Speech and Melody: How Different Parts of the Brain are Used Depending on the Language

["Bullard, Claude L (Len)" <clbullar@ingr.com>]

Title: February Minutes

http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/06/30/brain.language.reut/index.html

This story is a fascinating tidbit relating the parts of the brain used to process

speech and the dependency on the artifacts of the particular language, in this

case, Mandarin.  One could ask some questions:

 

1.  How does such a language evolve given the greater resource requirements

for processing the language?

 

2.  Do any unique capabilities emerge as a result of this extra use of both

hemispheres of the brain?  For example, parallel capabilities such as easy

of musical training?

 

3. Do musicians, particularly singers, rate higher than the average westerner

when learning Mandarin?  Does learning Mandarin increase one's musical skills?

 

4. While it is stated that English-speakers have greater difficulty learning

Mandarin, are there miscommunications that emerge more often when

an English speaker and a Mandarin speaker interact that could be attributed

to this difference in the way the brain processes the language?

 

5.  Would any capabilities of HumanML help with these problems of communication

beyond noting the fact of the melodic dependencies of the presentation of the

Mandain sign sets?  Are some sign sets more or less melodically dependent?

 

Fascinating stuff.  Beyond us here, but the sorts of problems one might conceivably

bring to HumanML.  For example, representation of the vocal utterance given a

library based on Rex's work is certainly possible. 

 

len