Words you love because of their sounds
Words you love because of their sounds
Bring the love.
English:
Masala /məsɑːlə/
Soliloquy /səˈlɪləkwi/
Hawthorn /ˈhɔː.θɔːn/
German:
Leiche /ˈlaɪ̯çə/ (means corpse, but is a pretty-sounding word)
French:
écureuil /e.ky.ʁœj/
hibou /ibu/ but a special French kind of /i/ that you know is really a <hi>
English:
Masala /məsɑːlə/
Soliloquy /səˈlɪləkwi/
Hawthorn /ˈhɔː.θɔːn/
German:
Leiche /ˈlaɪ̯çə/ (means corpse, but is a pretty-sounding word)
French:
écureuil /e.ky.ʁœj/
hibou /ibu/ but a special French kind of /i/ that you know is really a <hi>
Re: Words you love because of their sounds
Cloves, which I think I say [kʰloʊvz] (But I'm not too grand with the IPA.)
All French words ending in -re, inclunding mundane things like attendre or prendre.
And the phrase "I edited it." [ aiɛdɪtɪdɪt̚ ]
All French words ending in -re, inclunding mundane things like attendre or prendre.
And the phrase "I edited it." [ aiɛdɪtɪdɪt̚ ]
Re: Words you love because of their sounds
* Any Catalan word ending in [ʧ] like vaig or boig.
* Outrageous German slang verbs like bramarbasieren and ausbalodoweren and nouns denoting disorder and bother like Fisimatenten, Kuddelmuddel, and Tohuwabohu.
* Irish words ending in -óg like piseog or taespúnóg. When I first got a little garden plot you couldn't stop me from saying ceapóg cearbhais ([cə'po:g cə'ɾˠu:ʃ] ) for days.
* Outrageous German slang verbs like bramarbasieren and ausbalodoweren and nouns denoting disorder and bother like Fisimatenten, Kuddelmuddel, and Tohuwabohu.
* Irish words ending in -óg like piseog or taespúnóg. When I first got a little garden plot you couldn't stop me from saying ceapóg cearbhais ([cə'po:g cə'ɾˠu:ʃ] ) for days.
I normally drop /r/ in these words; pronouncing it makes me feel like a character in a Balzac novel.valiums wrote:All French words ending in -re, inclunding mundane things like attendre or prendre.
Re: Words you love because of their sounds
Hebrew:
סירה /si.ʀa/ boat
ליל /le(i)l/ poetic word for night
תשקע /ti.'ʃka/ (the sun) will set
מעינים /ma.a.ja.'nim/ springs (of water)
Maltese:
qmis /ʔmis/ shirt
qlub /ʔlup/ hearts
qtates /ʔta.tes/ cats
wisq /wisʔ/ too (much)
(basically any word with (C+)/ʔ/(+C))
Lakota:
ȟliȟlíla /χli.'χli.la/ be muddy
ȟ'uŋúŋt'e /χʔʊ̃.'ʔʊ̃.tˀeʔ/ you and I are overworked
gnugnúška /gə.nu.gə.'nu.ʃka/ grasshopper
(I'll leave it there because I could go on forever with Lakota words I love the sound of)
סירה /si.ʀa/ boat
ליל /le(i)l/ poetic word for night
תשקע /ti.'ʃka/ (the sun) will set
מעינים /ma.a.ja.'nim/ springs (of water)
Maltese:
qmis /ʔmis/ shirt
qlub /ʔlup/ hearts
qtates /ʔta.tes/ cats
wisq /wisʔ/ too (much)
(basically any word with (C+)/ʔ/(+C))
Lakota:
ȟliȟlíla /χli.'χli.la/ be muddy
ȟ'uŋúŋt'e /χʔʊ̃.'ʔʊ̃.tˀeʔ/ you and I are overworked
gnugnúška /gə.nu.gə.'nu.ʃka/ grasshopper
(I'll leave it there because I could go on forever with Lakota words I love the sound of)
- dunomapuka
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Re: Words you love because of their sounds
Greek:
panepistimio "university"
Spanish:
cosecha "harvest"
delgado "skinny"
césped "lawn"
puño "fist"
Japanese
oyoida "swam"
English:
sponge
spackle
raffle
waffle
punch
oyster
panepistimio "university"
Spanish:
cosecha "harvest"
delgado "skinny"
césped "lawn"
puño "fist"
Japanese
oyoida "swam"
English:
sponge
spackle
raffle
waffle
punch
oyster
Re: Words you love because of their sounds
erythrophobe. that is all.
