Does English sound "crude"?

[Grant A.]

This is something that I have been wondering for a while now. Keep in mind that this question is aimed at people who do not speak English natively.



Does English sound crude (i.e. Very hard consonants, you need to be good at coughing up phlegm to speak it, etc.) like its German forbearer, or soft?

[jonian_g]

No it doesn't. And UK English in particular sounds very cool, their accent is great.

[nickstu]

Does English sound crude (i.e. Very hard consonants, you need to be good at coughing up phlegm to speak it, etc.) like its German forbearer, or soft?

It doesn't sound crude to me...

[iponeverything]

Russian on the other hand. I always think they are mad at me..

[nolliecrooked]

No it doesn't. And UK English in particular sounds very cool, their accent is great.

lol it really isnt, are you thinking of the "Hollywood" english accent, because we sound NOTHING like that.

[lisati]

No it doesn't. And UK English in particular sounds very cool, their accent is great.

What part of the UK?

[nolliecrooked]

What part of the UK?

Im guessing not Birmingham...

[Giant Speck]

Russian on the other hand. I always think they are mad at me..

Russian sounds beautiful when sung. At least, to me it does.

[karellen]

no. in fact, my native language (romanian) sounds rougher, at least for my ears

[anaconda]

No,
Actually english sounds quite cool..

[renzokuken]

English is beautiful when spoken properly (not by chav's who miss a whole range of consonants and sounds out and generally annunciate terribly).

It's a funny language though, with an incredibly mixed background, including germanic, gaelic, latin etc

[Screwdriver0815]

English is the coolest language on earth.

I like it when it is spoken in a normal american accent and actually the Birmingham-accent too.

But I don't like it when it is spoken like the "da brodas in da hood" do it.

I also had russian in school but I don't like it this much. First it is really really difficult and second the pronunciation is like a science on its own.

German (my native language) is... I don't know... really un-cool compared to english. In english you have words and phrases where anybody knows what it means, even when you hear it for the first time, without looking in a dictionary. In german there are so many stupid and scientific phrases... I don't like it when language is scientific.

[koleoptero]

no it doesn't. And uk english in particular sounds very cool, their accent is great.


+1

[jonian_g]

lol it really isnt, are you thinking of the "Hollywood" english accent, because we sound NOTHING like that.

No mate. I mean english like it is spoken in England. I have worked with people from London and Liverpool.

[starcannon]

I'm a Yank myself, and I've actually wondered what my native tongue sounds like to others.
My ear tends to really like the sound of German, English with an Irish accent, and English with a French accent.

[GCFreak]

For me, the problem with English is not how it sounds, compared to other languages it is quite a smooth language, but it's how complicated the language itself is, ESPECIALLY as a second language. Irregular forms everywhere, and some REALLY weird spelling of words gives even native speakers problems sometimes.

[Cenotaph]

My perception of english is the opposite, i think it is a very simple language and that's why it is so great as an universal language.

The way it sounds is fine also, but of course some accents can be annoying, while others are simply brilliant, and this is just from the UK lol.

[Swagman]

Ye ken whaaat ahm saying Jimmeh ?

[Sef]

Irregular forms everywhere, and some REALLY weird spelling of words....

You can blame the introduction of the printing press for that. English was changing from Middle English to Modern English when it was introduced. Thus people speak Modern English, but write closer to Middle English. Also most irregulars were at one time regular.

[billgoldberg]

This is something that I have been wondering for a while now. Keep in mind that this question is aimed at people who do not speak English natively.



Does English sound crude (i.e. Very hard consonants, you need to be good at coughing up phlegm to speak it, etc.) like its German forbearer, or soft?

Compared to French, yes.

Compared to German, no.

[billgoldberg]

Irregular forms everywhere, and some REALLY weird spelling of words gives even native speakers problems sometimes.

I agree with this.

[Screwdriver0815]

For me, the problem with English is not how it sounds, compared to other languages it is quite a smooth language, but it's how complicated the language itself is, ESPECIALLY as a second language. Irregular forms everywhere, and some REALLY weird spelling of words gives even native speakers problems sometimes.
for me it is the opposite. English is by far easier than my native language german.
Sometimes I can describe specific issues easier in english than in german. Because in english you have mostly one word which describes something while in german you have to build a whole sentence (or at least a highly complicated substantive) for that.

