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| Author |
Message |
jenny
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What is the best sounding word?
| 
Oct 4 07:02 UTC 1991 |
What is the most beautiful word in the English language that you can think
of? Choose the word based more on the way it sounds versus its actual
meaning.
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| 50 responses total. |
jenny
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response 1 of 50:
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Oct 4 07:03 UTC 1991 |
Based just on the way it sounds, melody is my favorite.
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mdw
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response 2 of 50:
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Oct 4 14:21 UTC 1991 |
I think ``Genesee'' may be mine. Actually, this fits a pattern many
people have noticed in a lot of beautiful words--3 syllables with the
accent on the first & third.
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jenny
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response 3 of 50:
|
Oct 5 01:07 UTC 1991 |
Yes, that's what I've read too. Maybe Jennie can tell us whether
this is true for all languages. Do we all prefer this pattern?
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griz
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response 4 of 50:
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Oct 5 02:02 UTC 1991 |
I have always been partial to the word "yum".
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richenda
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response 5 of 50:
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Oct 5 20:42 UTC 1991 |
I happen to like the Russian word "Malchik" meaning boy. For sheer
challenge there is also bukinisticheski (transliteration is very
rough) which means "used bookstore". Accent is rising until "sti",
then falling.
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md
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response 6 of 50:
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Oct 7 13:04 UTC 1991 |
I read somewhere once that the two most beautiful words in
the language are "cellar door". Henry James said they were
"summer afternoon".
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crimson
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response 7 of 50:
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Oct 9 11:31 UTC 1991 |
I chose my favourite English word as my loginid.
|
reach
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response 8 of 50:
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Oct 9 21:26 UTC 1991 |
Cumulous.
Clarity.
Crisp.
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homes
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response 9 of 50:
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Oct 19 22:41 UTC 1991 |
I like "banana" or "veranda".
|
ty
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response 10 of 50:
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Oct 23 03:57 UTC 1991 |
I don't think that the idea that the most beautiful words in languages
are 3 syllabled with accents on the 1st and 3rd applies to many
languages besides english. Reason for this is that many languages
only have accents one place in the word, even if it is more than two
syllables.
I dunno what my favorite is but I do like the ring of "thankyouforthegift"
;)
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jenny
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response 11 of 50:
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Oct 23 11:47 UTC 1991 |
re #10, come to think of it, that would be one of my favorites too. That is,
if I'm the one saying it!
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mulberry
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response 12 of 50:
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Oct 26 21:08 UTC 1991 |
Emerald.
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remmers
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response 13 of 50:
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Oct 27 12:22 UTC 1991 |
Lamina
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reach
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response 14 of 50:
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Oct 28 04:30 UTC 1991 |
Philibuster.
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reach
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response 15 of 50:
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Oct 28 04:31 UTC 1991 |
(or is that with an 'f'?)
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vishnu
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response 16 of 50:
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Feb 25 01:52 UTC 1994 |
I like 'woody'.
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davel
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response 17 of 50:
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Feb 25 02:03 UTC 1994 |
onomatopoeia
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srw
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response 18 of 50:
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Feb 25 06:00 UTC 1994 |
mellifluous
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anne
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response 19 of 50:
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Feb 28 04:01 UTC 1994 |
fascitating (sort of sounds like fascinating- its Annespeak ; )
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srw
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response 20 of 50:
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Feb 28 05:59 UTC 1994 |
I hope it doesn't refer to the creation of fascism. ;-)
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anne
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response 21 of 50:
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Feb 28 21:50 UTC 1994 |
Nope, it's just Annespeak.
I shall explain, Annespeak are words that I happen to say when my brain
is working ahead of my mouth. Fascitating finishes the phrase-
Absatively posolutely fascitating. ; ^}
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rcurl
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response 22 of 50:
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Mar 1 07:35 UTC 1994 |
That sounds like mouth working ahead of brain.
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anne
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response 23 of 50:
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Mar 1 15:47 UTC 1994 |
Could be that, but it happens when I type too- although in that case
I guess it would be fingers ahead of brain.
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robh
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response 24 of 50:
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Mar 5 20:38 UTC 1994 |
Placebo. If we can use loan words, though, then my favorite-
sounding word is definitely "zeitgeist."
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