Re: Another ship of fools whose passengers DID get refuge

In article <1185482542.122053.178970@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Q <quondam1@xxxxxxxxx> writes:
On Jul 26, 8:16 am, bac...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
In article <f88ril$lk...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "Abe Kohen" <ako...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
"Q" <quond...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote

She spoke perfect American English when I first knew her, and that
would have been only six or seven years after she arrived in America.
I always assumed she'd been born here. It's unusual for a person who
arrives in America at age 11 or so to learn to speak English with no
accent at all.

I would conjecture that the cutoff for accentless pronunciation is around
puberty. Henry Kissinger was about 15 when he came here.

Almost correct. The cutoff point is about age 8 [based on a monograph
written about 20 years ago by a Japanese otorhinolaryngologist on the
development of deviated septum]. The most intriguing thing is that
until age 8 (give or take) the nasal septum is absolutely straight. From
age 8 there starts the process of nasal septal deviation with its effect
on brain hemisphericity and the nasal cycle. Our group in 1990 found an
extremely rare (1:3000) "defect" in 10/11 expert simultaneous translators.

See: Backon J, Negeris B, Kurzon D, Amit-Chochavi H.
Int J Neurosci. 1991 Jun;58(3-4):157-63.

A straight nasal septum and right unilateral hypertrophied inferior nasal
turbinate, a very rare anatomical phenomenon, in skilled language translators:
relevance to anomalous dominance, brain hemisphericity and second language
acquisition.


Does that mean you can tell by the way a person looks whether he or
she will have an aptitude for learning languages? Can you tell from x-
rays or other images?


More or less though the simplest way to discern the septal deviation is
by physical examination or use of Podoshin plates (metallic foil placed
under the nostril).


Is there any relationship between skill at acquiring languages and
musical pitch?


Yes.

http://www.mckergow.com/2003/index.jsp?lnk=304 Click on his 170K file.

Jewish tradition has stressed use of musical intonation in developing
learning ability (e.g. the concept of "arichat sefatayim" in Pirkei Avot
6:6).

Josh (going back to lurking mode)


-- Q



Best,

Abe

07-25-07

R'foo-ah shlay-ma for Shayndel bat Gittel
R'foo-ah shlay-ma to all victims of Islamofascist terror


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Another ship of fools whose passengers DID get refuge
    ... would have been only six or seven years after she arrived in America. ... arrives in America at age 11 or so to learn to speak English with no ... turbinate, a very rare anatomical phenomenon, in skilled language translators: ... More or less though the simplest way to discern the septal deviation is ...
    (soc.culture.jewish.moderated)
  • Re: Another ship of fools whose passengers DID get refuge
    ... would have been only six or seven years after she arrived in America. ... arrives in America at age 11 or so to learn to speak English with no ... until age 8 the nasal septum is absolutely straight. ... turbinate, a very rare anatomical phenomenon, in skilled language translators: ...
    (soc.culture.jewish.moderated)
  • Re: Another ship of fools whose passengers DID get refuge
    ... would have been only six or seven years after she arrived in America. ... arrives in America at age 11 or so to learn to speak English with no ... The cutoff point is about age 8 [based on a monograph ... turbinate, a very rare anatomical phenomenon, in skilled language translators: ...
    (soc.culture.jewish.moderated)
  • Re: Another ship of fools whose passengers DID get refuge
    ... would have been only six or seven years after she arrived in America. ... until age 8 the nasal septum is absolutely straight. ... turbinate, a very rare anatomical phenomenon, in skilled language translators: ... The immigration databases are trickier (www.ellisisland.org and ...
    (soc.culture.jewish.moderated)
  • Re: Another ship of fools whose passengers DID get refuge
    ... She spoke perfect American English when I first knew her, ... would have been only six or seven years after she arrived in America. ... arrives in America at age 11 or so to learn to speak English with no ... The cutoff point is about age 8 [based on a monograph ...
    (soc.culture.jewish.moderated)
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