Ascima mresa óscsma sáca psta numar cemea.
Cemea tae neasc ctá ms co ísbas Ascima.
Carho. Carho. Carho. Carho. Carho. Carho. Carho.
Re: Words you love because of their sounds
ostensibly
Kuku-kuku kaki kakak kakekku kaku kaku.
'the toenails of my grandfather's elder brother are stiff'
'the toenails of my grandfather's elder brother are stiff'
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Re: Words you love because of their sounds
fucker
Siöö jandeng raiglin zåbei tandiüłåd;
nää džunnfin kukuch vklaivei sivei tåd.
Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei.
nää džunnfin kukuch vklaivei sivei tåd.
Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei.
- ná'oolkiłí
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Re: Words you love because of their sounds
English
bathymetry
milk
collar
Spanish
cuales "which.PL"
desigual "unequal, uneven"
desaparezco "I disappear"
Georgian
წყვდიადი /ts'q'vdiadi/ "deep darkness"
გყავს /gq'avs/ [ʁχ'aβs] "you have him"
ჩაიშალა /tʃʰaiʃala/ "it fell apart"
Russian
обязательно [əbʲɪzatʲɪlʲnə] "necessarily, without fail"
шишка [ʂɨʂkə] "pinecone"
хвост [xvost] "tail"
bathymetry
milk
collar
Spanish
cuales "which.PL"
desigual "unequal, uneven"
desaparezco "I disappear"
Georgian
წყვდიადი /ts'q'vdiadi/ "deep darkness"
გყავს /gq'avs/ [ʁχ'aβs] "you have him"
ჩაიშალა /tʃʰaiʃala/ "it fell apart"
Russian
обязательно [əbʲɪzatʲɪlʲnə] "necessarily, without fail"
шишка [ʂɨʂkə] "pinecone"
хвост [xvost] "tail"
Re: Words you love because of their sounds
I can probably think of more if I try, but the first thing that comes to mind is and enthusiastically said "Dubrovnik", with a rolled [r] and no reduced vowels: /du'brov,nIk/. It's just very fun to say.
And the first Ancient Greek ones that comes to mind are ζῃτέω /zdɛ(i).'te.ɔː/, ζεῦγμα /'zdeug.ma/, εὔχομαι /'eu.kʰo.mai/, and πορεύομαι /po.'reu.o.mai/. ‹ζ ευ θ χ ψ› are all awesome.
And Arabic, I like زوج, if that's spelled right, especially as my teacher pronounced it: /zeudʒ/, or even better, /zeug/. The feminine with the first person singular possessive suffix is even better: /'zeug.a.tiː/ (I'm sure that's missyllabified, but that's how it sounded to my poor Anglophone ears).
And the first Ancient Greek ones that comes to mind are ζῃτέω /zdɛ(i).'te.ɔː/, ζεῦγμα /'zdeug.ma/, εὔχομαι /'eu.kʰo.mai/, and πορεύομαι /po.'reu.o.mai/. ‹ζ ευ θ χ ψ› are all awesome.
And Arabic, I like زوج, if that's spelled right, especially as my teacher pronounced it: /zeudʒ/, or even better, /zeug/. The feminine with the first person singular possessive suffix is even better: /'zeug.a.tiː/ (I'm sure that's missyllabified, but that's how it sounded to my poor Anglophone ears).
"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."
