A moment of your time for a linguistic amusement, please

[Equinoxe]

The idea of this thread is to get people's impressions of sounds. So, I will be linking a series of recordings of people speaking in various languages and I would like to have your opinions, especially those of you from diverse linguistic backgrounds, on the sounds of the languages recorded.

If you would, please listen to each recording, none is much more than 3 minutes long, and give me your thoughts on the sound of what you just listened to. Avoid trying to understand what is being said as much as possible, try to ignore the qualities of the individual speaker's voice, and try to ignore anything going on in the background of any of the recordings (there is music in one)—just listen carefully to the sounds of the words. When you have listened to them, please tell me what you thought of each: did you like it or dislike it? was it euphonic or cacophonic? did you find it more or less pleasant sounding than English and/or your native tongue (if not English)? what, if any, feelings did the sounds of the language evoke in you? and anything else you feel like sharing.

Oh, and if you recognise any of the languages being spoken, please keep that to yourself; I want this to be a 'blind taste test', so to speak.

Addendum: If you would, please include your native language and dialect in your response.

Thank you in advance (and special thanks to Vana for helping me to organise this).

Here are the recordings:
Example One
Example Two
Example Three
Example Four
Example Five
Example Six
Example Seven

 

[English Lady]

1, sounds like an urban accent like Geordie or Scouse. A little harsh in places but it sounds passionate in other places. I kinda liked it.

2, this one makes me *yawn* and sounds very wet. Lots of Sch sounds.

3, soft, rythmic, soothing. Very pleasant, wonderful for bedtime sotries I'd imagine.

4, erractic, wet sounding again, It grated in parts.

5,lots of "th" sounds, this one leaves me feeling rather "meh" about it.

6, words seem to blend into each other, repetitive, almost hypnotic.

7,hard to ignore the music but the sound is probably quite close to english that I'm used to, it sounds very similar but maybe a little wetter (lots of sch and s sounds again)


I have no idea if that helps or no, but hey, I thought I'd have a go


Added: I'm English and have a Lancashire accent.

 

[Nirvanadragones]

*moves into thread with a pot of chai, settles down, and waits to hear more replies, with an amused smile*

This is exceptionally interesting, Equinoxe.

 

[Equinoxe]

I have no idea if that helps or no, but hey, I thought I'd have a go

That helps a great deal. Thank you very much!

 

[ABSTRUSE]

That helps a great deal. Thank you very much!

I'll be back for this, sounds excellent!

 

[Equinoxe]

I'll be back for this, sounds excellent!

Wonderful.

 

[Munachi]

Tried - but had a lot of problems forming an opinion... I find it very hard to separate my opinion on the language itself from the voice of the speaker and stuff like that...

1. i like the melody, though some sounds a bit harsh... in general i liked it... couldn't help recognizing a few words and thus trying to guess a bit what it is, which might influence my opinion though...

2. a bit too strong on throaty sounds (especially those that sound like pressed out of the side of the mouth) and ü-like sounds for my tastes, though still okay...

3. The voice and type of recording distracted me quite a bit here which makes it difficult to form an opinion... i'd say sounds okay, neither particularly bad or good... sometimes the melody is a bit annoying at other times nice...

4. Sounded okay - i found the type of melody and pronunciation sounded a bit exagerated at times - but it might have to do with the type of texts, sounded like the recital of a poem, rather than with the sound of the language...

5. Bit strong on f-sounds and again a somewhat exaggerated sounding melody...

6. better than the ones before, though a bit rushed - again, that might be the speaker more than the language. melody is okay...

7. a bit lacking in consonant sounds... again sounded a bit like reciting a poem which makes it difficult to say something about the melody... a bit many throaty or lisping sounds, but still okay...

In general I would say none I liked or disliked extremely, they all sounded okay...

I'd be very interested in knowing what they are, some sounded quite similar...

 

[ABSTRUSE]

One and two I found to be a little sterile and boring. Technical.

Three was more comforting, I could listen to it longer.

Four was pleasing as well.

Five and Six I was attentive to, while seven with the addition of music gave me more of a visual.

the language, though familiar at times, wow. how does one make those sounds, how does your tongue work like that?
You don't hear that in english, or else if its there, my ears can't detect it.
I love languages.

This was so cool, thanks E.

 

[Equinoxe]

Tried - but had a lot of problems forming an opinion... I find it very hard to separate my opinion on the language itself from the voice of the speaker and stuff like that...

I understand. Thank you very much for your impressions.

This was so cool, thanks E.

You're very welcome and thank you for participating.

