3 ms·

I didn't say it was difficult. I said that, for whatever phonetic reason, I don't like to pronounce it, and I can't exactly articulate why. That's the root of

I didn't say it was difficult. I said that, for whatever phonetic reason, I don't like to pronounce it, and I can't exactly articulate why. That's the root of the research on word aversions.

davidw 17y ago
Ah, I see... weird, but I guess it's a matter of taste. There are a few words in Italian that really are tricky. Not many, but I took a while to get this one right: ammortizzatore it really twists your mouth around if you're saying it right.
- andreyf 17y ago
  Some hypothesize it isn't taste, but the way our minds treat language: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimality_Theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimality_Theory I'd pronounce it Gal lee lay
  - ido 17y ago
    > I'd pronounce it Gal lee lay Unfortunately, you'd be wrong.
    - deleted 17y ago
      [deleted]
- jacquesm 17y ago
  Try Szeczin (town in Poland) Polish has some of the best tongue breakers in the world, there is the word for toothbrush that I won't even try to spell because I'll mess it up.
  - sp332 17y ago
    Toothbrush is szczoteczka, according to Google. You might break some teeth trying to pronounce it!
    - paulbaumgart 17y ago
      It's a lot scarier looking than it is... 'sz' and 'cz' are both phonemes, somewhat similar in sound to the English 'sh'. Still not easy to pronounce, sure.
      - sp332 17y ago
        Is it onomatopoetic? The sound of brushing one's teeth?
        anatoly 17y ago
        No, it comes from a common Slavic root of unclear origin chet- or shet- with meanings, in various languages, of "comb", "picket fence", "bristle", "fir needles", etc.
    - pietro 17y ago
      Fresh chocolate is like a tender charming cayote.
  - pietro 17y ago
    It's Szczecin, and it's not entirely impossible to pronounce, but it does require practice. The inital szcz is pronounced about the same way as sh ch in fresh cheese.
    - jacquesm 17y ago
      > It's Szczecin Aaargh! I had a sinking feeling I had it wrong, should have checked the map. It's a border town between Poland and Germany, I've crossed that border quite a few times and I still can't remember the spelling... Polish is hard for foreigners!
  - bd 17y ago
    For non-Polish Slavic speakers Polish is not difficult to pronounce, just funny. It's very soft sounding and even normal words often have forms that would be diminutive in other Slavic language. So everything sounds like a baby talk.
kyro 17y ago
I think it's because the final two vowel sounds, 'e' and 'i', are created using the same basic mouth/tongue positions, and thus, to differentiate the two sounds, you exert more force in controlling your muscles. On the other hand, with 'e' and 'o', the mouth positions are so different, that you can be a lot more loose with the vowel sounding and still get the final vowel combination to come out right. I hope that makes sense.

I didn't say it was difficult. I said that, for whatever phonetic reason, I don't like to pronounce it, and I can't exactly articulate why. That's the root of the research on word aversions.

davidw 17y ago

Ah, I see... weird, but I guess it's a matter of taste. There are a few words in Italian that really are tricky. Not many, but I took a while to get this one right: ammortizzatore it really twists your mouth around if you're saying it right.

andreyf 17y ago
Some hypothesize it isn't taste, but the way our minds treat language: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimality_Theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimality_Theory I'd pronounce it Gal lee lay
- ido 17y ago
  > I'd pronounce it Gal lee lay Unfortunately, you'd be wrong.
  - deleted 17y ago
    [deleted]
jacquesm 17y ago
Try Szeczin (town in Poland) Polish has some of the best tongue breakers in the world, there is the word for toothbrush that I won't even try to spell because I'll mess it up.
- sp332 17y ago
  Toothbrush is szczoteczka, according to Google. You might break some teeth trying to pronounce it!
  - paulbaumgart 17y ago
    It's a lot scarier looking than it is... 'sz' and 'cz' are both phonemes, somewhat similar in sound to the English 'sh'. Still not easy to pronounce, sure.
    - sp332 17y ago
      Is it onomatopoetic? The sound of brushing one's teeth?
      - anatoly 17y ago
        No, it comes from a common Slavic root of unclear origin chet- or shet- with meanings, in various languages, of "comb", "picket fence", "bristle", "fir needles", etc.
  - pietro 17y ago
    Fresh chocolate is like a tender charming cayote.
- pietro 17y ago
  It's Szczecin, and it's not entirely impossible to pronounce, but it does require practice. The inital szcz is pronounced about the same way as sh ch in fresh cheese.
  - jacquesm 17y ago
    > It's Szczecin Aaargh! I had a sinking feeling I had it wrong, should have checked the map. It's a border town between Poland and Germany, I've crossed that border quite a few times and I still can't remember the spelling... Polish is hard for foreigners!
- bd 17y ago
  For non-Polish Slavic speakers Polish is not difficult to pronounce, just funny. It's very soft sounding and even normal words often have forms that would be diminutive in other Slavic language. So everything sounds like a baby talk.

kyro 17y ago

I think it's because the final two vowel sounds, 'e' and 'i', are created using the same basic mouth/tongue positions, and thus, to differentiate the two sounds, you exert more force in controlling your muscles. On the other hand, with 'e' and 'o', the mouth positions are so different, that you can be a lot more loose with the vowel sounding and still get the final vowel combination to come out right. I hope that makes sense.