# Ugliest language on the face of the earth **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 9, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836 "2013-08-09T21:16:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Batistuta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/58956e/32.png) [@Batistuta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batistuta)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836/1 "2013-08-09T21:16:21Z")
So, I just came back from a trip to Copenhagen. Having lived in Sweden for a while, I have got used to the melodic sounds of the Swedish language, and assumed that Danish would be similar. Dear God, I could not have been more wrong! The Danish language is by far the ugliest I have ever heard, it sounds like someone is repeatedly trying to throw up and failing. No ‘melody’ like Swedish, no beautiful words like Italian or French, no cheerful sounds like Norwegian… Danish has literally no redeeming features. And yet, I can’t really point out WHAT it is that makes a language like this ugly. I just know that it is. So yeah, can anyone here tell me what exactly it is that makes a language sound good or bad to different people? Of course you’re very welcome to explain which languages you dislike while you’re at it ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836/2 "2013-08-09T21:28:33Z")
I can’t say as I’ve ever heard Danish spoken, although I’m familiar with Norwegian and East Norwegian. (That’d be Swedish, from the Norskie POV.) I tend agree with Robert Heinlein’s observation that Chinese sounds like someone trying to vocalize Bach who doesn’t like Bach very much. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836/3 "2013-08-09T21:28:47Z")
I think English is the ugliest, followed closely by C++. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836/4 "2013-08-09T21:32:20Z")
What the ugliest language on the planet is would of course be highly subjective. But let’s face it, it’s German. ---
**Author:** ![BrokenBriton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@BrokenBriton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrokenBriton)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836/5 "2013-08-09T21:51:29Z")
Glaswegian. Yes I know … ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836/6 "2013-08-09T22:23:37Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > I think English is the ugliest, followed closely by C++. Heh. I’m with you on that second one. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836/7 "2013-08-09T23:33:39Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > But let’s face it, it’s German. [Hard to argue](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_xUIDRxdmc). [Even if you try](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YQAYEmwBvs). [And try](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDWw_0deJ3c). ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836/8 "2013-08-10T00:46:05Z")
Arabic…everything else about its related issues aside. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836/9 "2013-08-10T00:56:17Z")
I listened to some Danish on YouTube and yeah, that’s a pretty good nomination. I’d put Dutch kind of in the same category. They both sound like an extremely drunk American attempting German and failing miserably. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836/10 "2013-08-10T01:53:09Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > What the ugliest language on the planet is would of course be highly subjective. > > But let’s face it, it’s German. We chuckle at home about how it’s _Butterfly_ in English, _Papillon_ in French, _Mariposa_ in Spanish…and _Schmetterling_ in German… ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836/11 "2013-08-10T01:56:47Z")
German doesn’t sound that bad to me, honestly. The worst is probably Russian, especially when you hear a woman speak it. Blech. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836/12 "2013-08-10T02:05:53Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Arabic…everything else about its related issues aside. Interesting. I really like the sound of well-spoken Arabic. My vote for harsh-sounding is Hungarian. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836/13 "2013-08-10T02:25:49Z")
> [@Batistuta](#): > > The Danish language is by far the ugliest I have ever heard, it sounds like someone is repeatedly trying to throw up and failing. I have described it as the language of dry heaves–I sit next to the Ranting Dane at work. I’ve said much the same about Swedish, though it’s less pronounced with Swedish. You might appreciate this: [Language Lesson - Scandinavia and the World](http://satwcomic.com/language-lesson) ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836/14 "2013-08-10T02:29:00Z")
The correct answer is **Mandarin**. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vEhdEGD5-pE/hqdefault.jpg "2011 03 26 Omni Mandarin News Earth Hour") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEhdEGD5-pE) [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87ebTwhwdCk) If German is on any list of ugly languages, Yiddish should be at its side. Yiddish is the Pug of languages; so, so ugly, but so much fun at the same time. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/1ft9iuZu0AI/hqdefault.jpg "Yiddish-Anarchist song "In ale gasn/Hey, hey, daloy politsey!"("Down with the Police")") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ft9iuZu0AI) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Zz8Q_Zxj_jU/hqdefault.jpg "Yidl Mitn Fidl Part 2 (Yiddle With his Fiddle) 1936 Yiddish Film") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz8Q_Zxj_jU) Icelandic. Such an incredible literary heritage for having only 300,000 speakers. It’s too bad it sounds like a drunk German trying to imitate a Russian trying to imitate a Norwegian trying to speak Danish. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/v641uRBW9_4/hqdefault.jpg "ICELANDIC TV - idents, continuity, jingles (viewed on "Thor" satellite 1°W)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v641uRBW9_4) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/YZnsZeR6gD8/hqdefault.jpg "Nightshift trailer") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZnsZeR6gD8) (The angry bald guy with the goatee? He’s the mayor of Reykjavik. Really.) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836/15 "2013-08-10T03:00:52Z")
I nominate Khmer, the language of Cambodia. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836/16 "2013-08-10T03:11:08Z")
> [@BrokenBriton](#): > > Glaswegian. > > Yes I know … I actually _love_ the sound of Glaswegian. It’s so melodic and full of character. And a woman speaking with that accent is such a turn-on for me. German’s kind of harsh-sounding to my ears, but I remember teaching a couple of Hungarian girls English and somehow getting into a conversation about various languages. They told me they loved German and that it was the most beautiful sounding language to their ears. That’s the only time I’ve ever heard that said of German from a non-native. Hungarian sounds lovely to my ears–it’s full of open and harmonious vowels. You don’t have stupid crazy consonant clusters or deep gutturals or objectionable sounds like that. I’m surprised anyone would find it harsh or ugly. I’m not familiar enough with Middle Eastern languages, but to my unaccustomed ears, Arabic sounds a bit rough to me. ETA: Actually, shit, yeah. Mandarin is one that really grates on my ears. That would probably be my vote off the cuff. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836/17 "2013-08-10T03:17:57Z")
I’m getting really fucking tired of Amharic. And I hate French. It’s not UGLY really, it just sounds obnoxious. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836/18 "2013-08-10T03:32:13Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > I’m getting really fucking tired of Amharic. And I hate French. It’s not UGLY really, it just sounds obnoxious. What a coincidence! I hate _the_ French. They’re not UGLY really, just obnoxious. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836/19 "2013-08-10T04:21:48Z")
For those of you saying Mandarin, I think it was a typo and you meant Cantonese. Mao on a pogo stick, that’s an awful sounding language. Famous throughout China as being a loud nasty language. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836/20 "2013-08-10T04:27:30Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > For those of you saying Mandarin, I think it was a typo and you meant Cantonese. Mao on a pogo stick, that’s an awful sounding language. Famous throughout China as being a loud nasty language. The way you describe it, Cantonese does sound like a better fit. I couldn’t identify Mandarin from Cantonese, but the language I’m thinking of sounds like a sing-song syllabic onslaught of pure anger, irritation, and annoyance. At least to my Western ears, no offense to Cantonese speakers. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-language-on-the-face-of-the-earth/665836.md?page=2)