# Most beautiful language to you **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 3, 2005, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713 "2005-03-03T04:45:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Nahk\_Ila\_Dihahs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/858c86/32.png) [@Nahk\_Ila\_Dihahs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nahk_Ila_Dihahs)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713/41 "2005-03-03T17:57:06Z")
As a native speaker of Urdu, I definitely agree with the choice of Urdu as a very beautiful language. In fact, I’m a little pleasantly surprised. There’s a lot of beautiful poetry written in Urdu, and all of it is more expressive and emotive than any I’ve read in English. BTW, Hindi is quite similar to Urdu, in fact, they’re almost the same language phonetically; its the script that’s different. But I’ve noticed most Indians can’t pronounce some Urdu words correctly, for example, most Indians would pronounce **‘za’afraan’** (saffron) as **‘ja’afraan’**. Also, mostly, they pronounce **‘phir’** (again) as **‘fir’**. If any one has any queries regarding Urdu, please feel free to ask. ---
**Author:** ![laurelann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5daacb/32.png) [@laurelann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/laurelann)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713/42 "2005-03-03T18:11:54Z")
Ick. English is horrid sounding, and the constructions are so confining. (And this coming from an English major) I like Latin and Italian, personally. Latin is so wonderfully fluid, filled with dipthongs and ellisions. It’s so freely written, with open construction allowing for poetic lisence. And I’m talking about \real\ Latin, not Church Latin. Pronounce v’s not as w’s??? Hah. I think not. If you have read Vergil in Latin, you know what I’m talking about. German sounds angry, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Kyyrewyyoae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Kyyrewyyoae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyyrewyyoae)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713/43 "2005-03-03T18:14:26Z")
I have to agree with Russian. If you ever have the chance, listen to someone read Pushkin or Lermontov’s poetry in Russian. It really is beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713/44 "2005-03-03T19:06:03Z")
I love the sound of Russian. Many second-language speakers of English sound better (speaking English) than most native English speakers IMO, except maybe Irish English speakers. ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713/45 "2005-03-04T00:42:04Z")
Three: Japanese spoken by a native woman French Mongolian. I heard a man speaking Mongolian recently. Couldn’t place it. Lovely. To me, Vietnamese and Mandarin sound terribly harsh. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713/46 "2005-03-04T01:15:06Z")
> [@laurelann](#): > > Ick. English is horrid sounding, and the constructions are so confining. (And this coming from an English major) No, I really do think English is a beautiful language. If a bit of a mutt. But then, I think nearly all languages are beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713/47 "2005-03-04T02:00:10Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > No, I really do think English is a beautiful language. If a bit of a mutt. > > But then, I think nearly all languages are beautiful. Eclectic or a hybrid. Definitely not a mutt. ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713/48 "2005-03-04T02:01:05Z")
American Sign Language as spoken by a native speaker. It’s a dance done with the body, and it’s a story in words and in shapes. [ASL poetry published by an online poetry journal](http://slope.org/asl/). This site has a lot of flash videos that you can watch to see what ASL poetry looks like. Each piece has a written intro that explains what goes on in the piece, but you don’t need to know ASL to enjoy the experience. On this site, I recommend the pieces by ‘Flying Words’. ---
**Author:** ![Elenfair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Elenfair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elenfair)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713/49 "2005-03-04T03:13:13Z")
Urdu, hands down… And then, Welsh. But then, I have a soft spot for Welsh. … n’ then the romance languages. ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713/50 "2005-03-04T04:06:22Z")
I mentioned Lao earlier, and forgot to mention Thai, which is of course very closely related. Thai poetry is incredible – the sheer complexity of it beggars belief – not only are the words arranged according to rhyme, assonance, consonance, and all the usual Western devices, but tone is also taken into consideration, and with five tones there’s a lot of stuff to make sure matches. [This site](http://thaiarc.tu.ac.th/poetry/index.html) has several .wavs of Thai poetry being recited. ---
**Author:** ![MRirian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3be4f8/32.png) [@MRirian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MRirian)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713/51 "2005-03-04T05:34:33Z")
There’s a whole chapter on this in Mario Pei’s The Story of Language. Fascinating book. I think that Japanese and Italian sound beautiful. They sound a lot alike to me, actually. I guess, though, it could be any language, depending on the voice of the speaker, and even the words. I remember when I first heard “hohoemi,” I thought it was so beautiful I almost cried. And that was before I even found out it means “smile.” (Japanese) A lot of place names around where I live are taken from Native American languages. Wyalusing and Wilawana sound particularly pretty to me. Not that English isn’t my most loved language. It is, because it will always be the one that allows me to say exactly what I want. Well, when I can think of the right words. :rolleyes: I do find it beautiful sounding, too. Too bad this is limited to “What language _sounds_ most beautiful.” “What language looks most beautiful when written,” opens up many other possibilities. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713/52 "2005-03-04T05:35:37Z")
