so it's interesting to see how they evolved together and shaped each other over time. Thank you for listening to this episode of Korean Wave's Broadcasting Student Rhythms on how music has impacted the development of the English language and I encourage that you listen to our other episodes.