Text-setting Constraints in English Songs Sung by Native Korean Speakers

Abstract

This study explores text-setting phenomena in English and Korean children’s songs, asserting that the constraints that regulate the alignment of a specific language to music differ according to the typological and phonological difference of the language. Within the Optimality Theory framework, the two representative constraints that pertain to text-setting are tested with children’s songs in English and Korean. As a result, the metrical constraint critically operates for universal text-setting patterns in English verses, whereas the grouping constraint ranks high for Korean verses. These reversed rankings represent that English follows a stress-to-beat mapping system while Korean versification works at a syllable-to-note mapping system. Based on this difference, this study attempts to observe the text-setting patterns in English children’s songs by native Korean speakers. Through the analysis, it is observed that English versification by native Korean speakers shows different text-setting patterns from the universal patterns by native English speakers. The Korean participants prefer to fulfill the grouping constraint rather than the metrical constraint in English text-setting. In addition, the native phonological grammar also affects English syllabification since vowel epenthesis occurs after an obstruent coda in English lyrics. This nativization process of English verse causes idiosyncratic text-setting form by native Korean speakers. Through the analyses, it is suggested that the relative importance of constraints depends on a specific language, and that the native phonology can affect the versification of a foreign language.