Despite its stereotype that German is an aggressive, ugly and harsh sounding language, I personally find the language beautiful (a little bit harsh but it’s a good kind of harsh jaja).
Do you agree/disagree? What’s your first language?
Despite its stereotype that German is an aggressive, ugly and harsh sounding language, I personally find the language beautiful (a little bit harsh but it’s a good kind of harsh jaja).
Do you agree/disagree? What’s your first language?
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Whatever else you think about the German language, ‘Schmetterling‘ will always be a lovely word for a butterfly.
As a native English speaker who is fairly proficient in German as a second language, I enjoy speaking German a lot. It doesn’t sound harsh to me, but I think that is in part a consequence of having a close German friend who is very soft-spoken.
Well, it is kinda harsh sounding, but I generally like it. My native language is Russian.
Hallo
Agree. I don’t think it’s harsh. Just crisp.
I always found it beautiful & sexy UNTIL I’ve learnt it. I mean I am not saying that it became ugly, just the fact that not I understand everything what is being said takes that charm away.
It’s so unserious, some of them words are straight up comedy
German can sound really beautifull, it is often known for some harsher sounds, but there are a lot of “softer” sounds (for example all the umlauts) which do sound nice
German hip-hop is the most aggressive thing I have ever heard. So no, hard disagree here.
German and all the other Germanic languages are just annoying and confusing to listen to, because I feel like I should understand whats being said, but I don’t
Are you confusing the attractiveness of the language with the attractiveness (in your eyes) spoken by the people?
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Definitely unpopular. German sounds aggresive. Slightly better than french where they always sound like they’re thinking of what to say to you
I’m bilingual Dutch/French
Although words in a language are usually chosen arbitrarily, I find that German words often come closest to matching the mental concept I have of that word. German words often have a transparent structure that directly fits the mental image you have. This makes them clear, logical, and often surprisingly self-evident.
Donnerwetter
Handschuh
Schmetterling. Say it. Now shout it. Now whisper it. Nothing gentle about it. It means butterfly.
(english/french native, also speak german and spanish)
im guessing most english speakers know german from rammstein songs and hitler speeches. if you listen to eg a german news show, it sounds clean and crisp. now, dutch is a harsh and guttural germanic language to my ears.
I think most people have only heard german from ww2 movies and that’s why it sounds harsh to them. In real life it sounds much better to me than many other languages.
I lived in Germany for a bit. I wouldn’t call it “beautiful”, but I don’t understand how German is supposed to be “harsh.” From most Germans to me it actually sounds a bit soft and fussy.
You want to talk about harsh, I’ll point you right to Spanish Spanish.
My languages are American English and Latam Spanish.
Can’t comment. I’m not saying I disagree; just that I can’t comment.
I’m a native English speaker who moved to Germany over a decade ago, I thought it was harsh until I leaned it, now I find it cute and a bit silly.
I disagree, so take my upvote. I think the sounds in it are harsh, but i still love the language and hope i can be fluent someday
I agree. German is my favorite language. While I don’t think it sounds aggressive necessarily, I do think it sounds assertive, as well as bold and sharp, which can contextually lend to it sounding aggressive. It sounds like straight factual information, without fooling around. In my opinion, German is the language that sounds the most powerful and most badass, and indeed, it is also beautiful. It is beautiful in the same way as math; it sounds technically perfect.
Edit: I just noticed the last question in the OP. My first language, and my only fluent language, is English.
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My first language is German and I don’t think it sounds harsh. I don’t think it’s the most beautiful language either (sound wise), but it’s not that terrible. I love our vocabulary and I love our poetry.
But that’s probably, because it’s my first language 🙂
I’m german and you’re wrong. German just Sounds Cringe.
I think spoken by a deep male voice it can sound lovely. UK English speaker.
I agree! After watching Dark I thought the language was very cool!
As with any language, it depends on the accent/who is speaking it. Sometimes it sounds like a clucking chicken. Sometimes it sounds beautiful and refined. Sometimes English sounds like someone with a potato in their mouth and a swollen tongue, sometimes it sounds lovely again. French can range from spitting and nasal to flowing and smooth.
Each to their own.
I agree! It can sound angry for sure, but that’s usually if someone is just… Angry. English can sound angry as well if someone is angry when they’re speaking.
Otherwise, it’s very beautiful! It’s a difficult language to learn, but the entire Germanic language tree is so beautiful to me. Love love love it!