[Bölvaður]

English is the coolest language on earth.

I like it when it is spoken in a normal american accent

please take that back :o


For me it all depends upon the accent you speak.
The scale of crudeness is probably : poor people's southern USA accent → posh
Normally it isn't crude though.


Same goes with france. I've heard people speaking like angry cats, and then some uncomfortably smoothly.

[Screwdriver0815]

please take that back :o


For me it all depends upon the accent you speak.
The scale of crudeness is probably : poor people's southern USA accent → posh
Normally it isn't crude though.


Same goes with france. I've heard people speaking like angry cats, and then some uncomfortably smoothly.
why should I? Have you ever talked to an normal (not poor and aggressive) american, maybe from Detroit, LA or New York?
They sometimes speak even better understandable than people from London.

[lukjad]

English varies greatly from region to region. I don't think any language sounds crude though, except perhaps Inuktitut. And that's most likely because I'm not used to it.

[CharmyBee]

I think too much of never capitalizing i'll or i'm. This carries on in speech too I even forget the i.

New England is growing on me.

[chucky chuckaluck]

Does English sound crude (i.e. Very hard consonants, you need to be good at coughing up phlegm to speak it, etc.) like its German forbearer, or soft?

actually, english (american english, at least) only has one aspirated consonant, 'H', and it's only lightly aspirated, at that.

[JordyD]

From a native english speaker:

I always thought so, but when I listen to it without hearing the meaning (very hard), I really like it. Not quite as much as a foreign language though.

[Bou]

This is something that I have been wondering for a while now. Keep in mind that this question is aimed at people who do not speak English natively.



Does English sound crude (i.e. Very hard consonants, you need to be good at coughing up phlegm to speak it, etc.) like its German forbearer, or soft?

Not to me. I'm Spanish, which has a syllable-timed rhythm. So stress-based languages like English sound rather musical to me, they sound pretty beautiful actually.

Just out of curiosity: I've been told that Spanish sounds like you were shooting syllables with a machinegun. Would you guys say you agree with that?

[Swagman]

actually, english (american english, at least) only has one aspirated consonant, 'H', and it's only lightly aspirated, at that.

Lark forks from uddersfield then ?

Translation



Like Folks from Huddersfield then ?

[LowSky]

Not to me. I'm Spanish, which has a syllable-timed rhythm. So stress-based languages like English sound rather musical to me, they sound pretty beautiful actually.


I guess it is why songs in English are more universally popular than those in other languages, or the because of the American music industry...



Just out of curiosity: I've been told that Spanish sounds like you were shooting syllables with a machinegun. Would you guys say you agree with that?

Spanish speakers do seem to spit words at light speed. But it could be my horrible processing power my brain has translating Spanish to English

[Screwdriver0815]

Just out of curiosity: I've been told that Spanish sounds like you were shooting syllables with a machinegun. Would you guys say you agree with that?
yes, I agree with that :D

[kk0sse54]

Does English sound "crude"?


Yes.

[Grant A.]

Just out of curiosity: I've been told that Spanish sounds like you were shooting syllables with a machinegun. Would you guys say you agree with that?

Sí, es muy difícil entender. :(

[Bou]

Sí, es muy difícil entender. :(

Well that's curious, I teach English and Spanish learners have lots of trouble with English for exactly the opposite reason: they say English natives just "eat out" whole syllables. Beautiful as I said, but a hell to understand.

Spaniards tend to think that our pronouncing all the syllables, at the same pace and pitch would actually help understand what we're saying. We honestly don't usually see anything wrong with our way of talking.

So, glad to have asked you guys. It's cool to have another point of view :p

[sanderella]

English is the coolest language on earth.

I like it when it is spoken in a normal american accent and actually the Birmingham-accent too.

But I don't like it when it is spoken like the "da brodas in da hood" do it.

I also had russian in school but I don't like it this much. First it is really really difficult and second the pronunciation is like a science on its own.

German (my native language) is... I don't know... really un-cool compared to english. In english you have words and phrases where anybody knows what it means, even when you hear it for the first time, without looking in a dictionary. In german there are so many stupid and scientific phrases... I don't like it when language is scientific.

I like German, it's cool.:)

[Screwdriver0815]

I like German, it's cool.:)
But... :confused: why? :D

[Methuselah]

This is a cool thread.

