Support NeoGAF

[Pollux]

None of this is meant to be offensive, I'm just curious...

I was listening to a German couple on the subway today and noticed that German sounded very rough, guttural. It also sounded very angry.

At the same time there was a Spanish couple speaking, and after the Germans left, I started listening to the Spanish conversation. Spanish sounds very rhythmic with a staccato beat. like ta ta ta ta ta.

My question is, to those who have had to learn english, when you first heard english and didn't understand it...what does it sound like. What kind of rhythm does it have?

As a native english speaker I don't hear any rhythm at all.

So what does english sound like to y'all?

 

[amar212]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdyC1BrQd6g&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[maxxpower]

I don't know but Bokmal sounds freaking badass. That's why I'm studying it.

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

Adam Hills (comedian) has a good idea of it.

 

[lightless_shado]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdyC1BrQd6g&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Those moves...Just amazing.

 

[Regulus Tera]

I find the English language to be more ta ta ta ta like than Spanish, mainly because of the abundance of monosyllables. It is very fast paced and "simple" sounding.

 

[BocoDragon]

I have asked this question before to a few immigrants, non-native English speakers, etc.

General answer? They don't know.

At least that's what I've heard.

Every culture in the world seems to grow up with a little English in their background (movies, music, etc), and most countries teach it as a second language.

I'm sure there are a few people who could tell you.. They aren't on GAF, or the English internet, or immigrants to western countries.

 

[Vipershark]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcUi6UEQh00

 

[Mr. Spinnington]

for fun i'll just post some Grotesco, since vipershark beat me to it


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyU2p4l5iUA law and order satire

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE_WXM93WdU Seinfeld


men don't like the kangaroo

 

[Parallax]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdyC1BrQd6g&feature=youtube_gdata_player

indian george michael is a dancing fool

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcUi6UEQh00

i... dont know what to say. it sounds like someone was listening to bob dylan

 

[Shoogoo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdyC1BrQd6g&feature=youtube_gdata_player

"I'm bleeding fucking A"

 

[Pollux]

I was hoping for some more serious answers lol

 

[alphaNoid]

I was hoping for some more serious answers lol

lol indeed.

 

[Shoogoo]

I was hoping for some more serious answers lol

Well, as a french speaking person, I can tell you that english, depending on the accent, sounds swallowed and quick. If that makes any sense.

But that's just for me.

 

[KtSlime]

I am a native speaker of English, but I have been told by my Japanese friends what it sounds like to them. "The blahation blah blahing the blah blahs." Bunch of -ing -tion -s.

 

[isny]

for fun i'll just post some Grotesco, since vipershark beat me to it


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyU2p4l5iUA law and order satire

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE_WXM93WdU Seinfeld


men don't like the kangaroo

Holy shit that Seinfeld one is funnier than the show itself.

 

[Pollux]

Well, as a french speaking person, I can tell you that english, depending on the accent, sounds swallowed and quick. If that makes any sense.

But that's just for me.

Does it sound at all like German?

 

[Orayn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcUi6UEQh00

Thanks to this video, I always cringe and think about how harsh American English must sound to non-native speakers. It's just... Gross.

 

[Pre]

I've been wondering about this a lot.

 

[Derwind]

edit: beaten....

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

I am a native speaker of English, but I have been told by my Japanese friends what it sounds like to them. "The blahation blah blahing the blah blahs." Bunch of -ing -tion -s.

Actually, this is what my cousins say English sounds like to them. One of them even joked that he could speak English.

"Yo pued-ation hablar-ing the English. Pued-ation decir-ing lo que tu quier-ation."

 

[GCX]

Everyone on this forum has probably heard English everywhere their whole life and knows it pretty well so we can't really hear it in that foreign way anymore. It just sounds like.. well.. English.

 

[Shoogoo]

Does it sound at all like German?

If I'm right, german and english (and dutch) are all germanic languages, but I have no time to verify.

So yes, there are similarities, but it doesn't sound like german, no.

 

[Glasswork]

English sounds a lot like German to me as an Arabic native, except a bit more smooth I guess.
What does Arabic sound like to English speakers?

Edit: Although my brother, who's not fluent in English says it sounds more like French to him.

 

[umop_3pisdn]

I hear that it sounds pretty hissy and nasal.

 

[elwes]

Probably something like this.

 

[KtSlime]

Does it sound at all like German?

It sounds like a mix between German and mispronounced French, cause that's basically what it is.

 

[Shoogoo]

English sounds a lot like German to me as an Arabic native, except a bit more smooth I guess.
What does Arabic sound like to English speakers?

The sounds are coming deeper from the throat. It sometimes sounds like they're spitting some words.

 

[NovemberMike]

If I'm right, german and english (and dutch) are all germanic languages, but I have no time to verify.

So yes, there are similarities, but it doesn't sound like german, no.

English is what would happen to German if it was raped by French for three hundred years.

 

[Orayn]

English sounds a lot like German to me as an Arabic native, except a bit more smooth I guess.
What does Arabic sound like to English speakers?

