11.2603, Sum: Rhythm In Speech And Music

[The LINGUIST Network]

LINGUIST List:  Vol-11-2603. Fri Dec 1 2000. ISSN: 1068-4875.

Subject: 11.2603, Sum: Rhythm In Speech And Music

Moderators: Anthony Aristar, Wayne State U.<aristar at linguistlist.org>
            Helen Dry, Eastern Michigan U. <hdry at linguistlist.org>
            Andrew Carnie, U. of Arizona <carnie at linguistlist.org>

Reviews: Andrew Carnie: U. of Arizona <carnie at linguistlist.org>

Editors: Karen Milligan, Wayne State U. <karen at linguistlist.org>
         Michael Appleby, E. Michigan U. <michael at linguistlist.org>
         Rob Beltz, E. Michigan U. <rob at linguistlist.org>
         Lydia Grebenyova, E. Michigan U. <lydia at linguistlist.org>
         Jody Huellmantel, Wayne State U. <jody at linguistlist.org>
         Marie Klopfenstein, Wayne State U. <marie at linguistlist.org>
	 Naomi Ogasawara, E. Michigan U. <naomi at linguistlist.org>
	 James Yuells, Wayne State U. <james at linguistlist.org>
         Ljuba Veselinova, Stockholm U. <ljuba at linguistlist.org>

Software: John Remmers, E. Michigan U. <remmers at emunix.emich.edu>
          Gayathri Sriram, E. Michigan U. <gayatri at linguistlist.org>

Home Page:  http://linguistlist.org/

The LINGUIST List is funded by Eastern Michigan University, Wayne
State University, and donations from subscribers and publishers.


Editor for this issue: Marie Klopfenstein <marie at linguistlist.org>

=================================Directory=================================

1)
Date:  Wed, 29 Nov 2000 17:35:10 -0800
From:  Aniruddh Patel <apatel at nsi.edu>
Subject:  rhythm in speech and music

-------------------------------- Message 1 -------------------------------

Date:  Wed, 29 Nov 2000 17:35:10 -0800
From:  Aniruddh Patel <apatel at nsi.edu>
Subject:  rhythm in speech and music

Dear List,

Many thanks to all who replied to my query.  The original query and a
compilation of responses appear below.

Ani Patel
_____________________________________________________________________________________
QUERY:

I'm looking for articles which examine the imprint of linguistic rhythm
on the instrumental music of a culture.

I am familiar with Brian J. Wenk's 1987 paper, "Just in time: on speech
rhythms in music", Linguistics 25:969-981.

I would be grateful for any suggestions for further papers along these
lines, especially empirical studies.

____________________________________________________________________________
RESPONSES:

Lerdahl, Fred and Ray Jackendoff 1983. A generative theory of tonal
music.
MIT Press.

Also, in his dissertation, Mark Liberman addresses the relation of
language rhythm and children's musical chants:

Liberman, Mark 1979. The intonational system of English. Garland.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------

http://pages.britishlibrary.net/ccs/papers/griffen/change.html

- ------------------------------------------------------------------

                           English Speech Rhythm
                          Studied in Connection with
                      British Traditional Music and Dance
                                      by
                                Fumio Yamamoto
                        Department of Foreign Languages
                           Himeji Dokkyo University
                          <fumiyama at HIMEJI-DU.AC.JP>
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ivan Fonagy and Klara Magdics, Emotional Patterns in Intonation and
Music. In D. Bolinger, ed. Intonation:  Selected Readings, Penguin, 1972

Robert A. Hall, Jr., Elgar and the Intonation of British English.
Bolinger 1972 (see above).

My colleague B. Flament has published the following book, which includes
5 studies involving poems put to music by composers such as H. Duparc,
F. Poulenc, and others. These contain analyses based on the comparison
between Oscillomink records of the spoken poems and the musical scores.

Bernard Flament, Poésie/musique ou des notes sur des poèmes:  Cinq
études prosodico-musicales, Université de Nantes, 1998.
(this can be ordered directly from B. Flament, IUT de Saint-Nazaire, BP
420, 44606 Saint-Nazaire cedex, France.  E-mail:
flament at iutsn.univ-nantes.fr
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Actually, I don't know
much literature on the subject, but I wanted to make the point that
any such influences (which exist without any doubt) are almost
certainly mediated to a large extent by vocal music, especially folk
songs. So, the question can be addressed by studying (1) how language
prosody is reflected in song (there is a good deal of literature on
that topic) and (2) to what extent composers have drawn on folk-song
material in their compositions (which also has been discussed by
musicologists in great detail). For example, Bartók's music surely
uses Hungarian rhythms because his themes are frequently based on the
folk songs he collected. There are some composers, most notably
Janácek and Mussorgski, who deliberately tried to incorporate speech
rhythms into their instrumental music, perhaps without any direct
mediation of song. Still, even if there is no text, "vocally
conceived" instrumental music is very much like vocal music. In that
connection, Mozart and Chopin might be expected to have been more
influenced by Italian models than by German or French/Polish ones.

Much music is dance-based, taking its inspiration from instrumental
folk music. Although dance rhythms are specific to certain regions,
their relationship to language prosody is less clear because dance
has been separated from song for centuries. I don't know what the
evidence for a connection might be.

- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Aniruddh D. Patel			
The Neurosciences Institute		
10640 John Jay Hopkins Drive
San Diego, CA 92121

Tel	858-626-2085
Fax	858-626-2099
Email	apatel at nsi.edu
Website	http://www.nsi.edu/users/patel

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-11-2603