# What are the distinguishing characteristics of english? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 20, 2006, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421 "2006-09-20T15:21:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421/21 "2006-09-20T22:03:27Z")
[QUOTE=kellner] For obvious reasons it’s hard to verify for me, but I heard that an average American who wants to know how his accent sounds to German ears should imagine a severe case of a stereotypical old-fashioned southern accent. [/QUOTE] When I spent a year in Germany I remember there was a German girl in our circle who spoke English with a stereotypical Southern accent, so…ha! While in college, it sometimes happened that I’d go to bed while there were still some guys out in the common room talking, and I would try to get a feel for how English would seem to a nonspeaker, or at least a non-native speaker. Right off I noticed that we use _ **lots** _ of /s/ and /sh/ sounds. Not only is /s/ perhaps the most common of our few remaining grammatical inflections, but a huge number of words begin in /s/. There’s a good reason that in enyclopedias that use the unit-letter arrangement (each letter of the alphabet has its own volume), the “S” and “C” volumes are among the biggest. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421/22 "2006-09-20T22:16:53Z")
Indeed, English is apparently the “hissing language” to some non-English speakers because of all the sibilants, as mentioned in this old thread: [What does English sound like to a foreigner?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=119772) “Horses talking” is another memorable description from that thread. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421/23 "2006-09-20T22:37:21Z")
[QUOTE=naita] Yeah, you blew it. There’s no difference in Danish and Norwegian, alphabet wise. [/QUOTE] Thanks for the information. What would be _really_ helpful would be to point out which of those charachters are included in Danish and Norwegian. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421/24 "2006-09-20T22:45:13Z")
[QUOTE=Cat Jones] The joke is that if you compare notices on European trains for example the French version will be twice as long as the others, the German will just be one long word, English the most concise. [/QUOTE] In print, English text runs 10-20% shorter than Spanish, and probably the other Romance languages as well. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421/25 "2006-09-20T22:45:35Z")
[QUOTE=Cat Jones] The joke is that if you compare notices on European trains for example the French version will be twice as long as the others, the German will just be one long word, English the most concise. [/QUOTE] I’ve heard a similar joke before, alas which I can’t remember, which justified the length of Shakespeare plays and Wagner operas. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421/26 "2006-09-20T23:08:41Z")
[QUOTE=iamthewalrus(:3=] Thanks for the information. What would be _really_ helpful would be to point out which of those charachters are included in Danish and Norwegian. [/QUOTE] They’ve both got **ø** and **å**. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421/27 "2006-09-20T23:32:51Z")
[QUOTE=yBeayf] Joyce could have saved himself a lot of time if he’d had access to this program. [/QUOTE] Excellent joke!! ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421/28 "2006-09-21T01:14:30Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] Indeed, English is apparently the “hissing language” to some non-English speakers because of all the sibilants, as mentioned in this old thread: [What does English sound like to a foreigner?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=119772) “Horses talking” is another memorable description from that thread. [/QUOTE] There is a Welsh idiom, _mae fy nwylo yn siarad Saesneg_, “My hands are speaking English.” It refers to the way people rub their hands together when they’re cold (palms together, sliding back and forth), which produces a sort of hissing sound. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421/29 "2006-09-21T02:43:39Z")
Don’t forget that Dutch and English have identical alphabets. ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421/30 "2006-09-21T03:06:57Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] Indeed, English is apparently the “hissing language” to some non-English speakers because of all the sibilants, as mentioned in this old thread: [What does English sound like to a foreigner?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=119772) “Horses talking” is another memorable description from that thread. [/QUOTE] It’s interesting. I worked years ago with some women that were Asian immigrants (I believe Vietnamese). English was definitely their second language. I tried do describe how their language sounded to me and asked how English sounded to them. One said "It all sounds like the wind. Alll \. I see from reading the threads , that this is very true for English. (Even here in Texas, ya’ll!) But “sounds like the wind” is very pretty, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421/31 "2006-09-21T05:04:17Z")
[Language identification software http://www.yourdictionary.com/morph.html#guessers](http://www.yourdictionary.com/morph.html#guessers) ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421/32 "2006-09-21T16:05:44Z")
[QUOTE=bordelond] They’ve both got **ø** and **å**. [/QUOTE] Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421/33 "2006-09-21T16:11:07Z")
My friend who grew up speaking only Welsh, aged five, characterised English speakers she’d heard with the phrase: “Shing shelane ahome on all a days”. That’s what we sound like. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421/34 "2006-09-21T16:12:30Z")
Goodness, I see from that 2002 thread that I posted exactly the same thing. At least I’m consistent. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421/35 "2006-09-21T18:54:06Z")
[QUOTE=iamthewalrus(:3=] Thanks for the information. What would be _really_ helpful would be to point out which of those charachters are included in Danish and Norwegian. [/QUOTE] To be exact: Norwegian and Danish have æ, ø and å. Swedish uses ä in place of æ and ö in place of ø. To tell Danish and Norwegian apart I guess you could count g’s and k’s. Norwegian will have more k’s and Danish more g’s. I’m not sure how reliable it is though. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421/36 "2006-09-21T19:10:54Z")
[QUOTE=Monty] Don’t forget that Dutch and English have identical alphabets. [/QUOTE] [Dutch](http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoofdpagina) has a lot of double vowels… that’s what gives it away for me. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421/37 "2006-09-21T23:19:49Z")
What about English, John? Book, tool, cool, soon, feel, etc. Okay, that last one doesn’t have a double vowel. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421/38 "2006-09-22T00:07:59Z")
Well, words ending in “ij” and “ijk” sprinkled around is a dead giveaway for Dutch. Along with words starting with “Aa”. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421/39 "2006-09-22T03:06:10Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] Indeed, English is apparently the “hissing language” to some non-English speakers because of all the sibilants, as mentioned in this old thread: [What does English sound like to a foreigner?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=119772) “Horses talking” is another memorable description from that thread. [/QUOTE] English is the language of the [Houyhnhnms](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulliver%27s_Travels#Part_IV:_A_Voyage_to_the_Country_of_the_Houyhnhnms)? Naaah! We’re just a bunch of Yahoos 😉 ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421/40 "2006-09-22T04:18:31Z")
[QUOTE=yBeayf] Joyce could have saved himself a lot of time if he’d had access to this program. [/QUOTE] Do you mean that “riverrun, past Eve and Adam’s, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs” means nothing to you? It’s my favorite (both sarcastically and seriously)! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-distinguishing-characteristics-of-english/373421.md?page=3)