My favourite comedian described it as sounding like a typewriter falling down some stairs
Disagree, but it’s pretty funny you think so
I don’t find it harsh at all
Yeah I watched Cassandra months ago and I was surprised at how much I liked how the lamguage sounded especially since the actress has a beautiful voice. I love it when she says “mine liebling” or something like that. I loved it so much that I literally had the motivation to learn the language, only for my schedule to get fucked by the exams 😒
German is to beauty what Adolf was to matzo ball soup.
I completely agree. Sure, German can sound harsh at first, but there’s a real depth and clarity to it. Once you get used to the rhythm and structure, it reveals a melodic and expressive side, especially in poetry or theater
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Wrong
I’ll one up you and say that I like Swiss German more than Hochdeutsch.
I feel it flows a bit better.
I’m bad at both though.
I didn’t like it but tried it on Duolingo. Kept it for a bit cos it was very easy to advance but then I realised I hated to speak it (and the content was super boring). I have no interest in living in Germany so I quit. Interestingly, e.g., Norwegian sounds fine to me even as a similar language. So I am of the “popular” opinion I guess…
Schwesterhertz is one of the coolest and beautiful word I know, so agree 🙂
Beautiful it’s not the word that I would use, but I find it charming.
I’m German, I for the most part prefer English. But German can sound very nice, I just generally think it’s not the best sounding language.
Spanish is a beautiful language
I love German language too. I am glad I am not alone in my unpopular opinion lol.
I mean, if you’re really into “keh” sounds, sure…
English speaking person here. Like any language, it’s all about the tone. My stepmom and stepbrother are fluent in German and I love hearing them talk because it’s in a relaxed small talk type tone.
I find that rhymes sound really good in german.
The Struwwelpeter and Max und Moritz stories have something in them that I have found in no other culture
I have little affinity for German, the language feels austere, and the cultural tendency toward rigidity and pompousness doesn’t appeal to me at all. No thank you.
I don’t have much exposure beyond the netflix show Dark. I absolutely loved it there, very striking, deep and guttural sounding. Not exactly beautiful but a delight to listen to
If you want to hear just how beautiful the German language can sound, listen to Johannes Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem
You bitches posting here need to stop with all the guttural ruckus and hatin on each other.
kidding. i know not what you speaketh
Dude, you’re sick.
personally i found german very hot and arousing.
It’s great. I tried to learn both German and French and German ended up being much better. French sounds ugly ngl.
Sex
I agree, I think it’s attractive, especially in bed
i love German. i find it soothing.
I think it’s all in the context of how you’ve interacted with the language.
I used to think it wasn’t nice sounding, then dated a German girl for a while.
Now, after her, I think it sounds beautiful
From a German perspective: There are huge differences between the many dialects. To my ear, saxonian, for example, sounds very soft, while people from Hamburg really sound harsh, as the stereotype suggests.
Yeah. Zweiundzwanzig just roles off the tongue and i like how they say französisch. And never forget rhabarber Barbara
The least pleasant sounds in German are the deep rolling R. Like in Warum. I prefer to have the R on the tip of my tongue instead. Also the ”ich” sound comes so often and it’s very pronounced. Otherwise I think it’s a great language.
Then you haven’t heard of Vietnamese
Fully agreed, along with Italian my favourite to listen to. Love how direct you can communicate thoughts and ideas. Not like French which keeps you from expressing almost anything literally or directly lol
I know I hear that from the backwater ‘murkan reydnex. But honestly, they are all–well we know what they are. Some of the best bands and singers are from Germany and as for the language’s beauty I’d put it up there in the top 5, not sure if it would take #1 or not, I’d have to think about it.
Jah unpopular opinon
My first language is German. I think it doesn’t flow as well as other languages. It’s not an ugly language, but when I write I prefer English for example. I dislike some German words and how they sound, but then I often cannot find a synonym I like.
the only reason it is seen as aggressive is because of the overexagerated accent in media, if you hear it normally that accent is noot there, taking away 95% of the agression and harshness
I love the way German sounds! (my native language is russian, and people often say things like “it sounds like all the words are spoken backwards” too 😒)
How do you even come up with them words
omg finally someone gets it. the german language / accent is the biggest panty dropper I have ever heard. so so so hot
I like it because too.
People thought I was crazy for it but some people just have a very sing songy way speaking in German sometimes that makes it sound pleasant to me.
I mean, there are the types that don’t sound good.
Harsh is not beautiful.
It sounds harsh to me, not just the sounds but also the structure of the language. Like how they tend to combine multiple words into one, forcing the speech to be too rhythmic, with little space for deviation. Someone may like that, but it makes things difficult to both understand and pronounce, if you’re not fluent. Although Germans are pretty tolerant and nice, so it’s not a big deal, but that system is just odd.