Hebrew. It always sounds like someone singing a prayer to me. I love it. ---
**Author:** ![Shana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@Shana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shana)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713/53 "2005-03-04T05:46:41Z")
Swedish, as spoken by an ex boyfriend of mine. Had a wonderful, lyrical quality. And quite sexy too! ---
**Author:** ![bclouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@bclouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bclouse)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713/54 "2005-03-04T06:57:39Z")
My ex-girlfriend is from west Germany and when she spoke German, it was quite soft and free-flowing. Not harsh at all. I found it wonderful to listen to. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713/55 "2005-03-04T08:17:26Z")
I guess it is easier to say a language is ‘sounds beautiful’ when we don’t understand it ? We’re free to concentrate on the sonority. With English I pay attention to the way the words, images, are being used. With other languages I know, a lot of energy often goes on ‘understanding’ or trying to pick up new vocab. Maybe it is only really with languages alien to you that you can appreciate the ‘beauty’ and hear the music. Thanks for the link **Angua** I’ll try it out later (ie when I’m not s’posed to be working). Ditto to **lizardling** - I’ve always been fascinated by sign language, even watching repeats of news programmes on the BBC when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713/56 "2005-03-04T08:20:24Z")
That wasn’t clear (slurps more coffee) > [@](#): > > even watching \*special edidtions of the News with signing on \* the BBC when I was a kid ---
**Author:** ![noname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@noname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/noname)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713/57 "2005-03-04T08:34:10Z")
Another vote for Urdu. Pure poetry. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713/58 "2005-03-04T10:56:40Z")
Not ‘beautiful’ perhaps but fascinating - a couple of years ago I caught a performance of “Umabatha: The Zulu Macbeth : Welcome Msomi, after Shakespeare” at the recontruction of the Globe theatre in London. I never realised how expressive a ‘click’ could be. ---
**Author:** ![auRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@auRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auRa)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713/59 "2005-03-04T15:15:28Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > I have heard the anthem “Be still, my soul” (which is sung to the tune from Sibelius’s “Finlandia”) sung in Finnish by the Helsinki University choir. At least I assume it was “Be still…” since I don’t speak two words of Finnish - but whether it was, or whether it was a laundry list set to music, it was gorgeous. [hijack] That would be “Finlandia”, sung to the tune of Sibelius’ “Finlandia”… 🙂 Sibelius composed what would become the tune of Finlandia in 1899, as a sort of artistic protest against the Russian Czar signing a proclamation that greatly reduced the autonomous nature of what was then the Grand Duchy of Finland. It was part of a musical tableau about Finnish history during the early 1700s, when Russia first invaded Finland, which was then part of Sweden. The words which most Finns associate with the song were penned by professor V. A. Koskenniemi in 1941, under commission from a Finnish male choir, Laulu-Miehet. They’re quite dramatic and patriotic, which is understandable considering the time period (the Winter War). Oh, Finland, your day is dawning, the shadows of the night have been driven away, etc. Of course, it could be that you’ve just heard the University Choir sing the national anthem of Biafra, which is also sung to the tune of “Finlandia”. 🙂 And this, children, is what I learned in Music History class last fall. [/very long hijack] Now, to get back on topic, the most beautiful-sounding languages to me are Urdu (yet again), Icelandic, and Welsh. We had a NESU (Nordic economics students union) conference in Helsinki last fall, and I got to hear Icelandic live for the first time. Fantastic. Oh gosh, and I just read “Brazilian Portuguese” higher on this page and now I have to add it in, too. A friend of mine was an exchange student in Brazil last fall, and I keep asking him to just speak to me. “Anything, I don’t care. Recite your items of clothing if you want, just keep it coming.” ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713/60 "2005-03-04T15:35:31Z")
> [@lizardling](#): > > American Sign Language as spoken by a native speaker. It’s a dance done with the body, and it’s a story in words and in shapes. > > [ASL poetry published by an online poetry journal](http://slope.org/asl/). This site has a lot of flash videos that you can watch to see what ASL poetry looks like. Each piece has a written intro that explains what goes on in the piece, but you don’t need to know ASL to enjoy the experience. > > On this site, I recommend the pieces by ‘Flying Words’. And I thought I was going to be the first to say ASL. Although I think most appreciate the effort of those groups that translate songs into sign (MSE?) en masse (a la the Super Bowl and some awards shows), I’d prefer they didn’t. It’s the visual equivalent of listening to someone speak your native language strictly phonetically. Anyone remember _Pink Lady and Jeff_? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-language-to-you/292713.md?page=4)