It's all greek to me

[Eldritch]

Actually, to me Greek sounds like a much faster and slightly more "guttural" form of Finnish, and I'm not the first to make that observation either.

Actually you're one of only two non-Finns (the other one is this guy) whom I've ever heard speak Finnish without a noticeable foreign accent.

Of course the languages are worlds apart in the strict linguistic sense, but they do sound somewhat similar.

[Absinthe]

Of course the languages are worlds apart in the strict linguistic sense, but they do sound somewhat similar.

Yes, I was amazed at how easily I could pronounce finnish, as well as how naturally my friend Jenni could pick up greek phrases without sounding like a tourist.

[SuuT]

Absinthe,

If I recall correctly, you have studied Sanskrit. How does Greek compare, and do you think it closer to Greek than to, say, German?

[Absinthe]

How does greek and sanskrit compare?

Well, there is similar grammar between sanskrit and ancient greek. There are sanskrit roots that can also be found in ancient greek words.

For example:

english: am, are, is
sanskrit: asmi, asi, asti
anc. greek: eemi, eesi, esti
modern greek: eeme, eese, eene


As for german and sanskrit...I'd tell you if I spoke german.

[SuuT]

How does greek and sanskrit compare?

Well, there is similar grammar between sanskrit and ancient greek. There are sanskrit roots that can also be found in ancient greek words.

I mean when comparing their spoken sound (I've never heard Sanskrit spoken): does Sanskrit 'sound' more like Greek than German 'sounds' like Greek?

[Absinthe]

Aaah sorry!

It has more similar sounds with greek, I would say, than with german.

But it doesn't sound particularly like greek.

[SwordoftheVistula]

If I heard it on the street I would have guessed Italian. It vaguely resembles French(latin) in tone but I don't recognize any words, it doesn't really sound like Spanish at all, so I would have guessed Italian.

Definitely doesn't sound Germanic or Slavic. All the Celts I have ever met only speak English, so I have no idea what any celtic language sounds like.

[Osweo]

I hear it, and immediately think of the Mediterranean. I have to listen a bit more to eliminate the Romance languages. You have the same 'music' perhaps, but a more jumpy rhythm. All the 'elleththelleththe' gives yous away, very easily! 'Th' in general is quite a rare sound, and rules out the Slavs and Shiptars. Southern Slavs, however, do have a common Balkan sound or accent to my ears with yourselves and the Albanians. Maybe even with Turks, but I've not heard them speak much. The Southern Slavs sound very different from their northern fellows, so a man can be forgiven for not so immediately saying 'Greek'! I actually heard a few Russian words in what the people were saying in the videos, but this is a usual phenomenon for somebody who only really speaks two languages; I heard Russian words in the speech of some Maasai on the telly once!

[Absinthe]

All the 'elleththelleththe' gives yous away, very easily!

Yes, sort of like the "saatanasvittuperkele" for Finns

[Óttar]

When I hear Greek I sometimes confuse it with Portuguese. While many here say Greek sounds like Spanish, I know it isn't because Spanish isn't so harsh and I can recognize much Spanish vocabulary.

I think Greek sounds Portuguese because it has many vowels which go together and aren't enunciated as clearly as Spanish.

For example, in Portuguese "s" is pronounced "sh" so "Lisboetas" (natives of Lisbon) is pronounced "Lishbo-ay-taash."

And instead of the soft Spanish suffix -cion with accent over the "i", the same suffix is "cao" in Portuguese with a strange "~" accent over the a. Portuguese also has a harsh /dz/ sound.

Compare Spanish "yo soy" (I am) containing soft "c" sound and Portuguese "eu seu" containing harsh "sh" sound. "eu" and "seu" kind of smash together cacaphonously.

Some people say that Welsh sounds like German spoken in an English accent.

Some people must not be familiar with German.