The grammar rules are also every strict, so the whole structure is very inflexible. That makes everyone talk in a way that sounds either kinda goofy, or too strict.
Normal people are mostly fine to listen to, but if someone starts barking commands at you, or shouting… That actually hurts the ears.
Thank you 😄
I wouldn’t necessarily say it sounds beautiful but definitely not as aggressive as the stereotype says. Whenever people try to poke fun at it, they speak in an almost cartoonish voice, everything sounds aggressive when you say it like that, if the languages are compared normally, German doesn’t sound very special in any direction imo.
Btw, since I have never seen a joke in real life, I looked it up in the dictionary: Apparently a lot of those videos showing the aggressiveness of German are such a „joke“, I am aware, still kind of stupid at times 😄
I’m not sure I would call it beautiful like French or Italian, but it is definitely authoritative and sharp. A very unique language.
I think it’s better than Dutch that’s for sure
It’s Totally a Romance language! When compared to Vietnamese
I only know rudimentary German but I absolutely love the sound of some words like Schloss & Schlaf. It’s a very crisp language that’s far easier to learn than something like French in my opinion.
Dankeschön
I don’t like the sound of it, but is thinking it’s beautiful really that unpopular of an opinion?
I’m actually learning German. And people who actually speak it know we all don’t speak like Hitler. That’s like hearing English only be spoken by loud obnoxious protestors and call it a brash language.
Aber was ist dein favorit kaffee?
I worked for German companies, with many German people. Can undetstand it even if not necessarily speak myself.
Personally, I find it damn ugly! Almost up there with Dutch and Arabic.
One thing I love about German language though is how cute, funny it sounds when little children speak it.
German only sounds harsh if you don’t speak it or know what is being said
It’s not a romance language but I wouldn’t call it harsh.
Couldn’t disagree more, enjoy the upvote.
The harshness comes from how words are formed in German. I saw a Video about it once (so don’t take what I Write for granted) where they said that the German Language has many words that have Sharp consonants at the end giving them a Full stop so it’s Not like a flowing Language
If machine guns could talk, it would be their language of choice.
Totally. I always found that stereotype kinda stupid. I remember Sarah Chalke sitting in a late show and screaming “ICH LIEBE DICH” to show that Germnan is kinda rough.
But if I talk english like a dubbed Adolf Hitler and screamed “I LOVE YOU” it wouldn’t sound as pleasant as well.
So yeah, it is maybe a bit harsher than other languages but “der Ton mach die Musik” as we say in Germany (It’s not what you say, but the way you say it.)
Totally agree. German gets a bad rep because people often only hear the intense, clipped version in movies or historical docs but everyday German can be really melodic, precise, and even soft depending on who’s speaking.
My first language isn’t German, but I’ve heard native speakers have really beautiful ways of expressing things especially feelings and abstract ideas with words that just don’t exist in English
My unpopular opinion that no language sounds beautiful.
There are a select few which are unpleasant on the ear but apart from that all languages are just neutral noise. The idea of a beautiful sounding language to me is nonsense.
It sounds like typewriters, wrapped in tinfoil, being kicked down the stairs.
Beautiful like how industrial music can be beautiful
My problem with it is that it’s not “flowing”, it’s full of “stops”. Most languages (including Germanic ones) are more fluent, and that’s what makes them sound better, not the lack of hard sound imho
Btw if Scandinavian languages are considered separate languages, German should be too
Idk about beautiful, but it definitely sounds nicer than Dutch.
As a german, absolutely not
German is totally cool if you speak normally. It’s in the pronunciation and the dialect
Lyrically it can sound great. Conversationally , nah.
Russian does it for me..
I think people interpret ‘harsh’ differently. For me it’s the consonant clusters and the fact that Germans typically ennunciate words very clearly, without contractions, giving the language a rigid theatrical sound.
Germans who speak in their local dialect rather than Standard High German often sound a lot softer.
Could not disagree more. Great choice of sub.
French straight up sounds like your clearing your throat but somehow that’s the romantic language?
Yah kinda agree. Norwegian first language and german as 3rd language. None of them are even close to being as beautiful, easy and precise as english though
Native german speaker here.
I just died reading the comments.
Can’t stop laughing.
(It’s called “totlachen”)
Thinking about some german words mentioned here (without just blindly using but observation them)
I must admit you’re right.
Funny and somewhat silly language 😂😂😂
You really made my day.