Toronto Artists Review of“CROATIA AND THE LANGUAGE OF MUSIC”

Toronto Artists looks at an article written by James Mac Donald called “Croatia and the Language of Music.”The reason for examining this post is that Toronto has recently gone through tremendous growth in population and is changing the music scene in a way no other country has seen before. Walking through the streets, one can hear music being played in many different languages. These changes have played a significant role in musicians' looking at new ways to tie in their family roots and crossing over new music boundaries. In the coming years, there will be new music variations of perhaps half English and half another language, which will be incredibly unique. We saw and witnessed these changes happening with Latin culture, such as Regaton and Dembow, bringing a fresh music vibe to North America. Music must continue to grow and be diversified to bring new compositions from music composers and songwriters. Let’s face it, Toronto is going through its biggest influx of newcomers to Canada, and you can hear the changes in music being played as you walk through the downtown core of the megacity.

James Mac Donald's journey to Croatia highlights the irony of how music in Canada evolves with mainstream media changes. He experienced the challenges of learning a new language and culture but also found the amazing aspect of learning a new language through music.

James Mac Donald caught up with Ph.D. Ana Mikic Colic to elaborate on a discussion about Language and Music. The article was written in Feb 2016. https://total-croatia-news.com/lifestyle/croatia-and-the-language-of-music/

“Let’s face it, Croatia is going through an important phase of history as we look to the future of becoming part of the global village. It's going to move forward quicker than any other country in Europe, as it embraces other countries with its friendly culture. The biggest influx will be from North America as they want to get away from the stress and overwhelming world they live in. This brings us to the biggest question of how to promote the Croatian Language and cultural heritage, but how? The music industry may just be the answer.”

“In North America, part of the music culture has been heavily influenced by the Latin style and its upbeat tempo. (I.e. Mark Anthony, Pitbull, and Marvin Gaye.) But who would be the new Croatian wonder? Could music be a mix of Croatian and English worked together in harmony and inspire people from overseas to have artists go there to North America? When one is currently listening to the music situation on the radio it is mostly English, some may argue otherwise based on their regional music station.”

On February 24, 2016, TCN caught up with Ph.D. Ana Mikic Colic, Senior Teaching Assistant, at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Osijek, with her main focus being the Croatian language. In a brief discussion, we asked “What can music do for the Cultural Heritage as well the mainstream pop culture?”

What would music do for the artist and the Croatian Heritage?

Not only music, but culture in general, is an important part of the Croatian national identity. In recent times, besides being a rich heritage that obliges us, and enriches the culture. One can see this especially since music is increasingly considered an important resource for economic development. This in many ways has become unthinkable to build the identity of any region or country without serious notions of culture. Thus, culture and economy close the circle of urban and economic development: cultural values form a specific image or identity of tourist attractions, and tourist attractions then draws tourists, and capital. When we talk specifically about music, I think there is no better way of promoting Croatia as the cultural center of South-Eastern Europe, but by music. Music as a universal language that goes beyond geographical, cultural, political, and all other borders is the best promoter of Croatian cultural heritage, folk customs, and the Croatian language.

Would it help radio stations play more Croatian music, especially with the tourists?

Like most other parts of the world, Croatia is also affected by “Americanisation” a few decades ago, or the blind and uncritical reliance on American or Westernized lifestyle. This may primarily reflect the huge popularity of foreign music, especially since music comes from the English-speaking world. Its diffusion has certainly contributed to the development of technology that allowed us to record sound. That made music easily accessible to everyone, and as a result, music all over the world has become a major industry. The development of electronic media in the second half of the 20th century revolutionized the access and use of music in our daily lives. With a little effort, we can turn on the radio or listen to music on television or the Internet. Because of the widespread, and vast availability of music, the fact that Croatian music hardly finds its way to local listeners, and especially to overseas is astonishing. Part of the guilt for that situation is bear and Croatian radio stations. I don’t know the exact proportions of the participation of local and foreign music on Croatian radio stations, but the fact is that, especially during the tourist season, local music on radio stations could be another valuable incentive to popularize Croatian. The paradox is that during the tourist season Croatian radio stations generally adjust to the guests and foreign music dominates…

Could teachers use the artist's music to help people learn English as well as newcomers learn Croatian?

Learning is always good, especially if it involves an interdisciplinary approach. Music is said to be actually a language beyond language itself. One of the proven highly effective methods of learning a foreign language is through songs. Many people think that listening to music is for relaxation and fun, not thinking that it is also very effective for improving the ability of understanding and communication in a foreign language. How could we use the song as a method of learning? The song consists of two levels: verbal and musical, and in each of them is a story that says something. On the other hand, the prerequisite of good pronunciation for any foreign language is listening, and what better opportunity to listen to native speakers of a language than through music?! By learning the lyrics of songs we also adopt grammatical structures. So, music and language go together. In the brain are processed similarly: music and language combine tones and sounds according to certain rules so it could be said that music imitates the melody of the language. There is no doubt about the benefits of learning a foreign language through music.

What do you think of existing Croatian talented artists that are doing this?

Music is a worldwide phenomenon. All the nations of the world create music because it is understandable to all cultures, and our musicians should use that fact. Any effort to promote the language and culture using music is praiseworthy, and it would be great if this trend goes beyond the limits of random and individual and becomes a general tendency. That will happen when we realize that “the culture” and “the identity” are two inseparable phenomena, which are constantly evolving and complement each other and should form the basis for the creation of the modern image of Croatia.

What is the scenario for the music industry to try this approach even though we have not heard many Artists attempting it?

As I have already pointed out, as long as the music, and culture is not recognized as an economically payable “product” on a global scale, the situation in Croatia will not change. This means that musicians in Croatia will make commercial music that flirts with folk, and as such doesn’t have the potential to get out of the framework of the Croatian space and gain worldwide popularity. However, when it comes to this issue, I secretly hope that the future will deny me…

Summer is just around the corner and these songs are the most memorable as we spend

our vacations with it. It would be great if visitors brought back more than just great photos and wanted to have Croatian artists played on their music station.