Which is your most favorite and least favorite language?

[Fisherwoman]

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

[cuppajoe_9]

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.

[ennison]

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 ...

[crisaor]

I like spanish, out of habit, if nothing else. I particularly like some accents, when coming from a girl's mouth. :p
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.

[rashikwa]

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

[Pensive]

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.

[Schokokeks]

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 :).

[miss tenderness]

My favorite langauge is Arabic,English,French.I find all langauges interesting.

[higley]

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.

[SleepyWitch]

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 :yawnb:


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.

[Birdy123]

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 :-)

[thevintagepiper]

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.

[toni]

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...

[Schokokeks]

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.


(no offense to the Germans, okay?)
None taken :).


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 :nod:. 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?" :D

[toni]

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:lol: 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.:lol:
None taken :).

Ok, good!:D


That's so interesting, I'd really love to learn a language where intonation matters :nod:. 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?" :D[/QUOTE]

I sense that Schokokeks is quite interested in our language...:) Hmmm.. I could give you a crash-course if you want..:lol: hehe.

[Dorian Gray]

Favourite languages; 1. French. 2. Italian 3. English.

I also love Spanish though. I think it's a very sensual language. Just like Italian and French. Also a fan of Russian, Romanian and Gaelic.

Least favourite language; German (though Austrian German is lovely indeed. Nena doesn't speak it though so I don't get that example).

[Bastet]

What can I say? I am from Spain, I've been speaking Spanish all my life and teaching it for a good while, and I love it. I admit that the grammar is not as easy to learn as that of other languages because the verb conjugations are more complex, but I still love it. Just like every other romance language, Spanish is a very rich language, and something that makes it even richer is the influence of Arabic in it.
When it comes to pronunciation, I think that it is a very smooth language, nothing like more gutural languages that make my throat sore, and it is easy to read because the general rule is that every letter is always read in the same way, which takes away most of the guessing that takes place when trying to read languages like German or even English, which I also like despite the fact that they're completely different from Spanish. I tend to take difference as a good thing, and I admit that, even if German pronunciation is not my favorite, the fact that it still has the old Germanic declinations makes it very valuable and interesting from a linguistic point of view.

I've heard many times that Spanish people are loud or that they talk loudly, and I wish I could see the whole thing from the other side to be able to realize what it is that make people say that, because I've been Spanish all my life and I hardly raise my voice. But, like I said, I admit that being involved in the "loudness" makes me deaf to it! hahaha! :)

I don't have any least favorite languages. As a linguist I've learned something from every different language I've studied. And the ones that I don't understand I can't criticize.

by the way, interesting thread, Fisherwoman! ;)

[soulsistachick]

My most favourite language ever is SPANISH!!! and my most disliked language is Japanese

[SleepyWitch]

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 .[/I]
I had a Spanish housemate in England who was like this. Whenever her friends came to pick her up, they wouldn't ring the bell but stood outside the house and shouted "Lauuuurrrrra!" up to the first floor where she lived.
I like the language anyway, though :)
My fave language is English and I especially like the Welsh accent and intonation, but all kinds of British English and Scotish accents are great too :)
I also like American English, but there are some American accents I don't like too much.
The funniest language I've encountered so far is Norwegian because it sounds like a mix of German, Old English and modern English and is just fun to learn :)
As for least favourite, I don't really have any. I could never learn French but I like listening to it anyway.

[Helga]

There are so many beautiful languages, but I have to say that ever since I read Macbeth I have loved English, it dosen't matter were you are in the UK you can always find that great accent! I also love German, I'm learning to speak it and can read a simple text and just everything about it is beautiful.
My least fav would be Filipenes... my frind speaks it and I can't say I enjoy it much...

