Why French sounds so unlike other Romance languages

[whitecoast]

I thought this was an interesting video. I learned about French in high school and Spanish as an adult, and I always wondered how despite being Romance languages they had a number of differences in pronunciation and writing that accumulated over time and regional diffusion.

 

[Alejo]

That was nice, and funny, thanks for sharing!.

It reminded me of this thread where Romance languages were discussed, it appears that Romance languages did not devolve from Latin, Latin might be more of a cousin of Romance, who would be, amongst themselves, more like direct siblings.

 

[Ellipse]

About languages sounding, I was discussing with other French persons about how other languages sound OK to a French ear. And we conclude that... the Japanese, when spoken calmly (Japanese can be very aggressive) is nice to French ear on the long run.
It's a totally different language but the "music" of the language seems to have something in common.

 

[lumiaro]

I’ve had a similar experience. I learned some French in school years ago, and much later picked up a bit of Spanish on my own. Even knowing they’re both Romance languages, they just feel very different when you hear them. With Spanish or Italian I often feel I can guess words from context or sound alone, but with French everything seems more compressed and connected, especially in fast speech.

I don’t think it’s a bad thing, just different. When I started listening to other varieties of French (like Swiss or Canadian French), it made me realize how much history and pronunciation changes shape how a language sounds today. So I get why French stands out to people, even within the same language family.

 

[Claus]

Hi @lumiaro, would you please make your introduction in the Newbies & Important Notices to All Members area?
So we can welcome you properly to the forum.

Thank you