Photos: author
Matador’s community weighs in on the question of the world’s most beautiful language.
Nick Rowlands:
I love Farsi – it’s mellifluous and haunting. I really like Siwi too (a Berber language spoken only in the Siwa Oasis near the Egypt-Libya border) which is also very sing-song.
It’s funny, though, because so much seems to depend on who is speaking! I lived in Poland, and some Poles sound like they are chewing gravel when they speak, whereas some speak in such a beautiful, soft cadence that it turns my legs to jelly. Now I’m wondering how much this correlates with my perception of the speaker.
I also like Egyptian Arabic. It’s by no means a beautiful language, and it often sounds (especially as spoken in Cairo) as though people are shouting at each other, when in fact they are simply having a conversation. It is, however, slangy, adaptable, and full of rich, earthy expressions. My favorite one translates as “If hair was important, it wouldn’t grow out of your arse” (I’m bald)!
Dannbob:
I love Lebanese Arabic; it’s much softer than other Arabic dialects and they sprinkle in French and English along with it.
jclum3:
I have to say both Portuguese and French are my favorites. Both are beautiful to hear and speak. I love the way they make your cheeks feel after a long conversation.
Photos: author
But I have to disagree with a lot of you; I’m not a big fan of Arabic. My mother is Middle Eastern so I grew up on a bit of it when family was in town. Way too aggressive for my taste. But I guess it’s an acquired taste; that’s what my mom used to say.
Neha:
My vote goes to Urdu (I’m not sure but I think it’s close to Farsi; I think they have the same roots). The language is lyrical and tailor-made for poets; even the blandest statement sounds rich. And then there is French. But more than French itself, I love the French speaking English. Absolutely delicious!
Sara C:
Farsi, in my opinion, is the most beautiful language I don’t understand.
I also love Hindi – I feel a weird familiarity with it, and it’s probably the only language where, suddenly, without any formal instruction, I started to realize, “hey, I understand what they’re saying…!”
Oh, and Welsh. It’s not “beautiful”, per se, but I find it extremely quirky and fascinating – kind of like what someone else said about Egyptian Arabic. Slangy, informal, and a little bit hobbit-ish. My ears strain to figure out what kind of hilarious joke they must be telling.
Telse:
Lithuanian and Ukrainian sound soft and melodious. I also love hearing Finnish speakers. I don’t understand any of these languages, but they still sound beautiful.
And German will always have a place in my heart. Not exactly melodious, but it sounds so COOL!
pastor_riel:
I was waiting to see if anyone mentioned Romanian…my favorite language! It sounds so beautiful! It’s a blend of strong, confident Slavic tempered with the passionate, rhythmic flow of a romance language. In short, it sounds pretty damn sexy when spoken. And listen to how they roll their rrrr’s!
Community Connection
Please share your perspective on the world’s most beautiful language in the comments below. For me, it’s Spanish every time, because I feel like a kitten rolling around in a big pile of catnip every time I speak it. It’s flexible and full of energy and when I speak it the words come flying off my tongue before I know I’m sayin’ em.
About the Author
More By This Author
- The Perils And Possibilities Of Revolutionary Tourism: A Visit With The Zapatistas (2 comments)
- Ask A Pilot Round 2: Your Questions Answered! (5 comments)
- Formula Travel (2 comments)
Related Posts
24 Comments... join the discussion!
-
-
I really like Indo-Chinese languages (well not sure if people call that) like thai, lao, vietnamese, etc. they’re somehow unique & interesting in my ears. and i also love the accent of african francophones like those from benin, cameroon or cote d’ivoire. sometimes i cannot understand them well eventhough i can understand french.
↵ -
spanish language makes me feel happy,comfy and travelish *__*
↵ -
at the moment I’m absolutely captured by jargons such as lunfardo, catalan, netspeaking….
↵ -
French is super sexy. It just sounds so seductive.
↵ -
I I completely agree with pastor_riel, I LOVE listening to Romanian. Its just beautiful.
↵ -
I have to agree with the Farsi fans – it’s a gorgeous, poetic language. I love reading translations of Farsi texts.
I absolutely love the sound of Russian, I’ve tried learning a few words but can never get my tongue around the more complicated syllables. I guess that’s part of the appeal…
↵ -
Wow, you asked some opinions of people on an internet forum and published their responses as an article.
Bravo.
