There was a recent discussion here at work about the popularity of the English
language and the so called ?American Culture?. Of course there were many
educated and not so educated guesses, but at the end I was really puzzled by
how much they were surprised by my take. I told them that no other language is
better suited for singing. Yes, my friends, they had the same look on their
faces as you do now, or as we say: ?it came like a thunder from a clear, blue
sky?. I thought they should be flattered, but?nevermind they sounded more
offended by my comment, I did not pursue it further.
My experience is based on listening to the radio how the language sounds,
without understanding it. For the most part, this is not possible here in US,
but in Europe, you can easily tune to a station from another country. I cannot
tell you how many countless hours I have spend in front of the radio,
especially when I was a kid. I even do it now, but the transistor radio under
the pillow is replaced by a walkman with earbuds.
Here is my take on the four most influential languages (and they are very
popular amongst people, whose native language is none of those):
English, pleasant when heard in form of a song or kinda cool when someone
speaks it. Not good for poetry though. Also good for action movies. There is
no other language in which you sound better when you say OK or FU?
French, go with the stereotype tell your girlfriend how much you love her in it
and you will not be wrong. Boris? addition: you sound intelligent, good for
live theatrical performances and the only time it displaces English in songs,
is in a particular type of rock and roll from the early sixties or in style
Edith Piaf would sing in. You want to discuss art in it with young attractive
and intelligent woman...I?ll stop here.
Italian, you want to cuss in it. Use it when you want to perform a verbal
assault on someone. Good for opera too, but you already knew this, right?
Talk to your representative in it (or the politician of your choice). I do not
know why the Italian popular music is not more widely spread. In my opinion,
Italian is very pleasant for singing too, second to English.
German, If you want to be a porn star, this is the language for you. If you
know how to use it, you cannot sound more perverted in any other language?, but
in normal use, you would sound intelligent, calm and confident. I would use it
if I were a president of a company, especially in the high-tec industry or if I
want to sound concerned. You cant be misunderstood.
Spanish, good for serenada or to speak in it after you just saw a monster or a
ghost. In everyday use, sounds kinda flat, actually as a non speaker, you find
yourself more trying to figure out when they breathe than enjoy listening to it.
Now, there you have it.
Boris (wearing a hard hat and a bulletproof vest)
P.S. What was the dialect the guys from Oasis spoke in? Yes, their dialogs
were subtitled?in English.
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