- #61
Silicon Waffle
- 160
- 202
I think it's Madarin.
What do foreign languages sound like to you?
- Context: Lingusitics
- Thread starter Sophia
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Discussion Overview
The discussion revolves around participants' perceptions of how various foreign languages sound to them, even if they do not understand the languages. It includes subjective impressions of languages from different regions and cultural contexts.
Discussion Character
- Exploratory
- Conceptual clarification
- Debate/contested
Main Points Raised
- Some participants describe British English as aristocratic and melodic, while American English is seen as more casual, with Texas English being viewed negatively.
- Australian English is perceived as relaxed and laid-back, whereas German is described as familiar despite limited vocabulary.
- French is often considered complicated, while Spanish and Italian are viewed positively as languages associated with joy and culture.
- Japanese is perceived by some as sounding argumentative, while others find it normalized once understood better.
- Chinese is described as softer than Japanese but difficult to differentiate by some participants.
- Russian is appreciated for its emotional expressiveness, while Arabic is characterized by its hard sounds and exotic nature.
- Some participants find Finnish to be related to Mongolian, while others dispute this claim, stating Finnish belongs to the Uralic family.
- There are mixed feelings about the sounds of languages like Ukrainian, French, and Swedish, with some finding them pleasant and others comical or confusing.
- Portuguese is likened to Spanish with a Russian accent by some, while others emphasize its distinctiveness.
Areas of Agreement / Disagreement
Participants express a variety of subjective opinions about how different languages sound, with no consensus reached on any particular viewpoint. Multiple competing views remain regarding the characteristics and perceptions of each language discussed.
Contextual Notes
Some statements reflect personal interpretations and experiences with languages, which may not align with linguistic classifications or definitions. There are unresolved claims about language families and relationships that participants have debated.
- #62
- 5,013
- 2,553
Whenever I don't understand the language, I always hope that the other person will speak louder and slower...
(see about 8:25)
(see about 8:25)
- #63
Rx7man
- 425
- 189
My best friend moved to Taiwan and learned Mandarin.. He's actually the guy who showed me that video about 10 years ago, before he started learning it... I'll have to send it to him again and see if he can translate now :)Silicon Waffle said:
- #64
Psinter
- 278
- 785
This is so oh true.Choppy said:
- #65
Tosh5457
- 130
- 28
German seems angry all the time, and French sounds snob 
Nordic countries languages I find odd and interesting. Russian sounds oddly like European Portuguese, if I'm distracted I could mistake someone on a public transport speaking Russian as speaking Portuguese, since the sounds are very similar. On the other hand, Spanish is a very similar language to Portuguese, in vocabulary, but sounds totally different (sounds more similar to Brazilian Portuguese).
Nordic countries languages I find odd and interesting. Russian sounds oddly like European Portuguese, if I'm distracted I could mistake someone on a public transport speaking Russian as speaking Portuguese, since the sounds are very similar. On the other hand, Spanish is a very similar language to Portuguese, in vocabulary, but sounds totally different (sounds more similar to Brazilian Portuguese).
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