I say it's the best, in my opinion, because of its extensive vocabulary, which draws on both Latinate and Germanic vocabulary. It is very versatile for transitioning between the Romance and Germanic languages. It is the language of business worldwide, among many other things. It's the lingua franca of the world, and therefore very useful. It is one of, if not the, softest, least gutteral of the Germanic languages. The phonology is very plain, so that it is easier to pronounce foreign languages. There are many reasons why I believe it is the best. That is my personal opinion.
Whats your favorite Germanic language?
Hi LAA,
Thank you for your posting. You made your point.
There is just one thing I would like to point out from my own part:
>The phonology is very plain, so that it is easier to pronounce foreign languages
Believe me, English has quite a complex vowel system, making it not necessarily phonologicaly plain!!! this is my perspective being English a foreign language for me.
Thank you for your posting. You made your point.
There is just one thing I would like to point out from my own part:
>The phonology is very plain, so that it is easier to pronounce foreign languages
Believe me, English has quite a complex vowel system, making it not necessarily phonologicaly plain!!! this is my perspective being English a foreign language for me.
««"polluted/enriched" is the same argument as the "glass is half full" or "half empty", however you wish to look at it.»»
It all depends with WHAT!!!
It all depends with WHAT!!!
"For me, I found that it sound very close than the sound of english, except for the guttural "R" sound. "
I don't think it sounds much like English at all. As a Romance speaker, you will find it harder to notice the subtle differences between the Germanic languages. Their "i"s are pronounced like an English "ee", their "r"s are gutteralized, their "a"s are short, whereas in English they would most likely be pronounced as long 'a's. This song sounds much more like Dutch or German than it does English. English has a very distinct phonology within the Germanic family, similar to how French phonology is very distinct within the Romance family.
I don't think it sounds much like English at all. As a Romance speaker, you will find it harder to notice the subtle differences between the Germanic languages. Their "i"s are pronounced like an English "ee", their "r"s are gutteralized, their "a"s are short, whereas in English they would most likely be pronounced as long 'a's. This song sounds much more like Dutch or German than it does English. English has a very distinct phonology within the Germanic family, similar to how French phonology is very distinct within the Romance family.
That is because all of the Germanic and Romance langauges have overcome their nastalgia, English and French still have that on their to-do list.
English is my favourite Germanic language. Why? Because it's my native language and because it is definitely the most beautiful. To me, other Germanic languages - especially German - sound absolutely awful to listen to. Even just saying "I love you" in German sounds like a Nazi Stormtrooper shouting out orders into your eardrum. Dutch sounds like what English would sound like if you tried to speak it underwater.
Compare how beautiful and easy-sounding "I love you" is in English compared to other Germanic languages -
English - I love you
Afrikaans - Ek is lief vir jou/Ek het jou lief
German - Ich liebe Dich/I mog Di ganz arg!
Dutch - Ik hou van jou
Danish - Jeg elsker dig
Friesian - Ik bin fereale op dy/Ik hâld fan dy
Swedish - Jag alskar dig
Yiddish - Ikh hob dikh lib
--------------------------------------------
English - Butterfly
German - Schmetterling
Norwegian - Sommerfugl
Yiddish - zomerfeygele
Compare how beautiful and easy-sounding "I love you" is in English compared to other Germanic languages -
English - I love you
Afrikaans - Ek is lief vir jou/Ek het jou lief
German - Ich liebe Dich/I mog Di ganz arg!
Dutch - Ik hou van jou
Danish - Jeg elsker dig
Friesian - Ik bin fereale op dy/Ik hâld fan dy
Swedish - Jag alskar dig
Yiddish - Ikh hob dikh lib
--------------------------------------------
English - Butterfly
German - Schmetterling
Norwegian - Sommerfugl
Yiddish - zomerfeygele
>>English - Butterfly
German - Schmetterling
Norwegian - Sommerfugl
Yiddish - zomerfeygele <<
I find butterfly to be one of English' most simple and ugly words, you simply should not call something as beautiful as a butterfly a "butter+fly".
Personally I think "vlinder" (Dutch for butterfly) is one of the nicest Dutch words.
German - Schmetterling
Norwegian - Sommerfugl
Yiddish - zomerfeygele <<
I find butterfly to be one of English' most simple and ugly words, you simply should not call something as beautiful as a butterfly a "butter+fly".
Personally I think "vlinder" (Dutch for butterfly) is one of the nicest Dutch words.
"If any Romance language sounds harsh, it is Romanian or French"
French is to the Romance languages as English is to the Germanic languages. Whereas English is the most Romantic of the Germanic languages, French is the most Germanic of the Romance languages.
I don't like the French language. To me, it's much more uglier than the other Romance languages, especially when you compare it to Italian. To me, French just sounds like a Romaticised version of English, which makes French sound silly to my ears.
French is to the Romance languages as English is to the Germanic languages. Whereas English is the most Romantic of the Germanic languages, French is the most Germanic of the Romance languages.
I don't like the French language. To me, it's much more uglier than the other Romance languages, especially when you compare it to Italian. To me, French just sounds like a Romaticised version of English, which makes French sound silly to my ears.
>>French is the most Germanic of the Romance languages. <<
Never heard of Walloon I see, not surprising and uneducated person like you. I even doubt you ever left ... eh, "Bolton"?
Never heard of Walloon I see, not surprising and uneducated person like you. I even doubt you ever left ... eh, "Bolton"?
French is not "Germanic" in sentence structure or in lexicon. It just has a distinct, Celtic influenced phonology, with a uvular 'r' which is common to Germanic languages, and lacks many vowel ending words which give Spanish and Italian and even Portuguese a typical Latin ring tone effect. So, it has flat endings, nasal sounds, uvular 'r's, etc., all of which do not sound very typical Romance language like.
But it is no more "Germanic" than Spanish or Portuguese are.
But it is no more "Germanic" than Spanish or Portuguese are.
German: « I mog Di ganz arg! »
Schwyzerdütsch? Nedersaksisch? What type of 'German' is that?
Schwyzerdütsch? Nedersaksisch? What type of 'German' is that?
Adam : « French is to the Romance languages as English is to the Germanic languages. »
Pas tout à fait, cher ami : le vocabulaire français est gréco-latin à 95 %. Les mots d'origine germanique ne représentent pas 60 % du lexique de la langue de Molière.
Adam : « I don't like the French language. »
Tant mieux ! Le contraire m'aurait fait honte...
Mais c'est bizarre : tu utilises du français tous les jours, cher Adam. Un mot sur deux qui sort de ta bouche est du français. Cruelle ironie !
Pas tout à fait, cher ami : le vocabulaire français est gréco-latin à 95 %. Les mots d'origine germanique ne représentent pas 60 % du lexique de la langue de Molière.
Adam : « I don't like the French language. »
Tant mieux ! Le contraire m'aurait fait honte...
Mais c'est bizarre : tu utilises du français tous les jours, cher Adam. Un mot sur deux qui sort de ta bouche est du français. Cruelle ironie !
My favourite german language is German. English can not be considered a german language because it is so heavily modified that shares more common with a romance language like French than with German, which is not only a germanic language , but also a western germanic language like English.In theory, English and German should look quite similar because they belong to the same sub-branch, just like Spanish and Portuguese, which belong to iberorromance sub-branch of romance languages. But what do we get in reality? English speakers can hardly understand a single word in a sentence written in German, while a spanish speaker can easily understand complete sentences written not only in Portuguese, but in other romace languages that do not belong to the same sub-branch: Italian or French for example. Despite English is genetically a germanic language, it is a mutant romance language.