# what is the most long-winded language? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 27, 2007, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646 "2007-09-27T05:43:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646/1 "2007-09-27T05:43:47Z")
and conversely, what is the most succinct language? _ETA: 5 seconds!_ ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646/2 "2007-09-27T11:41:36Z")
Entish? a-lalla-lalla-rumba-kamanda-lindor-burúme = hill Brian ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646/3 "2007-09-27T11:50:53Z")
[QUOTE=shijinn] and conversely, what is the most succinct language? [/QUOTE] Do you mean verbose constructions, length of words, number of syllables, space taken up by writing it? Or what? ---
**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:** [September 27, 2007, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646/4 "2007-09-27T12:51:24Z")
I think we did this once before … > **[What written language conveys the most information with the least characters?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=415009)** > > I have noticed that with any text in both English and Español, the one in English takes up less room on the page. Deutsch seems bulkier than English, and Тексты на русском are fairly bloated as well. I would assume that any ideographic text would... From some quick, non-scientific research, I found that Greenlandic was the most wordy, and Mazahua the most compact. English: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Greenlandic: Inuit tamarmik inunngorput nammineersinnaassuseqarlutik assigiimmillu ataqqinassuseqarlutillu pisinnaatitaaffeqarlutik. Solaqassusermik tarnillu nalunngissusianik pilersugaapput, imminnullu iliorfigeqatigiittariaqaraluarput qatanngutigiittut peqatigiinnerup anersaavani. Mazahua Texe yo nte’e chjetrjoji, angezeji ximi xo’oji ñeje k’inchiji, nesta ra ngara na jo’o k’o dyaja e nte’e. Here’s an error message from Google that offers some insight into the “wordiness” of more common languages. > [@](#): > > The Google AdSense website is temporarily unavailable. Please try back later. We apologize for any inconvenience. > > Google AdSense の web サイトは一時的にご利用いただけません。後で再度お試しくださいますようお願いいたします。お手数をおかけいたしますことをお詫びいたします。 > > Die Google AdSense-Website ist vorübergehend nicht verfügbar. Bitte versuchen Sie es später noch einmal. Wir entschuldigen uns für eventuell enstandene Unannehmlichkeiten. > > Le site Google AdSense est temporairement indisponible. Veuillez réessayer plus tard. Nous vous prions de nous excuser pour le désagrément occasionné. > > El sitio web de AdSense de Google no se encuentra disponible en estos momentos. Por favor, inténtelo de nuevo más tarde. Disculpe las molestias. > > Google AdSense 网站暂时无法浏览。请您稍候再尝试。对于造成您的不便我们感到抱歉。 > > Il sito AdSense di Google è temporaneamente non disponibile. La preghiamo di provare più tardi. Ci scusiamo per il disagio. > > De website van Google AdSense is tijdelijk niet beschikbaar. Probeert u het later opnieuw. Onze excuses voor het eventuele ongemak. > > Google AdSense Sayfası geçici olarak hizmet dışıdır. Lütfen, daha sonra tekrar deneyin. Bu geçici sorundan dolayı özür dileriz. > > O site do Google AdSense não está disponível no momento. Tente novamente mais tarde. Pedimos desculpas pelo inconveniente. > > Witryna programu Google AdSense jest chwilowo niedostępna. Prosimy spróbuj później. Przepraszamy za wszelkie niedogodności. > > Веб-сайт Google AdSense временно недоступен. Попробуйте, пожалуйста, еще раз через несколько минут. Мы приносим свои извинения за причиненные неудобства. > > Google AdSense webbplats är för tillfället inte tillgänglig. Försök igen senare. Vi ber om ursäkt för eventuellt besvär. > > Google AdSense-webstedet er ikke tilgængeligt i øjeblikket. Prøv igen senere. Vi beklager ulejligheden. > > Google AdSense 웹사이트를 일시적으로 사용하실 수 없습니다 . 나중에 다시 시도해 보십시오 . 불편을 끼쳐드려 죄송합니다 . > > Google AdSense-webområdet er midlertidig utilgjengelig. Prøv igjen senere. Vi beklager eventuelle problemer dette medfører. > > Google AdSense 網站暫時無法流覽。請您侍候再嘗試。對於造成您的不便我們感到抱歉。 > > A Google AdSense oldal jelenleg nem elérhető. Kérjük, látogasson vissza később. > Elnézést kérünk az esetleges kellemetlenségekért. > > Google AdSense –sivusto ei väliaikaisesti ole saatavilla. Yritä myöhemmin uudelleen. Pahoittelemme tämän aiheuttamaa hankaluutta. > > Stránka Google AdSense je dočasně nedostupná. Zkuste to později. Omlouváme se za způsobené nepříjemnosti. > > Stránka Google AdSense je dočasne nedostupná. Skúste neskôr, prosím. Ospravedlňujeme sa za spôsobené nepríjemnosti. > > Google AdSense sučelje trenutno je nedostupno. Molimo Vas pokušajte kasnije. Ispričavamo se za neugodnosti. > > إن موقع Google AdSense غير متوفر وقتيا. يرجى تكرار المحاولة لاحقا. نعتذر عن أي إزعاج. > > אתר Google AdSense איננו זמין כרגע. אנו מצטערים על אי הנוחות. אנא נסה שנית מאוחר יותר. > > Google AdSense уебсайта е временно недостъпен. Моля опитайте по-късно. Извиняваме се за неудобството. > > Η ιστοσελίδα του Google AdSense δεν είναι διαθέσιμη προς το παρόν. Παρακαλώ δοκιμάστε αργότερα. Ζητούμε συγγνώμη για την ενόχληση. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646/5 "2007-09-27T15:49:52Z")