–Herm Albright
Even better than a proto-conlang, it's the *kondn̥ǵʰwéh₂s
–Herm Albright
Even better than a proto-conlang, it's the *kondn̥ǵʰwéh₂s
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Re: Words you love because of their sounds
I fucking love the Spanish word mezcla. That is all I can think of at the moment.
Re: Words you love because of their sounds
月,云 in Chinese (yuè and yún, [ɥœ] and [yn*] respectively), both for their aesthetic sounds, but also because they sound, to me, exactly like what they mean: moon and cloud. Also any syllable beginning with xu- ([ɕy]), so xu, xue, xuan, xun ([ɕy ɕɥœ ɕɥɛn ɕyn*])
*This is what Wikipedia lists as the IPA for the -ün sound, but I don't like it...it doesn't capture the slight dipthongization that occurs (which is specifically what I love about the sound), but I can't for the life of me figure out what vowel follows the [y]...
In German, I love rü combinations, like in trügen, zurück, etc. I also really love the word Streichholz. I also love how the i in immer frequently becomes rounded...probably occurs in many words that I can't think of right now, when i is right before a labial.
In English, I love the word mead. I also agree with whoever said oyster above.
*This is what Wikipedia lists as the IPA for the -ün sound, but I don't like it...it doesn't capture the slight dipthongization that occurs (which is specifically what I love about the sound), but I can't for the life of me figure out what vowel follows the [y]...
In German, I love rü combinations, like in trügen, zurück, etc. I also really love the word Streichholz. I also love how the i in immer frequently becomes rounded...probably occurs in many words that I can't think of right now, when i is right before a labial.
In English, I love the word mead. I also agree with whoever said oyster above.
Re: Words you love because of their sounds
English:
dairy
synecdoche
pillow
splendid
shy
Spanish:
murciélago "bat"
aldea "village"
abogado (with [β ɣ ð]) "lawyer"
hueso "bone"
muebles "furniture"
In both:
plantain / plátano
Japanese:
suiyōbi "Wednesday"
byōin "hospital"
dairy
synecdoche
pillow
splendid
shy
Spanish:
murciélago "bat"
aldea "village"
abogado (with [β ɣ ð]) "lawyer"
hueso "bone"
muebles "furniture"
In both:
plantain / plátano
Japanese:
suiyōbi "Wednesday"
byōin "hospital"
It's (broadly) [faɪ.ˈjuw.lɛ]
#define FEMALE
ConlangDictionary 0.3 3/15/14 (ZBB thread)
Quis vult in terra stare,
Cum possit volitare?
#define FEMALE
ConlangDictionary 0.3 3/15/14 (ZBB thread)
Quis vult in terra stare,
Cum possit volitare?
- Ser
- Smeric
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Re: Words you love because of their sounds
Arabic: quadriliterals coming from a reduplicated biliteral root hands down.
تمتم tamtama "to stammer"
جمجمة jumjumatun "skull"
حمحم ḥamḥama "to neigh"
رفرف rafrafa "to flutter"
تزلزل tazalzala "to shake" (the earth)
سقسق saqsaqa "to tweet"
زلزل zalzala "to shake sb./sth."
غرغر ġarġara "to gargle"
فرفر farfara "to squirm, to twitch"
قهقه qahqaha "to laugh loudly"
وسوس waswasa "to whisper"
Spanish: words that somehow have [ɲɟʝ, ndʒ].
panyabí 'Punjabi, Panjabi'
enyesar 'to put (e.g. an arm) in plaster'
inyectar 'inject', inyección 'shot'
Also hoyuelo, for actually having [ɥ]: [oɥelo].
تمتم tamtama "to stammer"
جمجمة jumjumatun "skull"
حمحم ḥamḥama "to neigh"
رفرف rafrafa "to flutter"
تزلزل tazalzala "to shake" (the earth)
سقسق saqsaqa "to tweet"
زلزل zalzala "to shake sb./sth."
