LINGUIST List 14.350

Tue Feb 4 2003

Qs: Musical Literacy, Arabic/English Syntax

Editor for this issue: Naomi Fox <foxlinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Evans, Ann, Musical literacy
2. Savaria Schembri, Auxiliaries and theta roles

I am interested in the area of literacy, and in particular, musical
literacy -- writing music. I would like to investigate methods used
to transmit music from person to person, both today and historically,
especially in written form. I would also like to gather commentary
and scholarly comment on these writing systems, these musical
alphabets.

There is also a related cognitive area involving methods of learning
music, whether from aural or written sources. Most gospel choirs, for
example, learn aurally. They don't "read music." Choir directors are
forever trying to get their singers to sing "off-book" because they
think that when singers break that link, their singing is more
sensitive and spontaneous. Does the printed page inhibit musical
performance, as it arguably does, for example, in the delivery of a
political speech? If learned from the printed page, do you lose some
of what you learned when you switch off-book for performance purposes,
and do you have to re-learn it from aural sources?
 
This investigation might suggest a larger linguistic question: Is
literacy sometimes a disadvantage? Are there any papers or books out
there on musical literacy and musical iting systems, or commentary on
the cognitive side of this question? ny experts lurking anywhere?

I was wondering, in English, do auxiliaries such as is, be, has, have
theta roles/thematic relations? For example, in a sentence like ''his
position is understandable''.