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check this out!read this article, think its pretty cool. Some languages, such as Mandarin Chinese and Vietnamese, give speakers' ears a stiff workout. In these 'tonal' languages, the meaning of a word may depend on its tone, or pitch. For example, depending on the tone and how it changes, the Mandarin word "ma" can mean mother, accuse, horse, or hemp (a vegetable fiber used to make rope). All that ear exercise pays off for native speakers. Scientists who recently compared students in Chinese and American music schools found that the Chinese were nine times more likely than the Americans to have perfect pitch, the spooky and much-coveted ability to hear the pitch of a note without comparing it to another note. Fewer than one American in 10,000 has perfect pitch. cool ey? -dRe- at 1:21 AM 0 comments
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