Language in Music

For this week's blog post, I wanted to combine two of my favorite things: language and music. I believe the best way to understand, learn, and value a language and the culture tied to it is through song. Many of the songs that I listen to on a daily basis are in different languages ranging from Spanish to French to Japanese. Although I do not understand all of these languages, I am able to interpret the song through their enunciation, flow, and emotion. For instance, I like to hear love songs in Spanish rather than Polish, as Spanish has a more lyrical and flowing sound.

Many songs also have a specific beat tied with their language. For example, Reggaeton is a form of dance music and the songs that belong to this genre are in Spanish and have a consistent beat. One of my favorite Reggaeton songs is Me Rehúso by Danny Ocean. He sings about refusing to let go of his love for a woman because they are far apart. The strong rolls of the "r" and specific choices of lyrics create a beautiful song that immediately immerses you in a feeling of hope and happiness. However, Danny Ocean also released a version of this song in English called "Baby I won't". Although this song contains all of the same instruments and beats the Spanish version does, it sounds completely different. The switch in language removed all the cultural and emotional aspects of the sound. Just as Greene said that people code switch for different emotions, the same things goes for language in music. I listen to music in different languages for a reason. Although I cannot really put it into words, each language provides a different emotion and a sense of its cultural background.

I got to experience the relationship between language, culture, and music this past September at a Kishi Bashi  concert. Kishi Bashi is a Japanese-American composer and multi-instrumentalist. Many of his songs combine both Japanese and English to create an amazing blend of happiness and peace. His last album, Omoiyari, describes World War II and specifically Japanese-American internment camps in the United States during that time. Without the inclusion of Japanese within this album, listeners wouldn't have been able to connect the loss of language and culture Japanese-Americans were deprived of during this tragic time in history.

So, my challenge to you is to attend a foreign musician's concert or start listening to music in a who have never heard before. I've attached a Spotify playlist of some of my favorites:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7xAp6PPsz0MLOyzJ87HoMI?si=4ySHOH6-QsigXL6_qnwcOw

If you have any questions or want any more music suggestions, please do not hesitate to ask!

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