Taking the
world by storm
By Dr Laila Abdel Aal
Alghalban
Professor of
linguistics & Chairperson of the Department of English
Faculty of Arts
Kafrelsheikh University
Do you still remember
the nursery rhymes or children's songs you used to sing with peers when you
were a kid? Do you still remember the
songs or rhymes your parents and grandparents used to sing to you? The answer
is definitely 'Yes'. You may ask: "Why?". The answer proposed by many studies on memory
and language learning is that our brains process rhymed input more deeply and
more easily than unrhymed input. When
music, repetition and storytelling are combined, this helps memorization and
the acquisition of new vocabulary. It makes us joyfully relate to peers, family
and teachers.
Music, the body and
language learning
How music affects the
body is a very interesting and yet not fully-discovered issue. By its very
definition, music has to do with sounds which are harmoniously combined to
change the chemical interactions in our bodies and evoke emotions in us. Music
is also part of our body. Think about
your voice, that miraculous musical instrument that plays, through speaking and
singing, varied tunes that stir up emotions beyond comprehension. Think
about how your body organs work
rhythmically: your heart, feet, hands, respiratory system, etc. Music is inside
us and it is part of who we are. Language also has music, and when language and
music get together, they rock us massively. Think about the emotions you
experience when language and music are combined in movies, songs, opera,
theatre, etc. In other words, language, music and culture are inseparable.
There have been incredible examples of the role music plays in saving
endangered languages. A case in point is the Welsh-speaking part of Argentina,
Patagonian. Music at schools keeps the language alive there. The Angolan
language Kimbundu is another example. Rappers are racing to revive it. Thanks
to technology and social media, the masses speaking such endangered language
take the lead.
Without official or
academic ado
Pop culture and music have incredibly impacted
languages at all levels: vocabulary, grammar, meaning and pronunciation. More importantly, they help disseminate
languages, dialects and accents outside their native territories without
official or academic ado. Let us have a look at the most three successful
stories. What are they? And in what way can they inspire others?
A tale of three
'softquakes'
" Imagine a world
without The Beetles; how would it look like?" Would the pop storm that
hits music and world entertainment industry be there? Would the hits "Get
Back", "She Loves You", "I Feel Fine", among others
exist and have such a huge impact on the
global fans? Would the world fashion industry be defined the way it was by the
Beetles? Would the mop-top hair cut, casual wear, Chelsea
boots appear and males all over the
world copy them blindly? More importantly, would the world know about Liverpool
or 'Scouse' accent and love it that much? Definitely, the world would have
missed the stunning artistic, cultural, and linguistic impact of the Beetles.
Latin music
The huge popularity in Latin music in the US
and the world has also contributed to the promotion of the Spanish language,
which currently has an increasing share of the global population learning a
foreign language. Spanish is also the second language in the US and spoken in
44 countries. It is no wonder then to find Spanish hits frequently sweeping the
world. "Dispacito" is a tale to remember. Shortly after, Little Mix,
Cardi B and DJ Snake find their way to top spots on the US Billboard chart in
Spanish. Thus, the impact of Latin music is understandable given the large
Latin-speaking diaspora around the world.
The Korean softquake
Another softquake that is currently hitting the world hard is the
Korean pop industry or K-pop, South Korean super groups and bands such as Blackpink, the Black Eyed Peas and BTS have
broken the boundaries and become famous worldwide. The boy band BTS, in
particular, is taking the world by storm. Its members manage to have the most
impact on spreading the Korean language and culture around the world. With a
popularity compared to the Beatles in their prime, they performed on the most
respected and famous stages like the billboard and American Music Awards (AMA),
and won high profile awards that seemed to be restricted to American pop
singers. The Korean stars have also the most interactive fan base, which is
called "army". According to Twitter, they have been a social media sensation
in the last few years.
Just the vibe
BTS has been a living
proof that music and art in general is an undeniable power in spreading a
culture and a language. With millions of loyal fans aspiring to learn the language
of their beloved idols, Korean language has flourished like never before. BTS
artists are stuck to their language although they insert some English in the
lyrics, their songs and interactions remain in Korean. Their YouTube channel
posts videos about their life and really shows who they are without all the
buzz of celebrity life. It shows them in all their moods. That makes the fans connect with them on a
deeper and more profound level and that
may be the main reason why Korean language is spreading like never before. Fans
are aspiring to connect to their idols despite the level of difficulty of
the language. They want to understand their beloved artists without subtitles
and connect with them without language boundaries. Fans talk about how regularly
listening to BTS makes them
unconsciously learn Korean. Moreover, there are fan sites, spaces for
translations which render BTS hits into other languages around the world.
People, worldwide, have
become more open to music in languages other than their own. The British are
the last people to embrace music in foreign languages without compromises.
Thanks to technology and migration, music industry is no longer controlled by a
punch of Anglo-centric gatekeepers. Spotify and YouTube are now leading the way making it easy to stream songs . Finally, let us
hope that these successful stories of how culture and music help disseminate
languages and dialects inspire the Arab cultural and entertainment industry and
teach lessons in spreading the Arabic language
all over the world.
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق