Newsgroups: sci.lang
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!rochester!cornellcs!newsstand.cit.cornell.edu!portc01.blue.aol.com!news-res.gsl.net!news.gsl.net!news-peer.gsl.net!news.gsl.net!news.uoregon.edu!news.ironhorse.com!ixa.net!news.questar.com!tholfsen
From: ptholfsen@netos.com (Paul Tholfsen)
Subject: Re: Swahili
Message-ID: <9a7cc$16e38.370@news.questar.com>
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 96 05:15:56 GMT
References: <DxE14G.LHB@scn.org> <32307DB7.69F6@mailbox.swipnet.se> <DxHxsp.A8s@scn.org>
X-Newsreader: News Xpress Version 1.0 Beta #4
Lines: 42



>>...  Some Mexican languages (I think Mazatec is the one 
>>usually cited) are said to be "so tonal" that speakers can carry out 
>>detailed conversations over long distances by whistling, but personally I 
>>doubt if the facts are quite as amazing as the claims.  My sister lives 
>>and works among the Mazatec.  I think I'll ask her to comment on this.
>
>Peggy Agee:
>
>Yes, this is true.  Mazatec relies so heavily on the tone of the 
>syllables that conversations can be carried on through whistling.  We 
>personally have only seen it used in common phrases such as "Where are 
>you going?" or "What are you doing?" or "Come here" as a few examples.  
>However, in a closely related dialect of Mazatec, linguists working there 
>have documented long and detailed conversations carried on entirely by 
>whistles.
>
>The whistles carry over longer distances than spoken words, so whistle 
>speech is often used in the fields or from one mountain top to another.


A an artificial musical language "Sol Re Sol" was developed in the nineteenth 
century by a French (?) linguist.  It used notes of the musical scale to 
represent syllables, and was designed to use a very small number of such 
syllables to produce a grammar and vocabulary.  Then, in principle, speakers 
could communicate by piano or other musical instrument.

Now suppose one took a real language which uses a relatively small number of 
syllables (for Example Hawaiian, or possibly Japanese).  Theoretically these 
could also be converted into musical tones and communicated as music.  I have 
no idea what this music would sound like, or whether a child could be taught 
it by immersion, or an adult by study.

Anyhow, it's one of those things which keep my mind occupied on those long, 
lonely days.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Tholfsen
Bellingham, WA
ptholfsen@netos.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

