Anonymous    895780 Mon, 01 Sep 08 09:31 PM From another newsgroup: (regarding problems with translating English movies into German) "It's even more of a challenge going the other way...there's a story about some translator smoothly giving the English for ... on over her headset and asked what the problem was, and she explained "I was just waiting for the verb".." Heh. Reminds me of what the late, great Quentin Crisp wrote in his book "How to Go to the Movies" - he said, in reference to a movie, that when you're reading an English edition of Marcel Proust, "if you turn the pages too fast, you may miss the principal verb." "Then there's the story about whether words for beautiful things are intrinsically beautiful themselves: A Frenchman, a Spaniard, and a ... word - mariposa. Mariposa. It is like sugar for the tongue." The German says "So what is wrong with Schmetterling?"" Which reminds me of something I'd like to read about: How do people around the world "hear" each other's languages and accents? I'm guessing, unfortunately, that most non-German-speaking people do not find German to be an attractive-sounding language or accent. (Regardless of German history, I mean.) However, I wouldn't be too surprised if the same were true regarding English, but I've never heard anyone comment on that. Most Caribbean and African accents, at least, sound syrupy-sweet to me, though not exactly seductive. Now, the Spanish and French languages sound attractive to at least half of those people who don't speak either language, I'm guessing. Lenona. Anonymous Accents, References, Business, Career, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Languages

	Krzysztof Mitko    895795 Mon, 01 Sep 08 11:19 PM (Email Removed) twierdzi, że: "Which reminds me of something I'd like to read about: How do people around the world "hear" each other's languages ... I wouldn't be too surprised if the same were true regarding English, but I've never heard anyone comment on that." For the Polish-speaking persons, English sounds very weird: like a mumbling of a guy with a very bad cold and completely blocked nose. Try to say something like "wamwamwamwamwamwamwam" trough your nose and you'll get the feeling of how English is perceived :). French and German - more or less the same opinions as among the English-speaking people. The Official Unabashed Scientific Dictionary defines cation as a positively charged kitten. Krzysztof Mitko Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Languages

	tony cooper    895813 Tue, 02 Sep 08 12:36 AM "Which reminds me of something I'd like to read about: How do people around the world "hear" each other's languages and accents?" Dutch, to me, is the ugliest language I've ever heard spoken. That is, to a person who does not understand the language but just hears the sounds. Korean sets my teeth on edge. A female speaker of Korean reading a sticky-sweet love note sounds angry and complaining. Spoken French sounds dismissive. Short bursts of French sound like someone talking about something that they are emphasizing that is of no importance. Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida tony cooper Accents, Speaking, Chat, Friendships, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Asia, Korea, Languages

	Athel Cornish-Bowden    895896 Tue, 02 Sep 08 12:24 PM "Which reminds me of something I'd like to read about: How do people around the world "hear" each other's languages and accents?" "Dutch, to me, is the ugliest language I've ever heard spoken. That is, to a person who does not understand the language but just hears the sounds..." I think Hebrew has it beaten. But it's curious, there is a broader range of agreement about which sound nice than might have been guessed. Most people I've heard express an opinion on the subject think that Italian sounds nice and Dutch doesn't. Athel Cornish-Bowden Accents, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, France, Languages

	Athel Cornish-Bowden    895907 Tue, 02 Sep 08 12:40 PM "Which reminds me of something I'd like to read about: How do people around the world "hear" ... I wouldn't be too surprised if the same were true regarding English, but I've never heard anyone comment on that." How non-anglophones hear English is not a question I can answer, but I can answer the converse question from a British English point of view: Ugly: Hebrew, Arabic, Dutch, Afrikaans, in that order Beautiful: Italian, Spanish, French, Greek (but excessively fond of the letter s) Monotone: Russian, Portuguese, Danish Singsong: Welsh, Chinese, Swedish Nondescript: Turkish, Danish, Japanese Consisting entirely of consonants (mainly sh): Portuguese (as spoken in Portugal), Russian Consisting entirely of vowels: Danish Note that German doesn't appear in any of these lists. Although often described as guttural, I hear it as being much less so than Hebrew or Dutch. It can sound beautiful in the right mouth. athel Athel Cornish-Bowden British English, Vowels, Consonants, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Asia, China, Languages

	Krzysztof Mitko    895911 Tue, 02 Sep 08 04:10 PM Athel Cornish-Bowden twierdzi, że: "How non-anglophones hear English is not a question I can answer, but I can answer the converse question from a British English point of view: Monotone: Russian," This is a surprise for me. Russian is very melodic and definitely not monotone - at least from the point of view of the Poles. "Consisting entirely of consonants (mainly sh): Portuguese (as spoken in Portugal), Russian" Try Czech. Those below really exist (hint: speak schwa before r and l): Strč prst skrz krk - Stick your finger inside your throat. Smrž pln skvrn zvlhl z mlh - A morel (mushroom) full of stains has been wetted by the fog. Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony. Krzysztof Mitko British English, Consonants, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Tips, Languages, Ireland

	Glenn Knickerbocker    896032 Wed, 03 Sep 08 03:32 AM "Athel Cornish-Bowden twierdzi, ?e:" "Monotone: Russian," "This is a surprise for me. Russian is very melodic and definitely not monotone" It's the absence of secondary stress, together with the length of the words. English speakers hear a long word like "razgovarivayutsya" as one long mumble with a single pitch spike in the middle. It might also be the context in which he hears the language, be it bleak movies or dull political talk. You'd certainly come away from a Georgian political TV talk show thinking Georgian was the most monotonous language possible, when in ordinary life it's practically spoken song. ¬R http://users.bestweb.net/~notr/cats "Would you like to watch a movie about George Wendt while eating Chinese food with a cat?" Andy Simmons Glenn Knickerbocker Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Context, Songs, Asia, China, Languages, Music

	Athel Cornish-Bowden    896044 Wed, 03 Sep 08 08:10 AM "Athel Cornish-Bowden twierdzi, ?e: This is a surprise for me. Russian is very melodic and definitely not monotone" "It's the absence of secondary stress, together with the length of the words. English speakers hear a long word like "razgovarivayutsya" as one long mumble with a single pitch spike in the middle." That's right. Krzysztof's name suggests that he is Polish, in which case he may well understand a lot of Russian even if he doesn't speak it, so he's probably not in the same position as an English speaker. Incidentally, Polish sounds very different from Russian to my ears, as different as Danish and Swedish, or Portuguese and Spanish. Curiously I find Russian and Portuguese sound similar enough to be confused with one another (if you are far enough away not to pick up individual words not that it's easy to pick up individual words in either of them even if you're very close). A Russian I met in Portugal once told me that this is quite a common impression. athel Athel Cornish-Bowden Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Languages

	Pete    896410 Sat, 06 Sep 08 03:10 AM "Which reminds me of something I'd like to read about: How do people around the world "hear" each other's languages ... and French languages sound attractive to at least half of those people who don't speak either language, I'm guessing. Lenona." Italian and Spanish acquaintances tell me English has too many dipthongs. Words like 'fire', 'boy', 'down', 'you' and 'I' weary their Latin ears, I gather. Peter Pete Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Languages