Music is a bridge between languages
It is amazing how much music can travel across cultures to spread between nations speaking different languages and sometimes not even familiar with the anything the song says.
Back in the fall of 2018 I took the literacy class in the MTSL program. Part of our course was to help middle school students at Shaw to improve their literacy skills. I have noticed how much K-Pop was popular among the students there. Within my interaction with the students, I got to learn that a lot of them are fans of K-Pop bands. Many of these students are originally from the Marshall Islands and many of them are not familiar with Korean at all. Music is a language of its own. even without lyrics, we can move our body to the beat.
From a language perspective, it is interesting to analyze the impact that music in general have on the world. Then look closely at how it can positively ‘light up’ a person’s life. It is true that they might never have thought about learning Korean but they must have learned some words so far from listening and imitating the songs’ lyrics. There is also the portion of phonology, and becoming familiar with the sounds of the language in general. Language is not restricted to grammar, vocabulary and spelling, it extends to culture too! Whether it was the students at Shaw or any person living somewhere enjoying a song in another language, lyrics of the music can be translated literally but often times it doesn’t need a translation. Emotions unite all human beings and even with zero words understood you can absolutely enjoy the song!
What is your theory regarding music and language? Do you listen to songs in language you don’t speak?
Back in the fall of 2018 I took the literacy class in the MTSL program. Part of our course was to help middle school students at Shaw to improve their literacy skills. I have noticed how much K-Pop was popular among the students there. Within my interaction with the students, I got to learn that a lot of them are fans of K-Pop bands. Many of these students are originally from the Marshall Islands and many of them are not familiar with Korean at all. Music is a language of its own. even without lyrics, we can move our body to the beat.
From a language perspective, it is interesting to analyze the impact that music in general have on the world. Then look closely at how it can positively ‘light up’ a person’s life. It is true that they might never have thought about learning Korean but they must have learned some words so far from listening and imitating the songs’ lyrics. There is also the portion of phonology, and becoming familiar with the sounds of the language in general. Language is not restricted to grammar, vocabulary and spelling, it extends to culture too! Whether it was the students at Shaw or any person living somewhere enjoying a song in another language, lyrics of the music can be translated literally but often times it doesn’t need a translation. Emotions unite all human beings and even with zero words understood you can absolutely enjoy the song!
What is your theory regarding music and language? Do you listen to songs in language you don’t speak?
As a music lover, I truly like your topic. I like phrases you’ve used to describe how similar we are and the positive impact of music such as: move our bodies to the beat and light up their world. Personally, I agree with you regarding your thoughts about language and music. I also think songs are a great teaching tool. I certainly have used them with students in the past and also used them myself. I do listen to songs in languages I don’t speak. Some French songs for Celine dion I like. And I truly enjoy Italian songs by Laura Pausini and few other Italian singers. I’ve been listening to the same songs for years and I recall that at some point I’ve read the translation of the lyrics but can’t remember any of it at this point. It’s interesting though cause like you mentioned I can imitate the words and guess lines and pausing times during the song. So if I was singing from a very far room you’ll think I nailed the song :p either way, it is nice to listen to various songs. And I quite prefer songs I don’t understand. Though they are hard to sing along to, but because of that they give a bigger room for imagination and open a window for interpretation where emotions flows naturally. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI agree! Foreign language songs give a wide room for imagination and you're not stuck with the emotions the lyrics talks about. If it is an upbeat song but the lyrics are about a breakup then you might be stuck with the angry emotion because the song is about breaking up. If you don't understand the lyrics, you can imagine it being whatever your mood takes you.
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