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   Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Friday, 27-Dec-2024 04:01:43 JST Adrianna Tan

   I heard this in a podcast and wanted to see the study: apparently, speaking a tonal language has a relationship with having an ear for perfect pitch

   I grew up speaking several tonal languages alongside English and it was always easy for me to pick up music, and all tonal languages. I can perfectly mimic Vietnamese even if I don’t speak it, to the extent that Vietnamese aunties scold me for being a foreign born Vietnamese person with a poor vocabulary

   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/11/041114235846.htm

   #Languages

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Friday, 27-Dec-2024 04:03:33 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     Thai is very easy for me. Cantonese (which I’m learning) is harder for me re grammar and vocabulary than making the sounds. Every tone and word sounds like a perfectly formed syllable to me, distinct to each other.

     On the other hand I have no aptitude (or perhaps interest) in Romance languages. Except perhaps Spanish, and only due to my outsized obsession for tacos.

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Friday, 27-Dec-2024 04:05:02 JST Adrianna Tan

     • Miah Johnson

     @miah probably where I heard it!

   • Embed this notice
     Kevin Burns (burnskp@hachyderm.io)'s status on Friday, 27-Dec-2024 04:11:52 JST Kevin Burns

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte I’ve heard that too. That perfect pitch is related to the language centers of the brain and how kids learn languages (which is different than adults). It’s one of those things you can only get when you’re young and while there’s certain things that correlate with it, it’s still a crap shoot as to whether or not someone will learn it.

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     Matt Campbell (matt@toot.cafe)'s status on Friday, 27-Dec-2024 04:19:03 JST Matt Campbell

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte . I wonder if it also works the other way. I already have perfect pitch, but have never learned a tonal language. I wonder if it would be easier for me to learn a tonal language than for other adult learners.

   • Embed this notice
     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Friday, 27-Dec-2024 04:19:03 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     • Matt Campbell

     @matt probably! The main difficulty I’ve seen is people who can’t ‘hear’ the difference at all