I saw someone said his fav was Icelandic so I want to encourage EVERYONE to learn my language, cause it is beautiful and you would be amazed by all the beautiful literature we have. Throughout the centuries, beautiful poetry and great novels

[SleepyWitch]

hehe, Helga :) I'd love to learn Icelandic! will you teach me and I'll help you with your German?:idea:

[carina_gino20]

my favorites would be:

1. filipino - my mother tongue. For me, it's very complete and also quite flexible. one of my non-filipino friends once commented that it sounds musical, although my friend's boyfriend who is Malaysian says we sound like talking ducks...lol.

2. spanish - it just sounds very romantic and well, i guess it's the spanish influence in the philippines that makes me really want to learn it.

3. english! - can't do away with it.

i'm not very fond of the sound of vietnamese language.

[Taliesin]

Hmmm.
We like:
Estonian, of course.
The Sami (Lappish) languages. Like Finnish, but sounds even more arhaic.
Irish and other celtic languages. Guess you can see it from our screen-name. Welsh seems quite flowing, but Irish on the other hand, short with lots on throat consonants. It just has a very nice sound.
Old greek sounds also nice and interesting.

We don't like Russian very much. Seems like orcish or something like that, but the reason for it, we think is the Estonian Russian community. It forms quite a large part of the general population, but the crime rate is higher among the russians here and the ones that show out most are the young ones that talk very loudly and use a lot of swearwords and tend to be aggressive. (russian probably has a separate word class for swearwords, like among nouns, verbs, adjectives. It has so large a variety of them)

[maurrutiac]

Hello. I´m María angélica. I'm from Chile. I´m a teacher of English and I enyoy reading classics with my students.

[Mortis Anarchy]

I'm Mexican so Spanish, actually all of the romance languages. I'm learning Portuguese and German. Arabic, Russian...even though its pretty harsh.

[BobbyMacG]

..................Arabic................
No translation of the Qur'an, however faithful to the meaning, has ever been fully successful. Arabic when expertly used is a remarkably terse, rich and forceful language and the Arabic of the Qur'an is by turns striking, soaring, vivid, terrible, tender and breathtaking.

Reference: "Islam" edited by John Alden Williams George Braziller NY 1962

........................Arabic.................
a remarkably terse, rich and forcefull language.

[vheissu]

I've always loved French...I've started lessons this year, though it might take me quite some time to learn it (classes r only once a week!!:( )
I quite like the other 3 I speak, greek, italian and english. Spanish (know a bit of it) and Arabic are also nice languages...
Can't really think of any I dislike....personally, it's overdragged, high pitched,false accents and intonations which hurt my poor, poor ears. Especially when in english!

[Niamh]

Is mise Niamh agus Is maith liom Gaeilge.:)
I'm Niamh and i like Irish
Shame i cant remember much of it though:blush:
I think Swedish is a beautiful language. i'm not sure if i like polish though. I work with a lot of polish people and it just sounds like they're constantly telling each other to shush.

[cuppajoe_9]

hehe, Helga :) I'd love to learn Icelandic! will you teach me and I'll help you with your German?:idea:

http://icelandic.hi.is/

That's a good start. It's a bit like going to school and learning it, which turns me off a bit, but it's got good soundbites and such, although it's a bit hard to use, as all the buttons are labeled in Icelandic.

I have a few more links I can post if you're interested.

[SleepyWitch]

thanks cuppa :) I've registered :) will look at it next week :)
soundbites are a plus :)

[Schokokeks]

I esp like the show Arts.21 are you familiar with it?
No, I'm afraid I am not. But that's amazing that you concern yourself with German media, given that you don't like the language :p



I sense that Schokokeks is quite interested in our language...:) Hmmm.. I could give you a crash-course if you want..:lol: hehe.
Of course I am. Thanks for your offer, I'll come back to it once I'm done with my Ancient Greek ;)

[LPRox015]

I like Italian (which I can speak) and French (which I am learning). They are both beautiful languages. But my BF loves it when I speak spanish.

[andave_ya]

I love (don't laugh) the Elvish language from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books. I can't speak it, but there is a lovely website called the Council of Elrond that teaches it for free. It's such a lovely, silvery language.