I have to say, it's the almost scientific construction of words in German that intrigues me to no end.
I often imagine that double-entendres must be difficult to pull off in a language where everything seems so preciesly specified.
Unlike english where a word, or one that sounds like it, can have too many meanings to count even if one does not consider slang expressions.

I also don't think German sounds harsh when spoken ordinarily and the spelling is much saner than english.
Though I think Spanish has the most beautiful and consistent writing system of any language I've been exposed to.

Anyway, on topic, I'd wager that how English sounds will vary tremendously depending on where you hear it.
I was born in the English-speaking Caribbean where a conversation can go from a lazy lilt to a rapid succession of syllables barely recognisable to the unaccustomed ear (probably because at this end of the continuum the speech is quite a bit less english, in truth).
I doubt it'd sound aspirated though because 'H' isn't welcome, 'TH' kicks the dust and consonant clusters are few.

English, as would be heard on British media, doesn't disturb me in the least and actually sounds quite pleasant to my ears.
The extreme nasality of *some* American accents can annoy me but only when they seem to be insisting that this is necessary for correct pronunciation.
But Boston accents definitely get a special mention for coolness and I just love the precise accuracy of Indian T's, P's, R's.

[Screwdriver0815]

I have to say, it's the almost scientific construction of words in German that intrigues me to no end.
I often imagine that double-entendres must be difficult to pull off in a language where everything seems so preciesly specified.
and in opposite, the scientific construction of words drives me crazy.

But what do you mean with the second? Double-entendres? Whats that? Do you mean double meanings? In german there are also of double meanings but mostly in dialects and in common wording

In english I do not have any problem with that. I always get what the other one means from the context. In written english (like in the forum) it is really difficult when the writer wrote the wrong word which is ponounced the same. For example he means "their" and writes "there".

[koleoptero]

Now that I read this topic in whole I want to lie down and cry. :(

[Methuselah]

and in opposite, the scientific construction of words drives me crazy.


Really? I'm by no means conversational in German but I know a few words.
Whenever I hear a new word I try to figure out how it's related to ones I know.
For example, I knew zusammen = together and arbeit = work and the moment I saw zusammenarbeit I knew it meant 'cooperation'.
Plus the grammar reminds me of older English texts with 'thou'/'du' and 'thine'/'deine' and the tendency of the verb to come last.
Needless to say, I think it's a very cool language. :)



But what do you mean with the second? Double-entendres? Whats that? Do you mean double meanings? In german there are also of double meanings but mostly in dialects and in common wording

In english I do not have any problem with that. I always get what the other one means from the context. In written english (like in the forum) it is really difficult when the writer wrote the wrong word which is ponounced the same. For example he means "their" and writes "there".

Yeah, that's what I meant: double meanings.
Single words in English often have many meanings and many different words sound the same when spoken.
Often the context clarifies matters but sometimes multiple meanings fit the context so accidental misunderstandings are not that uncommon; I've been involved in a few.
But at least it makes for some comedy!

[Screwdriver0815]

Really? I'm by no means conversational in German but I know a few words.
Whenever I hear a new word I try to figure out how it's related to ones I know.
For example, I knew zusammen = together and arbeit = work and the moment I saw zusammenarbeit I knew it meant 'cooperation'.
Plus the grammar reminds me of older English texts with 'thou'/'du' and 'thine'/'deine' and the tendency of the verb to come last.
Needless to say, I think it's a very cool language. :)

but with "Zusammenarbeit" you have found a word which is by far the lowest level of scientific word constructions :D The stupidity of such scientific word constructions is not so easy to see for a foreigner. So if I would give an example you would say "a thats cool" and I would lie down and cry :D
because mostly these constructions consist of words which on their own mostly have a totally different meaning. These words are mixed together and the result means something new, which could maybe have something to do with the meanings of the single words (which are used for the construction) but not necessarily has to... and this drives me crazy :D



Yeah, that's what I meant: double meanings.
Single words in English often have many meanings and many different words sound the same when spoken.
Often the context clarifies matters but sometimes multiple meanings fit the context so accidental misunderstandings are not that uncommon; I've been involved in a few.
But at least it makes for some comedy!
this makes life more funny. Its great!

