Abstract This study explores how linguistic prosody influences musical forms across different languages and cultural traditions, comparing tonal languages (e.g., Mandarin, Yoruba, Thai) and non-tonal languages (e.g., English, Italian, Russian). It demonstrates that musical traditions reflect linguistic prosody, suggesting a shared cognitive system between speech and music. By synthesizing linguistic, musical, and neuroscientific research, this paper contributes to the growing understanding of the cognitive and cultural connections between language and music.