Least favorite? I'm not sure. Perhaps Chinese. I suppose because it's rather sharp and birdlike.

The language I'm learning for my high school, though, is Arabic. My family hails from the Middle East. Arabic is hard!:bawling: But it is a neat language.

[Beeboo1122]

my ffavorite language is English then Arabic I thought that learning Arabic is as a challenge unlike others.

[livelaughlove]

Though I speak mandarin chinese pretty fluently (my mom is chinese), I would definitely not consider it a beautiful language. I also speak Spanish, and while it's not the most beautiful, I don't think it's ugly either. English is too plain. I like italian a lot, but only know a couple words. Italian songs are beautiful as well.

[ennison]

This is my least favourite language.

[lit_lover]

I would have to say my favorite languages are Hawaiian and Portuguese. I love Hawaiian because Ive lived in Hawaii all my life, and i am hawaiian. Also i can speak it moderately well. I like Portuguese because I am also Portuguese and i love the sound of it. ;)

[Iago]

Favorite languages are English, Finnish (a bit biased here), Italian, Spanish and Greek (esp. ancient Greek)

The ones that turn me off are Russian and Dutch. Hmm..Maybe Danish too :p

[Cien]

My favorite language is whatever language I'm currently studying. So that would be German at the moment. But it has also been French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Russian, Finnish, etc etc etc. I think Finnish is my favorite as far as sounds go, Latin is my favorite as far as curiosity (I use the word "curious" the way Alice [in Wonderland] uses it here), Russian is one that I just really enjoy, Arabic is very beautiful and musical, Japanese is fun because its grammar does not try to kill me...

In other words, I am indecesive or else I spread the language-love around way too much.

And I'd like to copy ennison and say that English is my least favorite language -- it's kind of very trendy to think English is crap, and I'd love to say it and mean it -- but I'd be lying. English is weird, but its history is fascinating. As Oscar Wilde said, "...the morality of art consists in the perfect use of an imperfect medium." English, like every language, is an imperfect medium -- and I revere those who use it perfectly or nearly so.

[Alexei]

I'll come back to it once I'm done with my Ancient Greek ;)

You are studuying Ancient Greek? Cool. I am fighting with it too. It is a bautiful language and I like it. But still sometimes I have some dificulties with the translation. I love Latin too. There I am a bit more sure in my knoleges, but still I have some problems with Caesar's "De bello Galico"

[yingqiee]

My favorite would be english and chinese(i really like quite a few of its dialects)

[Lioness_Heart]

I love Latin and Spanish (I can speak both of those and think that they sound really nice). But I'm not too keen on French; I think that it often sounds very harsh. I also love the sounds of gaelic and welsh... There is a guy at my school who speaks Russian, and that sounds really cool (and also quite hot).
I am currently trying to learn Swahili, because I'm going to Tanzania in the summer... so if anyone knows any, I would really apprecialte some help... I am also trying to learn how to read hyrogliphics (sorry, I can't spell today).

[della]

Why Chinese is birdlike and not beautiful? I am deeply fascinated by the chinese poems. To those people who don't like chinese, i suggest you reading some original ancient poems, then you can get some real musicality of chinese.

[Annamariah]

I like Finnish and English the most. Finnish, because it's my mother tongue and English because I studied it many years and it's the one language you can use almost everywhere.

I've also studied Swedish, but I've never really liked it. I don't like the way it sounds, though sometimes reading Swedish aloud is quite fun. (Can't really make up my mind, can I? :D)

[crisaor]

I like Finnish and English the most. I've also studied Swedish, but I've never really liked it. I don't like the way it sounds, though sometimes reading Swedish aloud is quite fun. (Can't really make up my mind, can I? :D)
Annamariah, I was under the impression that finnish and swedish were very much alike, or at the very least, that two people speaking one and the other could understand themselves with ease. Would you consider this a misconception?

