Blog Series: Is Music the Universal Language?
What Do We Mean When We Say Music Is a “Language”?
Exploring the intersections of music, linguistics, and learning, this six-part series is based on my final paper during my Master’s degree. It rethinks what it means to acquire language and asks whether music itself can be considered one.
Pt. 1
We’ve all heard the phrase “music is the universal language,” but what research has been done to prove or disprove that music can be classified as a language? Understanding first language acquisition, or how people develop their native language, has fascinated researchers for decades. Second Language Acquisition (SLA) only emerged as its own field in the 1960s–70s. Early studies focused on errors, but as linguists began exploring how people actually acquire a new language, SLA grew into a rich area of research. Having studied music for over a decade before turning to linguistics, I can’t help but notice the parallels between Second Language Acquisition and Music Acquisition. Just as we acquire language, we also acquire music through immersion, practice, and exposure, raising the question of whether music itself could be considered a kind of second language.
The truth is, most research comparing music and language still leans on outdated cognitive models in relation to first language acquisition, the same ones linguists have spent decades trying to move beyond.
The Missing Conversation
Applied Linguistics, as a field, hasn’t contributed much to the ongoing discussion about how humans acquire musical ability. American linguist Ray Jackendoff was one of the few who tried to bridge this gap, and even fewer followed in his footsteps. For decades, studies have compared music and language using Chomsky’s Universal Grammar, a model that assumes we’re born with built-in linguistic (and perhaps musical) faculties.
This cognitivist approach was once revolutionary. But it’s also limited. It frames both language and music as static systems processed inside the mind, rather than dynamic, social, and ecological phenomena.
Why That Matters
The field of SLA itself has been through several “turns.” Scholars like Lourdes Ortega and Diane Larsen-Freeman have argued for moving beyond the linear, computer-like models of learning that dominated early theories. Instead, they suggest viewing language as complex, adaptive, and emergent, something that is constantly shaped by interaction and context.
So, here’s the question that started this entire project for me:
If SLA has already evolved past the cognitive revolution, why hasn’t music acquisition?
Could it be that the nonlinear, social, and emergentist models of second language learning are exactly what we need to understand how humans acquire music?
The “Musical Turn” in SLA
Imagine if linguistics invited music into its circle of inquiry. Not just as a metaphor or tool for learning languages, but as a system of communication that can itself be acquired, practiced, and developed. That’s what I call a possible “musical turn” in SLA.
If we took what we’ve learned from the evolution of language acquisition theory and applied it to music, we might not only redefine music as a language, we might also expand what we mean by language itself.
In this blog series, I’ll trace how both fields, music and language, developed over the past 40 years, show where they intersected (and where they missed each other), and argue for a new, more inclusive way of thinking about music acquisition through the lens of SLA.
Perhaps it’s time to stop asking whether music is a language, and start asking: what happens if we treat it like a second language in research?
In the next blog, we’ll explore how the field of SLA became rooted in cognitivist thinking and what that means for understanding music.
Read the full [upcoming] series:
Introduction: Is Music the Universal Language, or Even a Language at All? — You are here.
How Linguistics Got Stuck in the Cognitive Loop
Breaking the Pattern: Alternative Theories in Second Language Acquisition
How the Music–Language Debate Began
Beyond Cognitivism: New Perspectives on Music and Language
What’s Next? A Transdisciplinary Future for Music and Language
(Links will be replaced with the actual blog URLs once published.)
About the Author
Alison Bieber is a classically trained vocalist, applied linguist, holistic voice coach, and Owner of Vocalize GR based in Grand Rapids, MI. Her previous work explores the intersection of music, language, and cognition, challenging traditional theories of learning and communication through a transdisciplinary lens.
Interested in working with Alison? Reach out or book a lesson!
