What does English sound like in music.

Gina   Sat Mar 14, 2009 2:35 pm GMT
To you, when you listen to English songs, mainly American English songs, what does English sound like when it's being sung? Does it sound like it does when it's being spoken? I'm really curious because I know that American music is popular all over, and it would be nice to know how it sounds to foreign ears. For example, I think Russian when being sung, sounds nothing like spoken Russian. When I hear people sing in Russian it almost sounds...Spanish to me or like Latin.
Gina   Sat Mar 14, 2009 2:39 pm GMT
Correction, I didn't mean Latin, I meant Italian (:
Guest   Sat Mar 14, 2009 2:57 pm GMT
Sung latin sounds like Russian
.....   Sat Mar 14, 2009 3:10 pm GMT
sung english sounds like a more complicated language. when i hear people speak english is sounds easy. but when they sing it, it sounds alot more. complicated. like more big words and stuff. that is the only difference. it still slighty sounds like english.
dane   Sat Mar 14, 2009 3:27 pm GMT
i dont think sung english sounds like english -.- it sounds...weird.
lica   Sat Mar 14, 2009 3:55 pm GMT
American English sounds monotonous when it's sung. My favourite language in songs is Italian
Winona   Sat Mar 14, 2009 5:12 pm GMT
Italian sounds gay when sung. I prefer English because most words are monosyllabic so you can say many things with a few words. Italian is not so good for singing (except for opera and italian canzone), for serious stuff (rock) or dance/house/trance it is just too rural/rustic, English is more fashionable and modern. Even French sounds better when sung in, than Italian, think Moi Lolita by Alizée...
Jae   Sat Mar 14, 2009 5:55 pm GMT
I have been fluent in English for about 2 years, but it is hard for me to understand American songs sometimes. I can understand slower songs, but with the faster songs I'm like "What?!". There are other American songs that I have a hard time understanding but I would say that sung American english sounds alot different when it's spoken. American English sounds very slurred when sung. I also noticed that alot of American singers don't fully pronounce the ending of some words. Like if they were singing the word 'hide' they would say 'hi' or atleast it sounds like hi. And when they say 'me' they say 'may'
skippa   Sat Mar 14, 2009 5:58 pm GMT
English may be modern but it's one the ugliest languages in the world. Even German is better
Jasper   Sat Mar 14, 2009 6:05 pm GMT
"English may be modern but it's one the ugliest languages in the world. Even German is better"

Believe it or not, I can see this point of view.

Once on a whim I took a spoken English passage, reversed the cassette tape, and listened. (I worked under the hypothesis that reversed English would retain exactly the same sounds, rearranged in such a way as to render it unintelligible.) English sounded like a language spoken with a mouth full of potatoes—not at all a pleasant language to hear.
mamona   Sat Mar 14, 2009 6:17 pm GMT
<<Italian is not so good for singing (except for opera and italian canzone), for serious stuff (rock) >>

LOL, So rock is serious stuff and opera isn't? The stupidity of the anglosphere amazes me.
Johnny   Sat Mar 14, 2009 6:28 pm GMT
<<what does English sound like when it's being sung?>>
It sounds good.

<<Does it sound like it does when it's being spoken?>>
It depends. Usually, some changes occur, like losing rhoticity, so that non-rhoticity is virtually universal in songs (better girl --> betta guuuul)
Also, several vowels tend to shift towards vowels that sound more American, so everyone seems to be American, or it might not be possible to be sure where the singer comes from.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShrdKHeAel0

Working like a DOG, sleeping like a LOG. Great American Band, the Beatles.
Caspian   Sat Mar 14, 2009 6:50 pm GMT
<< Italian is not so good for singing (except for opera and italian canzone) >>

Lol do you know how stupid that sounds?
Gina   Sat Mar 14, 2009 6:54 pm GMT
@skippa, you may think English sounds ugly when spoken, but what about in music? Does it sound any better? And It's funny you say it's ugly. All my foreign friends say it sounds very light and feminine D:<

@Jasper, well of course when you listen to backwards English it's going to sound unpleasant...

I think American English is a very pretty language. It sounds fun, and it's not harsh or loud sounding in any way. But that's just *~my~* opinon.
Jasper   Sat Mar 14, 2009 7:22 pm GMT
gina, I'm not so sure. I believe the exact same sounds are heard, but rearranged so as to be unintelligible.

The only way to be certain would to be to take a similar spoken passage in a different language, reverse the tape, and see if IT sounds the same.