[sumalan monica]

Talking much about oneself can also be a means to conceal oneself.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Read not to contradict and confute, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider.
SIr Francis Bacon

[ranzy]

Annamariah, I was under the impression that finnish and swedish were very much alike, or at the very least, that two people speaking one and the other could understand themselves with ease. Would you consider this a misconception?

Maybe Annamariah can answer better than me, because I can't speak finnish and swedish. But I know that swedish is a Germanic language (so Indo-European) while Finnish belongs to the Finno-Ugric languages, which are not Indo-European. So there isn't any relation between them.

[Cien]

Annamariah, I was under the impression that finnish and swedish were very much alike, or at the very least, that two people speaking one and the other could understand themselves with ease. Would you consider this a misconception?


I don't speak either fluently, but have studied both a bit. They are not languages one could understand in an interchangeable way. As somebody pointed out, Finnish and Swedish do not belong to the same language families. Also, Finnish is particularly isolated. It is very unlike almost every language on earth except with a few distant exceptions within its language family, but it is rather different even from those. It's one of those languages that frequently shows up on "hardest to learn" lists because of its noun declensions, also. But it has a lovely, beautiful sound.

[Annamariah]

Annamariah, I was under the impression that finnish and swedish were very much alike, or at the very least, that two people speaking one and the other could understand themselves with ease. Would you consider this a misconception?

As ranzy and Cien already said, Finnish and Swedish are not related, even though Finland and Sweden are neighbours. The only language which reminds Finnish quite a bit is Estonian. On the other hand, the rest of the Scandinavian languages are very much alike (Swedish, Norwegian, Danish), so maybe you were remembering that :)

Swedish is a compulsory subject in Finnish schools, so every Finn should be able to speak it ;)

[crisaor]

As ranzy and Cien already said, Finnish and Swedish are not related, even though Finland and Sweden are neighbours. The only language which reminds Swedish quite a bit is Estonian. On the other hand, the rest of the Scandinavian languages are very much alike (Swedish, Norwegian, Danish), so maybe you were remembering that :)

Swedish is a compulsory subject in Finnish schools, so every Finn should be able to speak it ;)
I see, thank you Annamariah, you're probably right, perhaps I was remembering the other scandinavian languages. I've only heard a bit of bokmål (norwegian), and it sounded nice, if that's any indication for the others. :)
Good to know about swedish teaching in finnish schools, that's also another explanation, even if there isn't any language compatibility.

And thanks to ranzy and cien also, you've been very helpful too.

[Mugwump101]

I really like Japanese, German, Arabic, korean, French and English because they're really beautiful and unique. Although I really love all the languages except.....

I detest Latin-- mostly because of my current latin teacher who can't teach it correctly, and the last part because the Romans were crazy and had to make exceptions to everything. You can't even speak it or know if you're pronounciating it correctly as they are no audio files online or affordable audio tapes >.<

[DieterM]

What a nice thread indeed! I enjoyed reading all the inputs, it’s a nice way to learn more about you fellow LitNetters. And of course, being Austrian, I blushed and positively beamed with joy when I saw some of you mention that you liked Austrian German. It’s a funny version of German which some Austrian authors have recently started to explore (and exploit, for the pleasure of many Austrian readers). And just for the record, no, neither Nena's songs nor the "Ode to Joy" are in Austrian German but very much in German "Made in Germany".

As for my own favourite languages, I simply love all of them, I guess (even Latin, which I’ve been studying for six years and read rather fluently back when I was a teenager). I’ve learned English and French at school, Spanish at university, and have tried to self-teach me Italian (only the swear words and the odd sentence stuck), Arabic, Russian and Greek, with not so much success, alas. I think I particularly love modern Greek, though; surely because I’m very much in love with the country itself.

