Re: [TANGO-L] leading - the right stuff

[Huck Kennedy <huck @eninet.EAS.ASU.EDU>]

Tom Stermitz writes:
> Frank,
>
> These are good points, but I disagree with your basic thought that
> Language is more complex than dance.
>
> (1) Presumably, the human brain can ramp-up in complexity to its
> potential, whether we are referring to the language of speech or
> language of movement.
>
> So you could make a case that they are equally complex.
>
> (2) Brain-muscle interactions are such that we have a lot of "wiring"
> already in place for speech. Mouth, facial muscles, fingers and arms,
> all have a lot of "fine-motor/nerve" control, i.e. ARTICULATION.
> Tango asks us to articulate muscles that aren't normally that fine
> tuned,

     But that can also be true of language, Tom.  For instance,
in English we use a certain part of the mouth to make the
"R" sound (don't ask me which).  In trying to learn Spanish,
we need to trill R's with the tip of the tongue, and that can be
difficult for some English speakers because we normally don't use
the muscles required.  Trying to learn French or German is even
more difficult, because they use the uvula to make the "R" sound,
which we never use.  On the other hand, people trying to learn
English have difficulty with duplicating our "R" sound, or
worse, the "th" sound, which is very foreign to most other people.

Huck