غرغر ġarġara "to gargle"
فرفر farfara "to squirm, to twitch"
قهقه qahqaha "to laugh loudly"
وسوس waswasa "to whisper"
Spanish: words that somehow have [ɲɟʝ, ndʒ].
panyabí 'Punjabi, Panjabi'
enyesar 'to put (e.g. an arm) in plaster'
inyectar 'inject', inyección 'shot'
Also hoyuelo, for actually having [ɥ]: [oɥelo].
I hate how scholars of Mandarin insist on transcribing that as "[yn]" (and -in as [in]), it's so obviously not. More like [yə̯n] (and [iə̯n]), or something pretty similar.Chibi wrote:月,云 in Chinese (yuè and yún, [ɥœ] and [yn*] respectively), both for their aesthetic sounds, but also because they sound, to me, exactly like what they mean: moon and cloud. Also any syllable beginning with xu- ([ɕy]), so xu, xue, xuan, xun ([ɕy ɕɥœ ɕɥɛn ɕyn*])
*This is what Wikipedia lists as the IPA for the -ün sound, but I don't like it...it doesn't capture the slight dipthongization that occurs (which is specifically what I love about the sound), but I can't for the life of me figure out what vowel follows the [y]...
-
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- Contact:
Re: Words you love because of their sounds
Japanese:
永遠 えいえん eien "forever"
再び ふたたび futatabi "again"
春 はる haru "summer"
English:
maroon
celestial
celadon
Catalan:
soroll "noise"
ferestec "wild" (forgetting an accent mark here somewhere)
llegint "reading"
tomaquet "tomato"
永遠 えいえん eien "forever"
再び ふたたび futatabi "again"
春 はる haru "summer"
English:
maroon
celestial
celadon
Catalan:
soroll "noise"
ferestec "wild" (forgetting an accent mark here somewhere)
llegint "reading"
tomaquet "tomato"
[bɹ̠ˤʷɪs.təɫ]
Nōn quālibet inīquā cupiditāte illectus hoc agō
Yo te pongo en tu lugar...
Taisc mach Daró
Nōn quālibet inīquā cupiditāte illectus hoc agō
Yo te pongo en tu lugar...
Taisc mach Daró
Re: Words you love because of their sounds
I have to say, I do quite like trying to pronounce Dutch words like Scheveningen.
Re: Words you love because of their sounds
SPA
rinconada
[riN.kO."na.Da]
MANDARIN
<何>
Hé, a family name, I dunno why but I like it
OLD ENGLISH
þegn
rinconada
[riN.kO."na.Da]
MANDARIN
<何>
Hé, a family name, I dunno why but I like it
OLD ENGLISH
þegn
Re: Words you love because of their sounds
I'm not a fan of the word by itself but I love the way it gets run together in pam amb tomàquet. Also, I love saying botifarra and popets in Catalan and pulpo a la plancha in Spanish, but that could just be because I love these foods SO MUCH.Bristel wrote:feréstec "wild" (forgetting an accent mark here somewhere)
tomàquet "tomato"
Re: Words you love because of their sounds
"perhaps", especially in a posh British accent.
Tons of Japanese and Spanish words, some German and Arabic too.
Tons of Japanese and Spanish words, some German and Arabic too.
Languages I speak fluentlyPřemysl wrote:Oh god, we truly are nerdy. My first instinct was "why didn't he just use sunt and have it all in Latin?".Kereb wrote:they are nerdissimus inter nerdes
English, עברית
Languages I am studying
العربية, 日本語
Conlangs
Athonian
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Re: Words you love because of their sounds
It's þegn in modern Icelandic. (same meaning!)Torco wrote:SPA
rinconada
[riN.kO."na.Da]
MANDARIN
<何>
Hé, a family name, I dunno why but I like it
OLD ENGLISH
þegn
There's also þögn, meaning 'silence'.
Online dictionary for my conlang Vanga: http://royalrailway.com/tungumaalMiin/Vanga/
#undef FEMALE
I'd love for you to try my game out! Here's the forum thread about it:
http://zbb.spinnwebe.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=36688
Of an Ernst'ian one.