thanks for the reply **elmwood**. i \*was \* thinking about Ents and was half expecting some arcane language or something. **jjimm** i don’t have any specifics in mind, except for thinking that the difference between the two extreme languages might pose a problem in dubbing a film for example, where it would quickly go out of sync. curiously, a quick google on some Greenlandic and Mazahua clips gave me the impression that Mazahua is more long-winded, with a quick succession of words without seemingly stopping for breath. it’s probably just the speaker. ---
**Author:** ![Dunawake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dunawake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunawake)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646/6 "2007-09-27T16:14:45Z")
I can’t imagine trying to learn Greenlandic. To me, “iliorfigeqatigiittariaqaraluarput” looks like something that happened because the cat ran over the keyboard. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646/7 "2007-09-27T16:16:50Z")
I cannot help with the question, but I will remark that the written lanuage is not a good way of looking at the question. Although French is longer on the printed page than English, it has more silect syllables (the sentence “qu’est-ce que c’est que ca” has fragments of eight words compressed into five syllables) and is also generally spoken faster. FWIW, I have heard that Hawaiin has few consonants which results in long words with lots of syllables. Another point is that you cannot rely on translations (which invariably grow as there will generally be things in the source language that are harder to express in the target langauge, but would likely have been said in a slightly different way. So the question is hard to answer. Of course, Entish is another matter entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646/8 "2007-09-27T16:40:22Z")
> [@](#): > > a-lalla-lalla-rumba-kamanda-lindor-burúme = hill Or rather, a fragment of the the name for that particular hill, far too short to do justice to the real thing. Spending less than three days to say “hello” strikes an Ent as hasty. On the serious question, the Google error message doesn’t prove anything, since it was originally in English. Translation will, in general, lengthen a passage, regardless of which languages you’re translating, or in what direction. And the amount by which it’s lengthened depends on its original length: Short passages are stretched proportionately more than long ones. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646/9 "2007-09-27T16:50:26Z")
Legalese has to be a contender, surely? ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646/10 "2007-09-27T17:28:06Z")
Latin is awfully compact, it seems to me more so than its Romance descendants. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646/11 "2007-09-27T17:29:02Z")
[QUOTE=shijinn] and conversely, what is the most succinct language? [/QUOTE] Sesuto might be a contender if the example below is any guide. **malito** : something which a person lets fall and which his cousin can pick up and keep if the owner does not say **ngaele**. I can’t recall the English equivalent for this most excellent and useful word. ---
**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 27, 2007, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646/12 "2007-09-27T18:21:58Z")
I suspect that every language has certain things it can describe very succinctly and other things that it cannot. It all depends on what particular things are important to the speakers of that language and what things are not. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646/13 "2007-09-27T18:31:35Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] I suspect that every language has certain things it can describe very succinctly and other things that it cannot. It all depends on what particular things are important to the speakers of that language and what things are not. [/QUOTE] Good point. Think of how many variations we have in English on the concept of “someone who steals”, ranging from “bandit” to “thief” to “politician”. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646/14 "2007-09-27T18:45:14Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] Legalese has to be a contender, surely? [/QUOTE] And political correctness: “Some people are of the opinion that male Caucasins lack the genetic ability to jump as high or higher than African-American males” or “White Men Can’t Jump” ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646/15 "2007-09-28T08:00:47Z")
