Re: [Harp-L] music and perception

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Dave Murray" wrote:
<My wife is a native Thai speaker. She has lived in America longer than 
she lived in Thailand, but she didn't learn English until she was an 
<adult. She still has an accent. I started trying to learn Thai as an 
<adult, could even read it a bit. It is a tonal language. I can not 
<distinguish some of it's subtleties. I'll screw up a tone for a word, 
<perhaps changing the meaning from "Dang, come here" to Dang, you're a 
<dog". A Thai speaker will correct my pronunciation and I'll say, 
<"That's what I said." It's not, I just can't hear the distinction.

As I understand it, anyone who learns a language after the age of 12 
will always have a noticeable and non-native accent.  Henry Kissinger 
speaks English very, very well in terms of grammar and vocabulary, but 
he's still got a German accent in his speech 60 years or so after 
arriving in the USA.

Whether that applies to music, I don't know.  Are music and speech 
controlled by the same part of the brain?

Thanks, Richard Hunter
hunterharp.com
latest mp3s always at http://broadjam.com/rhunter