There’ve been many languages I disliked, for example Arabic, which I found harsh, and Turkish. But what can I say? Went to Arabic countries and to Turkey, listened to people talk, bought music CDs and came to love both of them. So today, it’s only the Asian languages I don’t like that much. But not because I don’t like how they sound; only because I know they’re too difficult to learn for someone as old as I ;-)

[cacian]

Talking much about oneself can also be a means to conceal oneself.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Read not to contradict and confute, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider.
SIr Francis Bacon

I could not agree with the above. Reading encourages thinking and ultimately chatting. Weighing and considering is for problem solving.

[kev67]

My favourite language out of those I've attempted was Italian. It's a pretty language, but it's easier to make out the words than French. Like German, the spelling is regular with few inconsistencies. It's a pity not more countries speak it. With apologies to Kiki, my least favourite language was Dutch. It sounds very guttural. There are too many z's in it. The best thing about it is that the grammar is relatively simple.

[aaron stark]

The languages I prefer the most are French and English, though I'm not a native speaker in neither of them. I'd even say I would choose these languages above Dutch, my native language, which also means I rather read in French and English than in Dutch. This goes for any text, whether it's a huge novel or just a tiny paragraph in the newspaper

[mona amon]

I don't have any least favourites, but English is my most favourite.

[Raven Falcon.]

My favourites have to be English, which is my second language, and Bahasa Malaysia, which is my native tongue.

[kev67]

I really like Japanese, German, Arabic, korean, French and English because they're really beautiful and unique. Although I really love all the languages except.....

I detest Latin-- mostly because of my current latin teacher who can't teach it correctly, and the last part because the Romans were crazy and had to make exceptions to everything. You can't even speak it or know if you're pronounciating it correctly as they are no audio files online or affordable audio tapes >.<

I have to admit, I hated Latin at school. One of our teachers told us that learning Latin would be very helpful with our study of English and other modern languages. The problem with Latin is the grammar is so much harder than languages like French. It does not use pronouns. You have to work it all out by the word endings. If you don't keep on top of the word endings then you're lost.

[lawpark]

These days I am fascinated with Hindi/Urdu (Bollywood movies are getting very good!), plus in descending order Pali, Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, Bengali. Unfortunately, I don't know any of these languages, and trying to start learning at a snail pace, so slow that I probably loses what I learnt faster than the rate I pick new things up.

[kiki1982]

As ranzy and Cien already said, Finnish and Swedish are not related, even though Finland and Sweden are neighbours. The only language which reminds Finnish quite a bit is Estonian. On the other hand, the rest of the Scandinavian languages are very much alike (Swedish, Norwegian, Danish), so maybe you were remembering that :)

Swedish is a compulsory subject in Finnish schools, so every Finn should be able to speak it ;)

Isn't there a large minority of Swedish living in Finland? But indeed, Finnish is not a Scandinavian language. It belongs to one group with Hungarian, but allegedly those two can't understand each other either (not surprising, seeing as they are so far away from each other and have probably developed on their own for most of the time). What we were probably thinking of was Danish and Swedish which are so similar that the two can just talk to each other. Danish people also crop up in Swedish dramas without being subtitled (such as Wallander). I'm not sure whether Norwegian is similar or understandable, although Sweden and Norway were one kingdom for a long time (but that's saying nothing, I mean, look at Hungarian and German...).

Dutch, my MT, is my least favourite language, because in its standard form you can't express anything because of fashion issues. Basically anything is outdated or inadequate.
English, French and German are on a pretty equal level in terms of favoritism, although I know far better English than I do French. My understanding of German is pretty similar to English, but not my active output. French is down the list, although I like its style, it's different to either one of the former two.