But the most, I like about english is the meanings of common sentences or word-groups. Like "this is a walk in the park" when something is easy or "ah yes this rings a bell" when someone remembers something... and so on.
This is something, german completely lacks but what makes a language beautiful for me.

[Junkieman]

To the OP, no not at all!

I'm fluent in English, and natively I'm Afrikaans: essentially a version of 'kitchen' Dutch, and way more guttural than English or German!

English is 'smooth' sounding, at least from my perspective!

[Methuselah]

but with "Zusammenarbeit" you have found a word which is by far the lowest level of scientific word constructions :D The stupidity of such scientific word constructions is not so easy to see for a foreigner. So if I would give an example you would say "a thats cool" and I would lie down and cry :D
because mostly these constructions consist of words which on their own mostly have a totally different meaning. These words are mixed together and the result means something new, which could maybe have something to do with the meanings of the single words (which are used for the construction) but not necessarily has to... and this drives me crazy :D


lol..I would probably say it's cool too!
It's true that I've found other constructions to be far more subtle than the example I gave (esp. some involving the prefix ver-) but it always seems to make sense to me in some way.
Anyway, it probably is harder for a foreigner to appreciate what seems silly to a native speaker but maybe it's also harder for the native speaker to be fascinated by the same things as a foreigner.



this makes life more funny. Its great!

But the most, I like about english is the meanings of common sentences or word-groups. Like "this is a walk in the park" when something is easy or "ah yes this rings a bell" when someone remembers something... and so on.
This is something, german completely lacks but what makes a language beautiful for me.

But in most cases, even if you knew what the words usually meant it wouldn't enlighten you as to the meaning of the whole phrase (in the context used).
And yes, there are many such idioms in English. I wonder if that's better or worse than German's word construction...heh

[longtom]

What English are we talking? They are so many arround...American, Australian, Indian, South African....

Some of them I like - others I don't (like the Australian way) I could do without.

Same with German - so many different dialects - and some sound totally different than others. Listen to a chap from Zurich and another from Hamburg...not to even meontion the Bavarians..:p.

Even with a relativ new language like Afrikaans you get different sounds from different areas and different cultural background.

Generally I would find some Eastern European countries language sound rough (crude a bit hard for mine...). So does that Spanish spoken in some parts of South America.

[Hallvor]

This is something that I have been wondering for a while now. Keep in mind that this question is aimed at people who do not speak English natively.



Does English sound crude (i.e. Very hard consonants, you need to be good at coughing up phlegm to speak it, etc.) like its German forbearer, or soft?


Not crude at all. My dialect is known for hard consonants and intense rolling of the letter r. Reminds me a bit of the dialect of southern Germany, so English usually sounds quite soft.

[Swagman]

Double meanings..

Like

Sie unt sie then ?

A bigger problem is why is a table masculine (its an inanimate object ffs!!)
and a chair is feminine ?

[afeasfaerw23231233]

I am a native Chinese (Cantonese) speaker. From my point of view English has no tones at all. Mandarin has 4 tones while Cantonese has 9. But I don't think English sounds crude.

[Screwdriver0815]

lol..I would probably say it's cool too!
It's true that I've found other constructions to be far more subtle than the example I gave (esp. some involving the prefix ver-) but it always seems to make sense to me in some way.
Anyway, it probably is harder for a foreigner to appreciate what seems silly to a native speaker but maybe it's also harder for the native speaker to be fascinated by the same things as a foreigner.

yes, I agree. Maybe such wordconstructions also make more sense to foreigners than to native speakers because the foreigner has a more open mind towards this new thing "strange language". And the fascinating-thing comes to it additionally.

So if you are in the mood, you could try to find out what "Reifegradklausur" (this is my current favourite) means :D



But in most cases, even if you knew what the words usually meant it wouldn't enlighten you as to the meaning of the whole phrase (in the context used).
And yes, there are many such idioms in English. I wonder if that's better or worse than German's word construction...heh
I like these idioms very much. Because it is not such a stupid "putting one word after another in a row" - it has something to do with fantasy and so I think, they are definitly better than scientific wordconstructions!! :D


Not crude at all. My dialect is known for hard consonants and intense rolling of the letter r. Reminds me a bit of the dialect of southern Germany, so English usually sounds quite soft.
you are from Norway, right? Believe me, there is nothing in common in a swede or norwegian rolling the "r" and a bavarian! :D its totally different. But I can't tell you what makes this difference.


