Language and Music: Conjoined Twins or Complete Strangers A Review

Language and music can be considered two of the most distinctive features which mark the linebetween human beings and the rest of the animal kingdom. The idea that there might be a relationshipbetween these two great achievements of our species has a long history. Charles Darwin (1871), forinstance, believed that it is not improbable that the ability to use musical notes and rhythms to charm theopposite sex was a precursor of language. This review considers the positions of two opposing camps,that is to say, splitters, who are in favour of the modularity view of the mind, and lumpers, who are infavour of the unitary view of cognition, on the relationship between language and music. Finally, theconsequences of a possible music-language perceptual link for musically based treatments for L1disorders and for L2 teaching are discussed.

Keywords:

splitter , modularity , lumper , unitary view , cognition