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Does it really matter? Separating the effects of musical training on syntax acquisition
1Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development Berlin, Germany ; Department of Psychology, Saarland University Saarbrücken, Germany.
Frontiers in Psychology
|December 19, 2012
Summary
Musical training specifically aids in learning complex language structures with long-distance dependencies. This cognitive transfer highlights how musical expertise enhances the acquisition of hierarchical syntax.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Neuroscience
- Linguistics
Background:
- Cognitive transfer between music and language is an emerging research area.
- Transfer benefits may be specific to shared processing components and neural substrates.
- Musical expertise might transfer to syntax acquisition, particularly for hierarchical structures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if musical expertise specifically facilitates the acquisition of hierarchical syntactic structures.
- To examine the transfer of musical training to the processing of long-distance dependencies in syntax.
- To determine the relationship between the quantity of musical training and language acquisition performance.
Main Methods:
- Fifty-six participants with diverse musical expertise were trained on an artificial language (BROCANTO).
- BROCANTO was designed to allow direct comparison of long-distance and local syntactic dependencies.
- Musical training was quantified by accumulated hours of practice and instruction.
Main Results:
- Musical training quantity significantly predicted performance in the long-distance dependency condition.
- No significant relationship was found between musical training and performance in the local dependency condition.
- These findings indicate a specific benefit of musical expertise for hierarchical syntax acquisition.
Conclusions:
- Musical expertise facilitates the acquisition of hierarchical syntactic structures.
- Cognitive transfer from music to language syntax is specific to shared structural processing.
- The study provides evidence for domain-specific cognitive transfer between music and language.
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