Alessandro Bosetti: Mask Mirror

Mask Mirror : On Language as Music
Alessandro Bosetti ©2008
With phone-in contributions by anonymous listeners during a Mask Mirror live Radio Show at ORF - Kunstradio, June 15th 2008.
More on Mask Mirror at http://www.melgun.net/bosettilive.html

Why i think no language is better (or more beautiful) than any other languge.

Mask Mirror : Hey, have a good evening.
Listener : oh, thank you you are so kind.
Mask Mirror : : bye bye
Listener : bye.

Because every language is the expression of a cultural identity and it is not possible to judge wether a cultural identity (and therefore a language) is better or more beautiful than another one.

Listener : is it possible to speak with the word-machine ?
Mask Mirror : no.
Listener : it isn’t possible ?
Mask Mirror : yes.
Listener : oh.. was just calling…
Mask Mirror : no !
Listener : yes or no ?
Mask Mirror : yes

It is possible to say that a language is better functioning in relation to a context but not as an absolute

Listener : and i have to say something or s the machine that tells me something ?
Mask Mirror : can I borrow your car ?
Listener : what ?
Mask Mirror : how do you know that ? Bags to be reused. What do you think of your granfather ?
Listener : of my grandfather i cannot think anything because i’ve never seen him. I think he was a very important man. He was very beautiful. And he was… I don’t know…
Mask Mirror : in an enchanted forest.
Listener : what ?
Mask Mirror : you can go on.
Listener : are we speaking about an enchanted forest ?
Mask Mirror : no, i wanted to hear about your grandfather.
Listener : oh, i can tell you that my grandfather was, as i told you before, a very important man. He was born in the 19th century, And he was with blond hair and blue eyes. And mustaches. Very tall. Very elegant.

It is not possible to express an aestetic judgement over a language.

Mask Mirror : was he born in wien ?
Listener : no, no, he was italian.
Mask Mirror : oh
Listener : yes, he was italian, he was born in a very beautiful town. On the north of Italy. And he was called, you know ? Ercole was his name.
Mask Mirror : ooh
Listener : mh mh.
Mask Mirror : in the train, yeah.

As far as I am concerned all languages can appear beautiful as well as ugly. I prefer to focus on their beauty.

Listener : and do you want to hear something about my grandmother ?
Mask Mirror : no.

No aesthetic judgment over a language has to be expressed in a language.

Mask Mirror : who is good ?
Listener : you want only to hear something about my grandfather ?
Mask Mirror : yes.
Listener : he was able to… , how do you say ? to go on a horse. You know ? A horse ?
Mask Mirror : hor-se
Listener : to go in the forest with the horse.
Mask Mirror : hor-se
Listener : you know ?
Mask Mirror : hor-se

An aestetic appreciation of a language does not have to be expressed in a language.

Mask Mirror : to go with the horse
Listener : to go with the horse, yes.

There is no language that can talk about all languages.

Listener : no horse but … i hear a very beautiful music,
Mask Mirror : are you scared ?
Listener : what ?
Mask Mirror : are you scared ?
Listener : scared ? what is scared ? i dont know what is it.

There is no universal language.

Mask Mirror : can you speak other languages ?
Listener : no

To say that a language is more musical than another language means to conform to a narrow idea of what music is.

Mask Mirror : so what your language ?
Listener : German
Mask Mirror : do you understand english ?
Listener : yes

To say that all languages are musical opens a wide field of possibilities on what music is or could be or already was in other times and places but not here and now.

Mask Mirror : do you have any cash on you ?
Listener : yes
Mask Mirror : how much ?
Listener : much.
Mask Mirror : how much ?
Listener : 250 eur.
Mask Mirror : do you think that’s enough ?

There is no language that can express an aestetic judgement over another language.
(Since ) a language can neither speak other languages nor understand them.

Mask Mirror : no, i mean, seriously, do you think that’s enough ?
Listener : no, it’s not.
Mask Mirror : I think that’s enough.
Listener : no, it’s not.

A person can speak other languages. A language can’t.
A person can exists without language. A language can’t exists without istelf.

Mask Mirror : so, a million would be enough ?
Listener : for a while. yes.

When you translate what are you taking out of a language to another language ? Supposedly the meaning.

Mask Mirror : so what do you want to do with this 250 eur ?
Listener : I dont know.
Mask Mirror : so for example you could educate or you could burn. Blow, you could blow. You ca blow the money.
Listener : Blow the money. Blow the money. Blow the money.
Mask Mirror : stop.
Listener : stop. stop.

It is not clear wheter music is a language itself.
Music can be described using language.
Can language be described using music ?
( Just if we concede that music is language).
If music is not a language but many languages, can music be translated ?

Mask Mirror : plant. you can plant. you could plant threes. you could disappear. you could spend the money to disappear.

What is the meaning of the phrase “music is an universal language” ?
Is that equivalent to “language is an universal language” ?
Or, “Language is an universal music ?”

Known languages on earth are ca. 6000. Many of those are dying.

Many languages we don’t know do not feel like languages (they do not feel like meaning something).

Many musics we don’t know do not feel like musics.

Thanks for calling Mask Mirror, you will be connected in a few moments.
Mask Mirror is partly human and partly machine, partly language generator and partly musical instrument. Feel free to interact with itin the way you prefer, to converse, ask questions, bring up wathever subject you may be interested in talking about.
Mask Mirror understands English, german, Italian, French and very little spanish. Even though it can only express itslef in english with a strong italian accent.