#undef FEMALE
I'd love for you to try my game out! Here's the forum thread about it:
http://zbb.spinnwebe.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=36688
Of an Ernst'ian one.
- Skomakar'n
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Re: Words you love because of their sounds
(sorry for double posting; accidentally quoted my previous message instead of editing, and didn't notice until now)
I'm not sure if you love all of these merely because of their sounds, though! Would you have liked 'celestial' as much, were it spelled <selescholle>?Bristel wrote:English:
maroon
celestial
celadon
Last edited by Skomakar'n on Sat Oct 01, 2011 12:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Online dictionary for my conlang Vanga: http://royalrailway.com/tungumaalMiin/Vanga/
#undef FEMALE
I'd love for you to try my game out! Here's the forum thread about it:
http://zbb.spinnwebe.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=36688
Of an Ernst'ian one.
#undef FEMALE
I'd love for you to try my game out! Here's the forum thread about it:
http://zbb.spinnwebe.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=36688
Of an Ernst'ian one.
Re: Words you love because of their sounds
Serafín wrote:I hate how scholars of Mandarin insist on transcribing that as "[yn]" (and -in as [in]), it's so obviously not. More like [yə̯n] (and [iə̯n]), or something pretty similar.Chibi wrote:月,云 in Chinese (yuè and yún, [ɥœ] and [yn*] respectively), both for their aesthetic sounds, but also because they sound, to me, exactly like what they mean: moon and cloud. Also any syllable beginning with xu- ([ɕy]), so xu, xue, xuan, xun ([ɕy ɕɥœ ɕɥɛn ɕyn*])
*This is what Wikipedia lists as the IPA for the -ün sound, but I don't like it...it doesn't capture the slight dipthongization that occurs (which is specifically what I love about the sound), but I can't for the life of me figure out what vowel follows the [y]...
Really? Maybe it's a difference in accent, but I've never heard or spoken anything other than -ün [-yn] and -in [-in].
Also
Japanese:
最近 さいきん saikin 'recently'
将来 しょうらい shōrai 'future'
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Re: Words you love because of their sounds
Maybe not... But I would spell it <seleschel> if you pronounce it that way... (which I think is a nice spelling)Skomakar'n wrote:I'm not sure if you love all of these merely because of their sounds, though! Would you have liked 'celestial' as much, were it spelled <selescholle>?Bristel wrote:English:
maroon
celestial
celadon
But I would write it <selestièl> the way I pronounce it.
<marún> and <seladán>
[bɹ̠ˤʷɪs.təɫ]
Nōn quālibet inīquā cupiditāte illectus hoc agō
Yo te pongo en tu lugar...
Taisc mach Daró
Nōn quālibet inīquā cupiditāte illectus hoc agō
Yo te pongo en tu lugar...
Taisc mach Daró
Re: Words you love because of their sounds
German:
andernfalls [ˈandɐnfals] 'otherwise'
eigentlich [ˈaegŋ̩klɪç] 'actually'
einander [aeˈnandɐ] 'one another'
darum [ˈdaːʁʊm] 'for that reason'
I guess? Usually I don't care too much about the nice sound of words.
andernfalls [ˈandɐnfals] 'otherwise'
eigentlich [ˈaegŋ̩klɪç] 'actually'
einander [aeˈnandɐ] 'one another'
darum [ˈdaːʁʊm] 'for that reason'
I guess? Usually I don't care too much about the nice sound of words.
Re: Words you love because of their sounds
Ooh, darum reminds me of two others one that I forgot: wobei and dabei...no idea what I like about them, but I love themGuitarplayer wrote:German:
andernfalls [ˈandɐnfals] 'otherwise'
eigentlich [ˈaegŋ̩klɪç] 'actually'
einander [aeˈnandɐ] 'one another'
darum [ˈdaːʁʊm] 'for that reason'
I guess? Usually I don't care too much about the nice sound of words.