Why do Germans sound harsh?
One reason why German may sound “harsh” to some people are the glottal stops that are employed in German. These are the unconsciously inserted pauses between the words in spoken speech. When a German says, for example “große Autos” , there is a glottal stop between the “e” and “a” sounds.
Why do French and German sound so different?
The only common ancestor these two language families really have is Proto-Indo-European. They probably split into their two distinct branches at least 3,000 years ago (possibly as much as 5). So the reason German and French are so different is that they have been separate languages for thousands of years.
Is German language aggressive?
If you can’t speak German, there’s a chance you might think of it as an aggressive language. You may think it sounds aggressive because you make links to certain people from the past, but, funnily enough, no, it’s not an aggressive language.
Why does English sound so different to other languages?
“English speakers are drawn to the melody of a language such as French or Italian,” explains Dr Patti Adank, a lecturer on speech, hearing and phonetic sciences at University College London (UCL). “In comparison, languages such as Thai or Mandarin can sound harsh because they are using tonal distinctions. It sounds very unnatural and unexpected.”
Is French a language of strange sounds that leave you scratching?
Oh, and it’s the language of strange sounds that will leave you scratching your head. If you’ve spent any time in France or around French people, you might have noticed some of these strange noises that French people make that aren’t commonplace in the English language. And no, I’m not talking about the French “R”!
Does the sound of the language make it less attractive?
“There is nothing in the sound of the language that makes it less or more attractive,” insists Chand. “Some sounds are more common across the world but that doesn’t link to the specific perceptions we have about French and Italian.
What makes a language sound ‘harsh’?
“When people talk about ‘harsh-sounding’ languages, they’re usually referring to languages that have sounds made in the back of the vocal tract,” Dr. Lisa Davidson, a professor of linguistics at New York University, told The Huffington Post in an email.