I know that for most people the number one 'beauty criterion' for languages is musicality (which is why French and Italian usually lead the polls about languages people love), but I really appreciate the *rhythmicality* of English. Or rather, that's the first thing I learned to appreciate about English - due in no small part to the fact that the first English book I read was Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury does some pretty interesting things with rhythm there.
Later, as my vocabularly grew, I began to love English also for its incredible wealth of words. I've read that English has about twice as many or even triple the number of words as German, and, speaking as someone who knows both languages intimately by now, I can totally believe that. So, especially as a writer, I appreciate that range of choice and nuance.
Also, I love the flexibility of the language. The way you can bend and twist it in the most amazing and ridiculous ways.
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Well...
Date: 2008-02-17 11:14 pm (UTC)Later, as my vocabularly grew, I began to love English also for its incredible wealth of words. I've read that English has about twice as many or even triple the number of words as German, and, speaking as someone who knows both languages intimately by now, I can totally believe that. So, especially as a writer, I appreciate that range of choice and nuance.
Also, I love the flexibility of the language. The way you can bend and twist it in the most amazing and ridiculous ways.
And then there's how alive it is.