Rhythmic skills and language are linked

[Daedalus]

Study shows that people who perform well at rhythm tests also show enhanced neural responses to speech sounds. This suggests music and language are linked in the brain.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24124158

So I play music, though less than I used to, and I'm doing well in language too, if I say so myself. How about you?

[Czarownica]

Well... I'm pretty terrible with music. My sense of rhythm is not very good, I can't tell different notes apart and sometimes I confuse guitar with a drum (don't even ask)  :grin: Fortunately that does not mean that I'm terrible at languages.

The study's certainly interesting.

[thekernel]

Considering my propensity for music and my loquaciousness in general, it's cool too see that they are scientifically linked. I believe music to be a language of its own. This adds credence to that theory, if not already confirming it. 

[Daedalus]

Yes, language already uses pitch, language already has rhythm, so it is a lot like music. Some languages have this a bit more than others, but consider pitching up at the end of a sentence meaning it's a question, or the speaker is doubtful, and pitching down to indicate the end of a section.

[mareebaybay]

That's an awesome find, related to learning new languages. I remember in middle school I use to listen to music in class frequently. Sometimes I would wonder just how I finished any work while listening to music.  I considered the music as a distraction. I understand now it could be related to rhythmic skills.

[LauraM]

Daedalus, thanks so much.  That's a great find!  It makes a lot of sense as there is music within a language; the phraseology and the cadence of the words, just the natural flow of language. 

I tend to listen to music more often than not.  I prefer it over silence and most especially over the ambient traffic sounds.  I find the right kind of music -- and it varies depending upon what I'm focused on -- can help me concentrate better.

When I was immersing myself to learn Spanish, for instant, I had the music going quite often and I found it helped me in an intangible way to absorb the language.  I'm sure it could work that way for any language. 

[sayitwell]

I don't agree with the study's results at all.  I've known skilled musicians who hate learning other languages.  I'm not a good musician and I enjoy speaking/writing other languages and language in general.  I knew someone in college who played multiple instruments, including the drums and he smoked a bunch of weed before his language placement test in an attempt to make himself look stupid so that he would be allowed to forego the foreign language credit requirement.  It worked well enough and the musician was able to skip the dreaded foreign language classes.

[thekernel]

I don't agree with the study's results at all.  I've known skilled musicians who hate learning other languages.  I'm not a good musician and I enjoy speaking/writing other languages and language in general.  I knew someone in college who played multiple instruments, including the drums and he smoked a bunch of weed before his language placement test in an attempt to make himself look stupid so that he would be allowed to forego the foreign language credit requirement.  It worked well enough and the musician was able to skip the dreaded foreign language classes.

I don't think the study emphasizes ability to learn language as much as it does with the fundamentals of speaking and hearing. I've tried relating the study's findings to my own group of friends, and with each case I feel more inclined to believe it. I feel like those with good rhythm are more well-articulated and eloquent compared to those without. 

I think poetry is a good example of the link between rhythm and language. Those with good rhythm are able to distinguish what fits in a meter and what doesn't, and rarely will you find people who write poetry to be lacking in their descriptive abilities.