What's the Most Beautiful Language?

Dannbob:

I love Lebanese Arabic; it’s much softer than other Arabic dialects and they sprinkle in French and English along with it.

jclum3:

I have to say both Portuguese and French are my favorites. Both are beautiful to hear and speak. I love the way they make your cheeks feel after a long conversation.

Photos: author

But I have to disagree with a lot of you; I’m not a big fan of Arabic. My mother is Middle Eastern so I grew up on a bit of it when family was in town. Way too aggressive for my taste. But I guess it’s an acquired taste; that’s what my mom used to say.

Neha:

My vote goes to Urdu (I’m not sure but I think it’s close to Farsi; I think they have the same roots). The language is lyrical and tailor-made for poets; even the blandest statement sounds rich. And then there is French. But more than French itself, I love the French speaking English. Absolutely delicious!

Sara C:

Farsi, in my opinion, is the most beautiful language I don’t understand.

I also love Hindi – I feel a weird familiarity with it, and it’s probably the only language where, suddenly, without any formal instruction, I started to realize, “hey, I understand what they’re saying…!”

Oh, and Welsh. It’s not “beautiful”, per se, but I find it extremely quirky and fascinating – kind of like what someone else said about Egyptian Arabic. Slangy, informal, and a little bit hobbit-ish. My ears strain to figure out what kind of hilarious joke they must be telling.

Telse:

Lithuanian and Ukrainian sound soft and melodious. I also love hearing Finnish speakers. I don’t understand any of these languages, but they still sound beautiful.

And German will always have a place in my heart. Not exactly melodious, but it sounds so COOL!

pastor_riel:

I was waiting to see if anyone mentioned Romanian…my favorite language! It sounds so beautiful! It’s a blend of strong, confident Slavic tempered with the passionate, rhythmic flow of a romance language. In short, it sounds pretty damn sexy when spoken. And listen to how they roll their rrrr’s!

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Please share your perspective on the world’s most beautiful language in the comments below. For me, it’s Spanish every time, because I feel like a kitten rolling around in a big pile of catnip every time I speak it. It’s flexible and full of energy and when I speak it the words come flying off my tongue before I know I’m sayin’ em.