I would like to learn more Russian. Seems interesting and different altogether, but sadly the time is lacking due to having a freelance translation business. :(

[Annamariah]

Isn't there a large minority of Swedish living in Finland? But indeed, Finnish is not a Scandinavian language. It belongs to one group with Hungarian, but allegedly those two can't understand each other either (not surprising, seeing as they are so far away from each other and have probably developed on their own for most of the time). What we were probably thinking of was Danish and Swedish which are so similar that the two can just talk to each other. Danish people also crop up in Swedish dramas without being subtitled (such as Wallander). I'm not sure whether Norwegian is similar or understandable, although Sweden and Norway were one kingdom for a long time (but that's saying nothing, I mean, look at Hungarian and German...).
Swedish, Danish and Norwegian are all very much alike (Icelandic too, though it's the most different among the bunch). I can understand both Danish and Norwegian in their written form quite well, since I know Swedish. Hungarian is related to Finnish, but the similarities are mostly in structures and grammar, not really in the vocabulary, so I wouldn't understand any Hungarian.

About five percent of Finland's population are Swedish-speaking Finns. That means that they have Swedish as their mother tongue, even though they are Finnish (not Swedish immigrants). And because of that five percent, all the rest of us have Swedish as a compulsory subject at school even in universities. (That five percent also has to learn Finnish, but at least to me that makes more sense, since Finnish IS the language of the huge majority.)

[The Kid]

One of my favorites is spanish. I heard it most of my life, even if I am only a mediocre speaker. I grew up hearing Mexican spanish, but I do love to hear the spaniards speak with their cute accents and vosotros familiarity.

But the best ones must be native American languages - Nahuatl and Quechua especially. (I know they are totally unrelated, I'm just listing them together). Maya is nice too, but I have only heard it a few times.

There are no languages I dislike, though Tagalog (I think I spelled it right) comes pretty close.

[kaethe]

My favorite is definitely English. Direct, uncomplicated and full of echoism. Just beautyful!



"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."

Well, 99 Luftballons and Ode an die Freude are not Austrian German or do you know a special Austrian Version?

By the way: Is there anyone who could tell me how to get this "Originally Posted by-frame" to mark the quotes I´m referring to?

[faithosaurus]

My favorite is Spanish, but that's because I can speak it. I think I like it more than English, even though that's my first language.

I can't really think of any languages I don't like, but if I had to choose, I'd probably go with Russian.

[Sea]

By the way: Is there anyone who could tell me how to get this "Originally Posted by-frame" to mark the quotes I´m referring to?

At the bottom right of the post you want to respond to you can click the "Reply With Quote" button, or you can just use the QUOTE /QUOTE start tag and end tag. If you want to quote multiple people or multiple times I would suggest using copy and paste.

[kaethe]

At the bottom right of the post you want to respond to you can click the "Reply With Quote" button, or you can just use the QUOTE /QUOTE start tag and end tag. If you want to quote multiple people or multiple times I would suggest using copy and paste.

Thanks a lot, Sea! That should help...

[Galvin500]

My favorite languages are French and Russian. I speak Russian as well, and I agree, it sounds so intense and cool. French is just such a gorgeous language, and though I don't speak it I love to hear it.

My least favorite languages are Chines and Japanese. I really don't like hearing the fast, staccato-type languages they have.

[tonywalt]

My favourite is Italian.

Least favourite is Ibo (and various other languages found in Nigeria).

[hannah_arendt]

My favourite are Spanish and English.

[Ecurb]

I like Sindarin.

[Darcy88]

My favourite is Spanish. Don't have a least favourite.

[symphony]

Oh dear, I pop a favorite something every few hours. As for languages, where do I start? I've been really obsessed with Gaelic sounds these days. I heard this song called bothan airigh am braigh raithneach recently and been trying to get a feel of how to pronounce gaelic sounds ever since. I can speak only one and a half language myself (my first language is bengali, then of course there's english), but I'm fascinated by sounds and languages. I try to sing in languages I don't speak, by hearing them over and over again.

So while we're at it, anyone here know any gaelic to help this poor soul learn some of it? :(

[Pensive]

Favorite: French.
Least favorite: Also French, because I have no patience for learning it.

[symphony]

https://soundcloud.com/symphonied/my-gaelic-attempt

Can't anyone see just how desperate I am? Someone just teach me the damned language already!