Re: Streaming foreign languages was Re: Maltese Phonology

Grüetzi!

Christian Thalmann wrote:

> - Scottish Gaelic sounds very comfortable and
>    homely.  Meesa like.
How interesting. I don't think I've ever heard anyone describe the language
in those terms. Though I'm sure the Gaels would agree with you! ;-) What do
you think it is about the language, or rather the sound of the language,
which makes you feel that way?

Although I have to say, "comfortable and homey" is a much better description
of the Gaelic language than "truly elven", which is how it was described in
a fan email we once got from a guy who'd bought my wife's CD.

> - Irish Gaelic sounds like a "normal" language
>    recorded on tape and played backwards.
LOL!

> - Greek sounds extremely Spanish.  I wasn't aware
>  of that.  Very pleasant.
Yes, you're right. The phonologies of Greek and Castillian Spanish have
somehow ended up being very similar.

> - Georgian sounds otherworldly alright, but I
>    couldn't hear out the hair-raising consonant
>    clusters it's supposed to have.
I know very little about Georgian other than what I've read in the books I
have (Aaronson's famous "Reading Grammar", and a couple of others) and what
I've heard on the accompanying tapes, but it seems that (a) the oft-cited,
monstrous 7- and 8-consonant clusters are actually fairly rare, "normal"
clusters of 2, 3 or 4 consonants being much more common, and (b) they break
them up with schwas when they pronounce them.

> - Faroese sounds Scandinavian,
Funny, that! ;-)

> and rather nasal,
>   but I guess it could have the announcer having
>    a cold.  ;-)
I really like the sound of Faroese. Definitely my favorite Scandinavian
language to listen to. I love all the affricates and diphthongs.

> Thanks for the link.
You're welcome! One of my favorite things to do is listen to foreign
languages on the internet, so I'm always delighted to share my bookmarks!

Perhaps you can answer a question for me: are there any online radio
broadcasts where I can listen to Schwyzertüütsch? I love to listen to it -
it's so infinitely cooler than standard German - but I haven't been able to
find any.

Regards,

Thomas