Language And Music - LingoDigest

The Chameleon Tone: Unlocking the Musical Logic of Mandarin’s Tone Sandhi

6 min read

Mandarin is famously a tonal language, but what many learners quickly discover is that the tones they memorize often change in mysterious ways during conversation. This isn’t a mistake—it’s a fundamental feature called ‘tone sandhi,’ a set of rules that governs the musical rhythm of the language. This article demystifies the most famous of these rules, revealing the elegant logic behind Mandarin’s chameleon-like tones.

Phonetics Language And Music Culture Linguistics

The Phonetics of Pop: Why Some Languages Are More “Singable” Than Others

6 min read

Ever wonder why Italian opera sounds so smooth or why English dominates the pop charts? The answer lies in the “phonetics of pop”—the specific sounds, rhythms, and structures of a language that make it inherently more “singable.” This dive into the linguistics of music explores why the secret to a hit song might just be hidden in its phonology.