THE MUSIC OF LANGUAGE



 Each language has its own particular music. Similar words will have different sounds in different languages. This is verifiable in languages that are very different and have so much in common, like English and Spanish. I have chosen a few words that have the same meaning, same spelling, same origin, and yet their musicality, and pronunciation are so different. You can verify this by pronouncing them:
ENGLISH                                   SPANISH
Normal                                         Normal
Cordial                                          Cordial
Natural                                          Natural
Favor                                             Favor
Portugal                                         Portugal
Salmon                                           Salmón
Popeye                                            Popeye
Madrid                                            Madrid

Popeye is, of course, the sailor man. If pronounced in English, the name of the cartoon character will not be recognized by Spanish speakers. The final d in Madrid is stressed in English, whereas in Spanish it is dropped, Madrí. Read the words out loud in the two languages and you will perceive that musicality I am talking about.               

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