Music and the Spoken Word

Music and the Spoken Word

Connections between Music and Language

On the Origins of Music and Language

It has recently become acceptable to speculate on the evolution of language in the field of linguistics after being considered a scientific taboo for more than a hundred years. Quite apart from the question of why so called "open minded" academic fields contain taboo topics (perhaps a subject for future blogs) there is some new speculation on this topic. In her recent book, The First Word, linguist Christine Kenneally tells the compelling story of the quest for the origins of human language. She gives an account of how language developed, how the random and layered processes of evolution wound together to produce a talking animal. It also addresses the question: Is language a uniquely human phenomenon? We may well ask the same question about music.

The well-known phenomena of birdsong, whale song, porpoise chatter and ape vocalizations raise important questions about the connections between animal speech, human speech and music:
Are there (psychological) connections between music and speech in humans and animals?
In what does human communication consist?
If speech (and/or music) is and innate (or even unique) in humans how do animals use sounds in communication?
What are the connections between human response to animal song and human song?

ALSO:

Did music and speech evolve from a common ancestor form of communication?
It is possible that human reaction to animal song is akin to the “emotional” reactions people have to robot behavior which mimic human attention with eye blinks, lip movements, changes in facial expression, etc. see The Real Transformers NYTimes Magazine 7.29.07 by Robin Marantz Henig