 

[FatDino]

One is kind of too harsh, almost dry and kinda boring.

Two is somewhat similar to one. Sometimes I keep thinking if they're of the same language. But two has more..***** in it. It may have been because of the voice, I'm not sure.

Three has more melody and is more pleasant for sure. The voice may have added to the pleasantry but the language itself forces any speaker to have those ups and downs.

Four I found boring again. Although, the sounds are very cool. I admire anyone who can speak this language fluently.

Five has so many -th sounds! This one makes me tired and somewhat breathless just listening to it.

Six sounds like it's reading a poem, but a very monotone one at that.

The music in seven really distracted me. But I think I liked the language. It's soft and pleasant.

I think they're all great. I'm not sure if I like any of them better than my native language though, cuz they're just too...difficult. In Vietnamese, one word only has one syllable.

 

[Equinoxe]

I think they're all great. I'm not sure if I like any of them better than my native language though, cuz they're just too...difficult. In Vietnamese, one word only has one syllable.

Interesting. Thank you very much for your impressions.

 

[FatDino]

Interesting. Thank you very much for your impressions.

No, thank you. I enjoyed listening to all the recordings. This is fun.

 

[Equinoxe]

No, thank you. I enjoyed listening to all the recordings. This is fun.

Wonderful. I am glad that everyone is enjoying themselves, because there may be a second round.

 

[FatDino]

Wonderful. I am glad that everyone is enjoying themselves, because there may be a second round.

We could have the AH'ers record themselves speaking their own native languages!

 

[Equinoxe]

We could have the AH'ers record themselves speaking their own native languages!

That is an interesting idea.

 

[FatDino]

That is an interesting idea.

Of course I was hoping I could hear certain people's voices...

 

[Equinoxe]

Of course I was hoping I could hear certain people's voices...

Naturally.

 

[Nirvanadragones]

Of course I was hoping I could hear certain people's voices...

Is there an echo in here?

 

[FatDino]

Naturally.

*innocent look*

Is there an echo in here?

Well, Equinoxe says it's natural.

 

[glo33]

Hi Equi,
my native tongue is Italian. What a fun thing to do.
i have to say that the voices influenced my judgment a lot, some voices i like better than other and maybe they made me like better the laguage....i dont know....but here you go

1. I found it pleasantly un-pleasant…I mean ..the hard and guttural sounds made it inaccessible to me, a bit like a non-climber would feel in front of a great rock wall….and yet he stays there admiring it. I could never speak it, and yet I could sit and listen to it.

2. I didn’t enjoy this one so much…sound wise it is very similar to the first…but the melody and rhythm I felt in the first is missing here. It feels colder and harsher.

3. This one feels blunt and direct. Sharp and quick. Up and down like a mountain road with twists and turns.

4. It felt like a chant, it has melody and harmony. I liked the way all the words seemed linked together.

5. It is sharp, maybe a bit to much for me. It is icy, and it feels a bit cold. It is very matter of fact.

6. This one felt monotone and flat.

7. I liked this one. It felt like a poems with lines with a very regular metric. Undulating and wavy.(I am curious about what he said about the song in the background…it is one of our partisan song, a very sad one)

 

[Equinoxe]

Hi Equi,
my native tongue is Italian. What a fun thing to do.
i have to say that the voices influenced my judgment a lot, some voices i like better than other and maybe they made me like better the laguage....i dont know....but here you go

Excellent, thank you very much!

(I have absolutely no idea what he is saying in the last one. Other than the Italian at the very end, I only make out one word that I know immediately.)

 

[Equinoxe]

I will bump by own thread: honi soit qui mal y pense.

 

[lisa123414]

This is quite interesting, thank you Equinoxe.

My native language is American English.

1. Difficult, to divorce the voice from the linguistics. It could be a instructions for something mundane, but the sounds are exotic to me and therefore interesting, and euphonic.

2. This feels like the same voice, and possibly the same language as the first, however, for some reason, possibly the faster tempo, makes this sound less pleasant.

3. Something about this one, puts me off and I am not certain as to why. Lots of shuss.

4. I did not care for this one, maybe the ie sounds, sounds like maybe, a question?

5. I do like so many hard sounds, f, t, k. Another one that I find pleasant.

6. The quicker tempo of this one makes it less relaxing, but it has friendlier sounds than some of the others

7. To me the harshest of the seven, although the music in the background seems to soften it. I found the sounds harsh and unpleasant.

 

[Equinoxe]

This is quite interesting, thank you Equinoxe.

No, thank you. I am very pleased to have your participation.