clamav-milter version 0.88.4 on localhost
Status: O

The discussion has been interesting- good to see a serious discussion of such an intriguing subject on this liszt.  I would like to bring to the discussion a low brow  philistine perspective.  What is a language really? A good operational definition: if you can use it to order breakfast, its a language. If you cannot,then it is not a language. Using this very sensible (to me)  operational definition, music is  clearly not a language.  But can music communicate? Of course it can- very powerfully. But you cannot use it to ask the waitress to bring you two scrambled eggs, toast, coffee, and orange juice.  Human curiosity is a wonderful thing.Far be it for me to question the importance of the "music as language " discussion, which has featured many fascinating perspectives, furnished much food for thought. But in the final analysis why not accept that music is a thing in itself?

Bernard Chasan