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Is there a specific language you can't pronounce?


elenamarie

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No matter how I try, I can’t seem to pronounce French language properly. I listen to French songs and follow the lyrics but my tongue doesn’t get a grip of the right pronunciation. I find it hard to pronounce the letter “C” and “R”. My boyfriend just laughed at me when he’s teaching me how to pronounce.

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The "Kh" sound in Arabic.  I tried, I really, really tried but I couldn't do it. I was taking Arabic classes and the teacher finally told me to quit trying because I was just never going to get it.  :sad:

What?! That's mean for her to do. I also couldn't pronounce it well but the Arabic teacher never told me to quit or that I was hopeless. If I couldn't get it right, she just carried on teaching and she even gave me a list of Arabic words with the English translation for me to learn them really well. I never did try hard enough though. :-(

But the hardest language for me to pronounce is French. The French teacher of my daughter said it is because their alphabet is pronounced differently from the English alphabet. And their words are not spelt as they're pronounced. It is just too far-out.

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I share your struggle with French pronunciation...most other languages I can grasp alright between either reading and/or mimicking how others do it, but French just doesn't come naturally to me at all. I haven't tried very much with it though, just a bit.

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When I started learning Spanish I just couldn't pronounce 'r' . I couldn't understand how others could roll that sound and I had so much problems getting it. It took me a lot of practice and determination to really master it. Other than that I do alright with the pronunciations in the languages i'm learning.

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German. I just can't get it right. I know French, Spanish and a bit of Italian, so people assume that I'd have an easier time with other European languages. It just doesn't seem to be that way for the German language for me though. I have a cousin who lives in Germany and he finds it hilarious when I try to pronounce German words.  :grin:

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I can't pronounce french either and it's very frustrating because I love the way it sounds. I guess like all other languages it really helps if the country you're from already speaks similarly but I'm from far away so unfortunately I'd have to force myself too much to deviate what my tongue has grown used to.

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I think correct pronunciation comes with time and practice. French pronunciation is very distinctive and different from any other language. It has a lot of nasal tones and sounds that you have to produce at the back of your throat. This can be quite challenging in the beginning. But practice makes perfect. :)

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I'm like that with some words in Japanese. It's been awhile since I've studied it, but I believe there's a word that means to buy. However, if you don't give it the slight pause, it'll mean cow or something. Words that are slightly close to pronouncing things have always tripped me up. Just like kawaii and kuwaii. That letter difference can trip you up and you'll end up insulting someone by mistake instead of complimenting them.

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  • 2 months later...

I don't think I'd be very good at Spanish, not that I've ever attempted to learn it. When I listen to people speaking Spanish, it just sounds so complicated. I don't know what letter produces the sound akin to the lisp, but that's what I'd struggle with the most. I''m able to say it in isolation, but I'm not so sure I'd be able to say it in a sentence!

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Russian will always be difficult for me.  The accent sounds very strong and forceful and it's a combination of different consonants that are pronounced all at the same time.  I think Russian is even more difficult compared to French.

Also, I've heard of Danish before and it sounds rather difficult as well.  I think it is somewhat similar to Russian in terms of force of speech.

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I think that anything can be improved with practice, so I'm not really concerned with the pronunciations as much as trying to memorize symbols, like the Chinese alphabet for example. But if I were to study French, then for sure I would also have a hard time pronouncing it. The French brands that I come across are always hard to pronounce because how it's spelled is different from the pronunciation of the word.

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I think correct pronunciation comes with time and practice. French pronunciation is very distinctive and different from any other language. It has a lot of nasal tones and sounds that you have to produce at the back of your throat. This can be quite challenging in the beginning. But practice makes perfect. :)

Agreed, and I love how it sounds so much and it really gets frustrating sometimes when you can't get yourself to sound accurate to the original accent. I also try and be cautious not to adopt certain french accents outside from the main one because I know the french people don't find that all too appealing. You're right though all it takes is a lot of practice.

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I am kinda sad to admit this, but I'm actually having no issues pronouncing dutch; instead I'm having issues with learning the language itself.  God, for me the pronunciation has always been the hardest aspect of most languages :(  It's so odd this time it's all the way around!  i can't find the way around this :(  I'm doing so well with the pronunciation, but that is of no use... I just can't manage to form a lot sentences in dutch.

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I think correct pronunciation comes with time and practice. French pronunciation is very distinctive and different from any other language. It has a lot of nasal tones and sounds that you have to produce at the back of your throat. This can be quite challenging in the beginning. But practice makes perfect. :)

For me french pronunciation is very easy :)  Mostly because in my mother language those sounds from french aren't strange at all, but when it comes to ''Germanic'' languages I'm not so good, specially english and German, but not Dutch :P  Dutch isn't so bad, actually the pronunciation rules are so clear and there are very few exceptions!

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I have tried learning Spanish and Italian numerous times but for some reason I just can not get the pronunciation right. I thought it was because they were Romance languages and my native language, English, is Germanic but I have recently taken learning French and I am very good with pronunciation. I love French! It did make me curious as to why I couldn't grasp Italian and Spanish but could French so I did a little research and I now know that French, although a Romance language with similarities to the others, it is a bit different and unique.

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I was in Sweden for half a year on exchange, and I STILL can't pronounce the word "yes" like this video

I have kind of worked on studying Swedish before and after watching this video I believe I can "pronounce" it correct. Although only a native would really be able to tell me that! I have to admit that has got to be the oddest word I have ever heard in another language. Very weird!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have a hard time with Japanese and French. Right now I am having troubles with my Rs in French. I just can't get that sound that is in the back of your throat. That French R is very hard for American's to pronounce.

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Swedish and Finnish are just like freakin unpronounceable languages. Seriously, I don't even know if it's a nasal or a throat sound to make sometimes. Incredibly difficult languages

Hehe I know what you mean about those two. I would say the same for all Scandinavian languages, though. They're not most attractive languages at all. My dad is Danish and tried to teach me a few basic phrases, I failed miserably lol I doubt I'd be any good at German and Russian, too!

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