Traditionally, music and language have always been treated as different and distinct faculties of the brain. However, this view has been challenged in recent years mainly due to the advent of modern brain imaging techniques and improved neurophysiological measures to study brain function. Using these innovative approaches, a whole new view on the neural and psychological basis of music and speech has evolved. The results of these studies show that music and speech functions have many aspects in common.
The logical, but no less surprising or fascinating conclusion is one: those with a musical background have developed a whole range of skills over the years that make them in power an extraordinary performer. Let us find out why.
Science says it: music and language are connected
Growing evidence suggests that people with a musical background have a greater aptitude toward developing language skills.
Musicians develop a natural predisposition for language learning. This is due to the privileged relationship that exists between music and language. A language, any language, has a musical character, made up of rhythms, intonations and pauses.
Humans interpret language and music through similar cognitive processes. Although we process language and music in opposite hemispheres of the brain, experts have found significant overlap between the neural regions underlying language and those responsible for perceiving music.
If we listen to a spoken voice recording on a loop, our brain will end up paying more and more attention to the melodic inflection of the message rather than its meaning. In other words, as listening continues, the brain will self-decrypt and process information in the same way it would process a melody.
Musicians are better at processing different languages
The closeness between music and language allows those who have had a musical education to understand languages
Scientific research shows that people who have studied music before the age of seven develop fundamental foreign language processing skills. Because the brain at this time of life is in its most developmental stage, the absorption of music leads to greater cognitive capacity and provides young musicians with broader vocabularies and greater sensitivity in recognizing subtle differences between sounds and pronouncing words that are unfamiliar.
Musicians, because of their education, develop skills that come in quite handy both for learning a language and for performing the job of interpreter, such as that of quickly shifting attention from one point to another without losing focus and those of mnemonics.
Those who have studied music, in short, are facilitated in the tasks proper to the jobs of the interpreter and translator. These include the ability to translate languages quickly, to judge speakers' tone effectively, and to pronounce foreign languages better. These skills can be very difficult to learn, but evidence suggests that musicians have a significant advantage over non-musicians in doing so.
Music makes the interpretation richer and more qualitative
The best interpreters are those who use their experience and culture to enrich interpretations. To train, an interpreter should necessarily stay for some time in the country whose language he or she wishes to learn. Music offers a privileged way into the culture of a place. Immersing oneself in the songs and melodies of a country, besides being fun and stimulating, is also a fantastic learning exercise because it allows one to process sounds and connects the left and right sides of the brain, which leads to higher-level language comprehension.
Marketing Team Congressi Internazionali
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