[QUOTE=Chez Guevara] Sesuto might be a contender if the example below is any guide. **malito** : something which a person lets fall and which his cousin can pick up and keep if the owner does not say **ngaele**. I can’t recall the English equivalent for this most excellent and useful word. [/QUOTE] “finders keepers!” ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646/16 "2007-09-28T10:21:43Z")
The Sanskrit _Sutra_-form of literature is known to be extremely concise. So concise, in fact, that it is almost impossible to understand without seeking support in the commentaries supplied with it. Nothing was stated twice, and intra-textual references - often in obscure, abbreviated forms - abound. Traditionally an entire sutra-text - like Patanjali’s sentences on Yoga or Panini’s grammar - was memorized by the students, and their guru would then explain the meaning of the sentences afterwards. One of the reasons Sanskrit can be so concise (which it isn’t always - far from it) is that the grammar permits quite large changes to the meaning of words by use of inflection, prefixes, etc. The morphology thus permits a wide range of meaning to be conveyed in a single word. A lot of newer languages would add more words to attain the same effect. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646/17 "2007-09-28T10:45:55Z")
I can’t remember which language it is - one of the native South American ones, I think - in which there is a word which means “the manner in which two men look at each other when both are hoping that the other will volunteer for something which both of them wish to be done but neither wants to do”. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646/18 "2007-09-28T11:02:56Z")
The Danes have a word that means “charming,” but more than that. That’s all I know. I’m told that it’s a very pleasing thing to be. The word is _hyggelig_. If any of you _hyggelig_ Scandanavians want to elaborate, I would love to learn more about it. In looking at the length of the languages, consider the fonts used. If I change the font or even the size of my font, does my language become more “more”? I had dinner one night many years ago with a group of people from Greenland. Does this mean they weren’t as talkative as I thought? ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646/19 "2007-09-28T11:43:41Z")
[QUOTE=Zoe] The Danes have a word that means “charming,” but more than that. That’s all I know. I’m told that it’s a very pleasing thing to be. The word is _hyggelig_. If any of you _hyggelig_ Scandanavians want to elaborate, I would love to learn more about it. [/QUOTE] The word actually appears in many different forms: The verbal form is “hygge”, the noun is also “hygge”, and “hyggelig” can be both an adjectival and an adverbial form. The term “hygge”/“hyggelig” can be applied within a range of different meanings, like “charming”, “secure & comfortable”, “warm, cozy”, “enjoyable” - basically stuff/situations that make you feel good, safe, satisfied, comfortable, etc. Ethymologically “hygge” is from - Old Norse: _hyggja_: “to think, mean; to feel satisfied” - Swedish: _hygga sig_" “to become more civilized” Boy… this is difficult. The thing is, I guess, that you practically have to be born and raised here in Denmark to know the exact possibilities of applying this term. What it means to me? - I dunno. It’s a state of mind 🙂 . Try defining “zen” - it’s the same kind of refusal to be constrained in words that applies to “hygge”. ETA: Well, now we know that Danish can be removed from the list of concise languages … ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646/20 "2007-09-28T11:45:26Z")
[QUOTE=Chronos] Or rather, a fragment of the the name for that particular hill, far too short to do justice to the real thing. Spending less than three days to say “hello” strikes an Ent as hasty. On the serious question, the Google error message doesn’t prove anything, since it was originally in English. Translation will, in general, lengthen a passage, regardless of which languages you’re translating, or in what direction. And the amount by which it’s lengthened depends on its original length: Short passages are stretched proportionately more than long ones. [/QUOTE] Underlining mine. Not exactly, those are pretty standard “apology” sentences. It’s not like translating, say, the US Constitution. In my experience, Spanish is often wordier than English, but in the example it’s shorter - not because the original concept was in English (c’mon, we’re the “come back mañana” culture!) but because the translator was good. There are other standard apology Spanish sentences with equivalent meanings which could have been chosen by the translator, he picked versions which were “neutral” with respect to dialect and relatively short. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-long-winded-language/420646.md?page=2)