Re: Why is high high?

[Pawel Kusmierek <pq@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Date sent:              Mon, 31 Aug 1998 07:18:14 -0400
Send reply to:          Robert Bolia <rbolia@FALCON.AL.WPAFB.AF.MIL>
From:                   Robert Bolia <rbolia@FALCON.AL.WPAFB.AF.MIL>
Subject:                Why is high high?
To:                     AUDITORY@LISTS.MCGILL.CA

> Regarding the question of whether or not the use of the words "high"
> and "low" to describe pitch is an Indo-European phenomenon: I
> discovered yesterday that in Finnish, which is not Indo-European, the
> words for "high" and "low" are also used to describe pitch.
>
> Bob.
>
>
>

Thank you very much for this information. I am the one who posted
the original "Why high is high" message and caused a huge
discussion that gradually went to topics, which are not very
relevant to my questions.  But now you gave me an interesting
information. Please clarify one matter (I need to be sure):  does
'high'  in Finnish mean a sound of high frequency (like in English,
Polish, etc.) or opposite?

Other people who now other non-Indo-European languages or who
has non-Indo-European-speaking friends: please contribute and tell
us how are sounds described in Chinese, Japanese, Hungarian or
any other language!

Pawel Kusmierek


*************************************

Pawel Kusmierek
Department of Neurophysiology
Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology
3, Pasteur St., 02-093 Warsaw, Poland

tel. (48-22) 659 85 71 ex 379 or 388
fax  (48-22) 822 53 42
E-mail pq@nencki.gov.pl
ICQ 11740175

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