Double meanings..

Like

Sie unt sie then ?

A bigger problem is why is a table masculine (its an inanimate object ffs!!)
and a chair is feminine ?
a chair is also masculine :D But its right, normally it doesn't make any sense at all with the masculine and feminine and also non-gender. I also don't know why it is like that in german. And if a foreigner would ask me for a rule for that, I couldn't tell him why it is like that. We grew up with this... its the same as in swedish (and I think norwegian too) with "en" and "ett" which both means "one" but it depends on the word which comes after it... they also don't have any rule for that at all...

talking about languages is quite interesting...

[HappyFeet]

Just out of curiosity: I've been told that Spanish sounds like you were shooting syllables with a machinegun. Would you guys say you agree with that?

I agree very much.

[MikeTheC]

Russian sounds beautiful when sung. At least, to me it does.

Same here.

[Kimm]

I love English (especially British English!) :) Then again I am pretty much on the same level as native speakers and have fooled several friends (online) from England while talking on skype/ventrilo/SL (well, not fooled, they just assumed I was a native speaker :P) so I don't know if my vote counts.

My native tongue is Swedish btw :)

[Methuselah]

So if you are in the mood, you could try to find out what "Reifegradklausur" (this is my current favourite) means :D


Hehe, just the fact that Reife means 'Mature' (or Ripe) amuses me to no end.
When does one take this kind of exam?

[recluce]

Double meanings..

Like

Sie und sie then ?

A bigger problem is why is a table masculine (its an inanimate object ffs!!)
and a chair is feminine ?

Double meanings exist in most languages and they can be frustrating.

Example in English: "Hot" which means both "high temperature" and "very spicy"

Stupid Example in German (because I cannot think of anything better right now): "Schimmel" which means both "Mold" and "White Horse".

As to the sex of inanimate objects: I have no clue why German developed that way and uses three sexes to boot (he/she/it, er/sie/es). Trying to learn french, two sexes for inanimate objects were complicated enough.

I speak German natively and English on the same level - and a few fragments of French and Italian.

To me, some concepts are easier to express in English, others in German. I find both languages slightly on the rough side, especially compared to Italian.

[Screwdriver0815]

Hehe, just the fact that Reife means 'Mature' (or Ripe) amuses me to no end.
When does one take this kind of exam?
so you think because at the end is "Klausur" which means exam that it is an exam?

wrong my friend! :D this word means "status meeting" :D

here is the explanation:

- "Reife" means, as you said Mature, Ripe - in a figurative sense it could be the development status, which is meant here

- "grad" means the level of something

- "klausur" means that some people come together, like a conference

so it is the developmentstatus in a special level or stage which is talked about in a conference...

in short: its a status meeting

german is strange, isn't it? :D

but I have to admit that this word is un-common, so nobody uses it and I also learned about its existance only some weeks ago :D but it is a nice example of stupid "semi-scientific wordconstructions" ;) :D

[Hallvor]

you are from Norway, right? Believe me, there is nothing in common in a swede or norwegian rolling the "r" and a bavarian! :D its totally different. But I can't tell you what makes this difference.


I was merely talking about my own dialect. There are very many different dialects in Norway, just like in Germany. In many parts of the country you don`t have to travel many kilometres before you can hear the difference.

Swedes can`t roll the r and neither can most Norwegians, but my dialect is very different from what you hear in Oslo. Much harder consonants. I spent a few days in Munich, and the dialect reminded me a lot of my own. The tone of voice and the rolling almost made me feel like home. Not to mention it was a beautiful city.

[Screwdriver0815]

I was merely talking about my own dialect. There are very many different dialects in Norway, just like in Germany. In many parts of the country you don`t have to travel many kilometres before you can hear the difference.

Swedes can`t roll the r and neither can most Norwegians, but my dialect is very different from what you hear in Oslo. Much harder consonants. I spent a few days in Munich, and the dialect reminded me a lot of my own. The tone of voice and the rolling almost made me feel like home. Not to mention it was a beautiful city.
ah okay, I was for 1 and a half year in Trollhättan and Gothenburg and had also something to do with people from Kongsvingar (just behind the norwegian border) but I could not divide between norwegian and swedes when I heard them talking.

And all the people over there had such a special "r" and I thought you mean this with "rolling the r" :D