↵ -
I’m SO happy to see Hindi/Urdu listed (in basic conversation they are pretty much the same language)!! Definitely my absolute favorite language(s), especially when sung. I love the “drum-iness” of many of the words, and I don’t know, I would happily listen to it being spoken all day. The grammar is a pain in my butt, though!
↵ -
I also have to say I love Russian, its such a stern language. I used to teach swim lessons to a couple of Russian kids and though they spoke some English there parents had to yell out the instructions in Russian oftentimes and I just loved hearing it.
I also love Italian, the accents and inflections come so naturally to people, even though they sound like theyre giving a little gusto.
↵ -
I’m surprised there’s not much mention of Italian here! When it comes to the sing-songing cadence, the Italians have it dead-on… seductive and vivacious… quite the combination.
Script-wise, Mongolian script is fascinating… though when spoken, sounds very similar to other East-Asian languages.
On Romanian however, as a linguist who has lived in Romania and speaks Romanian, the Slavic-Romance mix doesn’t produce a very even cadence… and many words, such as “copiii” (coh-pee-ee) and “cetăţean” (cheh-tuh-tsee-ahn)↵ -
Nick Rolands: That language call it Tamazight (languague of origine people of northa africa from Siwa to Las Palmas)… it’s my language
↵ -
This post makes me want to pick up some language classes.
I want to learn French, but I’m most attracted to Spanish. Freaking love Spanish. I smile just hearing it.
↵ -
Irish Gaeilge is the bestest language in the world. The words in it sound exactly like the things the name.
Also, currently i’m studying Tibetan and start loving it more and more!
↵ -
I love the sounds of Korean, Mongolian, and Italian. Of course, those are not the languages I am drawn to in order to learn (I speak German and Mandarin, which more guttural, less melodic).
Possibly the language I find the least appealing, sound wise; Hakka.
↵ -
Spanish! I just love the way it sounds, and the way it feels when I speak it.
Otherwise, I think Russian is really beautiful, and I also like the sound of Japanese for some reason.
↵ -
Nick Rolands, you’re first comment was exactly the language I was going to pick: Farsi. I love how melodic it is, how it flows so well, and yet how, grammatically, it’s extremely simple.
Here’s an interesting routine by Maz Jobrani, a Persian comedian, who kind of sums up what I love about Iranians and the Persian language:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7rlFpUhziE↵ -
I’m glad German is up there! I love German – hearing, speaking, reading, not always writing, ha. The Austrian dialect is especially awesome, very melodic and full of slang, but nearly indiscernible if it’s not your mother tongue.
I also really like Swiss French. It’s spoken slower than the dialect in France and a lot easier to understand.
↵ -
Urdu isn’t the same as hindi. Most people who speak urdu use alot of hindi/punjabi words and they make up around 40% of urdu speakers as they come from punjab. Urdu is infact almost a mix of hindi/farsi and alot richer in poetry than farsi. Anything said in urdu can sound poetic as long as formal urdu words are used and not mistakenly mixed with punjabi/hindi words. Urdu is becoming more popular in Pakistan since it has influenced the Pakistani population most of whom speak punjabi, sindhi, pashto and balochi as the mother language through the media, schools, books & many influential aspects of their lives making it the first language for most new generations.
↵ -
Hey, Telugu, spoken by people of the state of Andhra Pradesh, is one of the most beautiful languages.
it’s called Italian of the east. It’s dulcet.
It’s euphonic, sounds landing in your ear with such delicacy even cuss words, shouting and fighting have their own beauty. I mean, the words don’t rattle like when you shake a rusted tin with a few stones in it.
If at all anybody can inflict damage on the language, it’s us Telugu people.
↵ -
Well, The must beautiful language is the original Arabic. It is so clear and have the sensitive meanings. Everybody can read translation of Holy Quran (the muslims book). Then we can see how Arabic talks with soul and brain as well. The greatest poetries are only in Arabic language. The 7 ”Mu’allaqat” and the fortune of Arabic arts and scinces books will explain that what I try to say. There no complete sentince around the world exept in Arabic language. Just search and tell me then!! ( ؛
↵ -
A LÍNGUA PORTUGUESA COM CERTEZA É A MAIS BELA, POIS É DOCE E AGRADAVEL DE OUVI-LA
↵ -
Portuguese is the most beautiful, see the Portuguese version of the song Imbranato
↵
