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[RedKing]

Meh, I think it's morphed into a general linguistics thread. Which is fine because linguistics is as awesome as a chromed laser raptor.

[Skyrunner]

Linguistics is awesome!

[Hubris Incalculable]

"Quatre-vingt dix-neuf".  A beautiful number to say in French...  (And whoever's about to say "soixante-neuf", can consider themselves anticipated!).  Somewhat similar, I consider "Acht-und-achtzig"[1] as a personal exemplar to the nature of German language (leastwise, of the two-digit numbers).

Please don't try to change my opinion. I formed it ages ago, and it isn't about to change. Occasionally, when scanning through radio stations, I'll come across the French CBC, and it literally does give me a headache.

But I agree with you on German. German is an awesome language. Acht Tausend Acht Hundert Acht-und-Achtzig.

[Aqizzar]

Poul Anderson piece on basic Atomic Theory written in this style called "Uncleftish Beholding". The concept of "Anglish" has it's proponents even today.

Y'know, it's sad that I probably would have paid more attention in highschool chemistry if my textbooks sounded like Bavarian alchemical manuscripts.

[DJ]

But I agree with you on German. German is an awesome language. Acht Tausend Acht Hundert Acht-und-Achtzig.

German sexline adds are the best. Acht, acht, acht; sechs, sechs, sechs!

[scriver]

It is quite ridiculous, though (apart from the general unfeasability I mean). I find it to be most probable that even the old Angles/Saxons had Latin and other loanwords in their vocabulary.

[Inarius]

I speak French, Spanish, English and enough of Occitan to follow a conversation.

French can be ugly, especially some accents (Paris, "bourgeois", most of the north and east which is polluted by German).
However, southern French is lovely. It's easier to talk and to understand. It flows in the mouth, and you just have to pronounce everything. (And opened "o" are better than closed "o").


Occitan is a very beautiful language. It has the best of Spanish (without the rudeness of its Arabic elements, even if I would really like to speak it) and the best of the French (without the German part of it). Actually, one could say Occitan is one of the purest descendant of Latin.

About English, some accents are very awful (Australian, Texan), but some are very likable.
I find it quite sad that, as it's more and more widely spoken, it's getting poorer and poorer, reduced to a working&traveling Lingua Franca.

English is quickly killing most of secondary languages, but if it wasn't English, it would be another language. So English is not to blame here.

I like english for its simplicity. It's quite the contrary of Spanish and French. French and Spanish can be very hard at the beginning but are getting easier when you actually begin to know and practice it. English is very easy, but it's getting harder and harder with time. You can understand 80% of a written text, but still you miss some parts...which of course are generally the most important or play of words, or the real sense of the text.

Moreover, after YEARS of practice, of writing and speaking fluently, I am barely able to follow a conversation if i'm not very well prepare. A thing that i can do easily for Spanish, even if i don't master it so well...

[DJ]

What are you talking about, Australian is one of the coolest English accents.

[Aqizzar]

About English, some accents are very awful (Australian, Texan), but some are very likable.

I've always wondered what the "hick" accents of other languages sound like.  All peoples have their groups of backwoods bumpkins, and I'm sure they sound just as atrocious to the edumacated members of their own language.

Personally, I feel Texan is an acceptably whimsical accent (and dialect really, if its enough to acknowledge different vowel functions) taken in moderation.  It speaks to a particular history, like an accent.

I just wish I could say "wall" without sounding like Foghorn Leghorn.  Clearly packing it into one syllable would be nice.

[kaijyuu]

Seriously. Australian is awesome. Deep South accents... not so much. But crikey, gotta love the accents from down under, mate.

[DJ]

I've always wondered what the "hick" accents of other languages sound like.

Bosnian (the interviewee).

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Texan and Southern accents are just fine, but they have a bad reputation due to some of the individuals with said accents.

Though, oddly enough, I never picked up the Southern accent despite living in the South my whole life an being descended from Southerners. Instead, I inexplicably have a Midwestern-esq accent.

[Aqizzar]

I've always wondered what the "hick" accents of other languages sound like.

Bosnian (the interviewee).

I've never seen somebody give an interview by cue-card whilst passing a kidney stone.  Surely they don't all talk with that kind of inflection, right?

[Mr. Palau]

I've always wondered what the "hick" accents of other languages sound like.

Bosnian (the interviewee).

this guy is hillarious. I don't even get what he saying it just sounds ridiculous. It's it is almost like he's trying.

[DJ]

It's a comedy program, making fun of our hicks. The accent is spot on, though.

Anyway, he's talking about a "cultural tradition" of playing a certain card game (I have no clue how it's played, despite him explaining it).