Most annoying sounding language (Polish, American, Arabic)

[Stumbler.]

I wonder how much of the purported annoying features being mentioned or talked about are really associations with the speaking style or attitude of the speakers rather than the phonetic features of the language themselves.

For instance, some people mention volume or loudness. As far as I can tell, no language has volume as part of its grammar or phonology. You can say something quietly and say something loudly in any language.

[Badger]

Originally Posted by Haowen Wong

Mandarin. It is shrill and melodramatic.

Cantonese isn't too bad; at least it has smoother tones (it's my first language). Hokkien is choppy but at least it's funny. Shanghainese is very rapid and fluid; sounds almost polysyllabic/agglutinative, sort of like Japanese.

In Europe, German takes the cake for being harsh.

have you ever heard Dutch spoken?

everything you think is harsh in German is doubled in dutch

[sulkiercupid]

Originally Posted by Stumbler.

I wonder how much of the purported annoying features being mentioned or talked about are really associations with the speaking style or attitude of the speakers rather than the phonetic features of the language themselves.

For instance, some people mention volume or loudness. As far as I can tell, no language has volume as part of its grammar or phonology. You can say something quietly and say something loudly in any language.

I think that if a language is spoken by the majority of its speakers in a loud or quiet way for instance it is a legitimate factor in determining your like/dislike for a particular language. Whilst it may not strictly be phonological it does affect your perceptions of the language as a whole.

Its true though that there are many cultural/political/economic factors beyond the features of a language itself that influence people's preferences, that's human nature.

[Gudra]

I find Cantonese the most pleasantly sounding Chinese dialect (even though it's completely uninteligible to me.)[/quote]

You must have well-brought -up people around you then. Many Cantonese native-speakers speak in rather aggressive and loud tones but that is considered normal My best friend, who is one, denies they are rough : I should know because I hear it daily....

[Derek40]

Vietnamese and other Southest Asian languages sounds like they are yelling in a market-place, very harsh.
Not a fan of Scandanavian languages either.

[nightcrawler]

I hate the Russian language with a passion, I hate everything about it. It is an ugly language.

[DrunkSam]

There's alot of Vietnamese here in Chicago, and they sound funny than annoying to me, lol.

Tagalog and Filipino dialects sound very weird to me. Some talk too fast, it's like their sentence is a one whole long word. No pauses.

Hebrew is another funny sounding language. Especially if spoken by a non native.

[ChikidII]

Originally Posted by DrunkSam

There's alot of Vietnamese here in Chicago, and they sound funny than annoying to me, lol.

Tagalog and Filipino dialects sound very weird to me. Some talk too fast, it's like their sentence is a one whole long word. No pauses.

Hebrew is another funny sounding language. Especially if spoken by a non native.

I agree. I have a Vietnamese friend and when she speaks it, I tend to at least crack a smile. It has a very loop sound to it. Like a very stereotypical Asian launguage when it's beeing spoofed or something.

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by sulkiercupid

I think that if a language is spoken by the majority of its speakers in a loud or quiet way for instance it is a legitimate factor in determining your like/dislike for a particular language. Whilst it may not strictly be phonological it does affect your perceptions of the language as a whole.

Its true though that there are many cultural/political/economic factors beyond the features of a language itself that influence people's preferences, that's human nature.

Agreed.

I would say this about Spanish. Just the way the speakers speak it more than the language itself. I find the way newsreaders speak less jarring.

Vietnamese sounds plain weird. Also like Derek says, it sounds like everyone is just shouting.

[Arctic Samurai]

Best
Polish
English (American/Canadian)
Italian
Swedish

Worst
Any Middle-Eastern language
English (British)
French