Why does Arabic sound annoying?

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For some reason when it's speaken slowly Arabic sounds very nice, but when I hear it on tv a lot of people speak Arabic in a very agressive way and I don't like it either. More people told me they have the same opinion.

My mother doesn't like the Arabic language, my brother neither and I spoke with an Israeli on Skype who said that it sounds agressive.

Why does Arabic sound so agressive to a lot of people, or is this just an opinion and subjective?

I think English would sound annoying if I couldn't understand it.

I have an Arabic friend and I enjoy hearing him speak the language, though that could be because he has a nice-sounding voice in general.

derpa derpa derpa

"It" doesnt sound annoying. If "it" was annoying, "it" would have to be annoying for everyone. It simply sounds annoying out of your personal opinion.

To me, Arabic and Hebrew sound kind of similar. There are always some people who sound aggressive or annoying in every language I think.

This man on BBC Arabic sounds very nice and smooth actually.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPyhmbCoPeM[/youtube]

Not as annoying as English when words such as "like" and "whatever" are pronounced in that pathetic celeb culture fashion.

I agree with OP, Arabic sounds aggressive to me too. Although I have heard it sung in beautiful ways, so voice and speed makes a difference.

And not knowing what they say makes no difference. I don't understand Italian either, but I still think it sounds very charming and beautiful.
It comes down to what you think of how it sounds.

Schneekugel, there isn't a single thing that doesn't come down to personal opinion. There isn't a single thing everyone will agree upon.

I disagree. To me Arabic sounds nice and American English sounds annoying... I agree with Schneekugel. Maybe different countries and environments also influence different opinions... It doesn't surprise me that an american and an israeli may find arabic agressive or annoying.

I think Arabic has more guttural consonants than other languages, and they sound rather harsh to the ear. Probably that's why some people find it annoying and aggressive.

But finding the sound aggressive might be the result of the general view of the Middle East. Some parts of that region have always been having some sort of conflicts and terrorism and maybe that's why we (some of us) tend to think they are aggressive.

I think it's because to Western English-speaking people, Mideastern languages (Farsi, Arabic, Hebrew, etc), sound aggressive and even accusatory at times. And the current cultural differences and intolerances between the Mideastern and Western people, probably increases the offensiveness of the language tone as perceived by us.

Charles

I think English is annoying.

I never liked the Dutch language and the way you pronounce it.

I don't really mind what Arabic sounds like. Their alphabet make the most beautiful writing in the whole world.