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Thread: Which is your most favorite and least favorite language?

  1. #1

    Which is your most favorite and least favorite language?

    Languages usually are considered beautiful and wonderful to a non-native speaker, and some just really hit the spot with the music of their sounds, and some always really don't sound particularly well. So, what are yours?

    Mine are this:

    Favorite: Austrian German. There is something about a light and flowy form of such a guttoral dialect that just hits the spot and is beautiful so much. Listen to Ode to Joy or 99 Luftballons by Nena, and you can see for yourself.

    Least Favorite: Spanish- Ugh, don't get me started about how the language doesn't flow because of its ridiuclous amount of syllables (requiring it to spoken with superspeed) and how it is perhaps the most mundane vowel sounds in modern major language.
    I enjoy it and I speak it, but I know that it is pretty ugly unless someone has a unique accent. I personally speak it in a unique style that borrows from both Italian and Mexican pronuciaton

  2. #2
    Boll Weevil cuppajoe_9's Avatar
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    I'm a big fan of French (the only language aside from English that I can speak moderately well), Icelandic and Russian. If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be Icelandic. A friend of mine once described it as "like throwing pebbles".

    Walking around my school, it is not uncommon to hear people conversing in Russian, Mandarin, Japanese, French and what sounds to me like Farsi. It's quite lovely.

    I also have friends who are fluent in Polish (which sounds a bit like a tape of somebody who is very excited about something being played backwards) as well as Dutch and German (the languages where every word doubles as an expletive). Shouting words in Dutch is an excellent way to relax. Also, I recomend that everybody hear at least part of Beowulf recited in Old English before they die.

    I think Yiddish has the best curses, it's hard to beat oy vey!

    I don't think I have a least favorite language. Maybe Esperanto.
    Last edited by cuppajoe_9; 11-18-2006 at 02:57 PM.
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    language

    At last friend a point of agreement. I don't like Esperanto much either. I like my native language best -- not English which is a useful powerful tool but ...

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    L'artiste est morte crisaor's Avatar
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    I like spanish, out of habit, if nothing else. I particularly like some accents, when coming from a girl's mouth.
    English too, I find it very rich and complex, but very easy to learn at the same time.
    French sounds nice, so does italian.

    I really don't like how german sounds, I don't know exactly why, it just rubs me the wrong way.
    Ningún hombre llega a ser lo que es por lo que escribe, sino por lo que lee.
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  5. #5
    beside English I love German so much,and I like italian.
    I'm not a big fan of French,it's just my least favourite
    All endings are also beginings. We just don't know it at the time.

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    Metamorphosing Pensive's Avatar
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    Personally, I like all those languages I know. But, one of my friend who has learnt Spanish and French, seems to hate Spanish and she likes French a lot.
    I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew.

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    weer mijn koekjestrommel Schokokeks's Avatar
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    My favourite language definetely is French (due to its beautiful flow and soft sound), with English coming up next (due to its huge vocabulary pool and interesting grammatical constructions just perfect for conversation and literature). I like to read and listen to German, my mother tongue, but I don't like to use it actively in speaking and writing that much.
    I'm very curious as to Scandinavian languages, especially Swedish and Danish, both of which I can speak a few sentences and would like to learn more.
    My least favourite languages are all situated round the Mediterranean Sea. I don't like Spanish and Italian much, because the articulation of speech sounds sounds very "hard" to me, and everywhere I came across any native speaker, there was usually a great deal of shouting involved, and I prefer it quiet .
    "Where mind meets matter, both should woo!"
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    ღ Déjà vu ღ miss tenderness's Avatar
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    My favorite langauge is Arabic,English,French.I find all langauges interesting.

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    My favorite language is Hebrew, which I cannot speak at all. But I love the sound of it. Second comes English (for its fun flexibility) and Russian in third.
    '...A cast of your skull, sir, until the original is available, would be an ornament to any anthropological museum. It is not my intention to be fulsome, but I confess that I covet your skull.' --Dr. Mortimer, The Hound of the Baskervilles

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    Suzerain of Cost&Caution SleepyWitch's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fisherwoman View Post
    I enjoy it and I speak it, but I know that it is pretty ugly unless someone has a unique accent. I personally speak it in a unique style that borrows from both Italian and Mexican pronuciaton
    you seem to have a lot in common with jtolj

    Quote Originally Posted by Jtolj View Post
    Spanish is rather boring with simplified and repitive phonetics, but I like to cross my accent with Italian and Mexican so it has more variety and is pleasent to listen to.

