Children's associations between space and pitch are differentially shaped by language

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Developmental Psychology
• Linguistics

Background:

• Musical pitch representation varies across cultures, with some languages using spatial height (high vs. low) and others using thickness vocabulary (thick = low frequency, thin = high frequency).
• Understanding how children acquire these diverse pitch representations is crucial for comprehending music cognition development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the developmental trajectory of linguistic and non-linguistic space-pitch associations in children acquiring Dutch (height-pitch language) and Turkish (thickness-pitch language).
• To determine the influence of linguistic input on the acquisition of pitch representations.

Main Methods:

• Tested 5, 7, 9, and 11-year-old children on pitch terminology comprehension and non-linguistic space-pitch associations.
• Compared children acquiring Dutch and Turkish languages.

Main Results:

• Thickness-pitch associations were more robust and acquired earlier than height-pitch associations across both language groups.
• Height-pitch associations were unreliable until age 11, even in Dutch-speaking children, and were reversed by Turkish-speaking children.
• Non-linguistic space-pitch mappings change developmentally and are shaped by cross-cultural experiences.

Conclusions:

• Thickness-pitch associations are acquired similarly across cultures and are less influenced by language.
• Height-pitch associations are acquired later and are more susceptible to linguistic input.
• Development of musical pitch representation shows cross-cultural variation, highlighting the interplay between language, culture, and cognitive development.