It sounds intricate, relative to how quickly I hear it spoken. The consonants strike me as being very precisely formed, too.

 

[Pollux]

English sounds a lot like German to me as an Arabic native, except a bit more smooth I guess.
What does Arabic sound like to English speakers?

Edit: Although my brother, who's not fluent in English says it sounds more like French to him.

The hamza always got me when I was learning.

 

[davepoobond]

English is a germanic language, but there are many latin words, and really, a lot of language's words are used in English anyway. Its kind of a compounding language for many of the european languages.

 

[Parallax]

Holy shit that Seinfeld one is funnier than the show itself.

Holy shit. This is some of the funniest shit ever. And that seinfeld skit... I'm just gonna start saying rhinoceros like that at random

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

English sounds a lot like German to me as an Arabic native, except a bit more smooth I guess.
What does Arabic sound like to English speakers?

Edit: Although my brother, who's not fluent in English says it sounds more like French to him.

Arabic sounds harsh and gravelly. The back-of-the throat sound is what does it.

 

[dalin80]

English sounds a lot like German to me as an Arabic native, except a bit more smooth I guess.
What does Arabic sound like to English speakers?

Edit: Although my brother, who's not fluent in English says it sounds more like French to him.

It actually sounds pretty horrible to me, like the sounds come flying out covered with flem.

 

[jambo]

Actually, this is what my cousins say English sounds like to them. One of them even joked that he could speak English.

"Yo pued-ation hablar-ing the English. Pued-ation decir-ing lo que tu quier-ation."

That actually does make a lot of sense when you think about it. Would be interesting to record a few hours of conversations at a party or something and then go through and find how many instances of -tion -ing and -ally you would find.

 

[Why would you do that?]

It's weird. As someone who only knows English, English seems so boring to me.

I say that because of TV and media. If you listen to a Spanish, Arab, or Japanese TV or radio show, it always sounds so intense compared to English equivalents, which makes the shows seem more intense. Also, listening to regular Spanish or Arab speakers talk makes the language sound very intense.

It's possible that it's because I don't know what they're saying, but I don't think that's entirely it.

It sort of makes me jealous. lol.

 

[Korey]

SNL: Norwegian Actors' Playhouse

 

[KtSlime]

It actually sounds pretty horrible to me, like the sounds come flying out covered with flem.

=( I quite like the sound. Not enough to learn it, but there is a certain pleasant quality to it.

Why would you do that?: Japanese doesn't sound intense to me, but that's probably cause I speak it.

 

[Ogni-XR21]

As a native German speaker I find English and German to be very simillar at times. But I was exposed to English at a very early age so it's hard to tell.

This question would better be asked in a forum that doesn't communicate in English...

 

[Chozo]

I had a Japanese teacher who said she thought English was fairly melodic compared to Japanese, mostly due to how English speakers emphasize certain portions of words while speaking IIRC.

 

[KidA Seven]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdyC1BrQd6g&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCv-NKl7uuQ

 

[parrotbeak]

I was hoping for some more serious answers lol

As a native English speaker, I think non-English speakers imitating English is the best way to hear what it sounds like to ears that don't understand the words. Except maybe hearing English speakers speaking nonsense words.

A Nepali friend in college used to think it was awesome when I pretended to speak Nepali. I only did it as a joke once, but then whenever another Nepali person was around, he would make me do it. It got kind of embarrassing, but now I see why it's interesting.

 

[KtSlime]

I had a Japanese teacher who said she thought English was fairly melodic compared to Japanese, mostly due to how English speakers emphasize certain portions of words while speaking IIRC.

Yeah, Japanese is quite staccato, cause it is pretty balanced consonant+vowel+consonant+vowel+consonant+pause+consonant+vowel. I can see how the sound makes them feel that way.

 

[Apath]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdyC1BrQd6g&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I hope this is the first signal aliens intercept from us.

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

A former martial arts teacher told me of a Korean man who'd made friends with some American soldiers. They asked him why he was so mad all the time because the Korean language sounded very harsh and angry to them. So he asked them why they were always singing, since they spoke so melodically. So... melodic, maybe?

 

[GroteSmurf]

Adam Hills (comedian) has a good idea of it.

God this is good..especially the Thomas Cooke quote.

 

[Why would you do that?]

I had a Japanese teacher who said she thought English was fairly melodic compared to Japanese, mostly due to how English speakers emphasize certain portions of words while speaking IIRC.

I guess I can see that. I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure English speakers use a whole lot of inflections in speech.

 

[Lesath]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-LD5jzXpLE

Listen to the first half of the video. It is an interview with a patient who has Wernicke's Aphasia. She strings together a series of English words that would not make any sense to the normal listener, but makes perfect sense to the patient. Since the speech is only somewhat intelligible as English, perhaps you might get a feel of the rhythm if you ignore the transcript.

 

[The Shift]

I had a Japanese teacher who said she thought English was fairly melodic compared to Japanese, mostly due to how English speakers emphasize certain portions of words while speaking IIRC.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_rising_terminal

Is a component of why that is. Australian/NZ people have a habit of unconsciously doing this a lot.