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    Registered User Birdy123's Avatar
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    Besides English, i like latin and Italian. I can't speak either but i like the way they both flow and the different kinds of meanings that single latin words have. However, i do not like German or Austrian as it sounds quite harsh and cold, and reminds me of boring German lessons spent doing nothing whilst being lectured by our German teacher :-)
    "Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel."

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    what is a cait? thevintagepiper's Avatar
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    I really love the sound of Dutch and Swedish. I'd like to learn one of them someday, or Afrikaans, which I also think is beautiful. I love the deeper, more throat-ish sounds in Dutch, and the funky pronunciation in Swedish.
    As for least favorite....I don't know....for some reason I don't really like French. Or Spanish. Perhaps it's all the boasts of "French being the most beautiful language in the world." That turns me off it.
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    Hippie toni's Avatar
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    Aside from English... Well, I haven't learned any languages yet-except for the once a year Italian lessons that our Uncle Franco gives us everytime he's in our country. Laind and I know most of the basic stuff like Good Morning (Buon Giorno) and How-are you? (Cosa stai combinando?) What can I say, Italian sounds lovely and romantic .

    I can't say the same thing about German though, German is quite ridiculous. And the spelling- I could barely spell English words correctly! (no offense to the Germans, okay?)

    About my native language, Filipino- it is sad to say that it is a bit hard to learn because a single word has so many meanings-it depends on how you say it.
    Like the word "Siga" pron. (see-ga) it could mean "start a bonfire" or a
    "bully" " pron.(si-ga) really complicated...
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    weer mijn koekjestrommel Schokokeks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by toni View Post
    German is quite ridiculous. And the spelling- I could barely spell English words correctly!
    Maybe that is because, actually, English spelling and pronunciation are much more alienated than German spelling and pronunciation are , the latter having changed much less in the last 500 years than English pronunciation did.

    Quote Originally Posted by toni
    (no offense to the Germans, okay?)
    None taken .

    Quote Originally Posted by toni
    About my native language, Filipino- it is sad to say that it is a bit hard to learn because a single word has so many meanings-it depends on how you say it.
    Like the word "Siga" pron. (see-ga) it could mean "start a bonfire" or a
    "bully" " pron.(si-ga) really complicated...
    That's so interesting, I'd really love to learn a language where intonation matters . Thai is one, too, isn't it ? I figure it must be quite funny with tourists coming into your country trying to practise the sentences they learned in a crash-course, and actually saying "Excuse me, my feet smell fishy" instead of the intended "Excuse me, where's the fish-market?"
    "Where mind meets matter, both should woo!"
    Currently reading:
    * Paradise Lost by John Milton

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    Hippie toni's Avatar
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    Exclamation

    Maybe that is because, actually, English spelling and pronunciation are much more alienated than German spelling and pronunciation are , the latter having changed much less in the last 500 years than English pronunciation did.

    I am assuming now that you are German That was very interesting language history! I heard that the Germans are considering changing the spelling of some of the words they use...I heard that bit on Deutche Welle Channel.
    Funny, I always watch that channel even though It doesn't make sense to me at all. I esp like the show Arts.21 are you familiar with it? They show everything artsy-fartsy.

    None taken .

    Ok, good!


    That's so interesting, I'd really love to learn a language where intonation matters . Thai is one, too, isn't it ? I figure it must be quite funny with tourists coming into your country trying to practise the sentences they learned in a crash-course, and actually saying "Excuse me, my feet smell fishy" instead of the intended "Excuse me, where's the fish-market?" [/QUOTE]

    I sense that Schokokeks is quite interested in our language... Hmmm.. I could give you a crash-course if you want.. hehe.
    Dreams! adorations! illuminations! religions!
    the whole boatload of sensitive !

    — Allen Ginsberg, Howl II.

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