Social Question

Haleth's avatar

Why are certain words so appealing?

Asked by Haleth (18947points) April 20th, 2011
6 responses
“Great Question” (2points)

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote, “Most English-speaking people…will admit that ‘cellar door’ is ‘beautiful’, especially if dissociated from its sense (and from its spelling). More beautiful than, say, sky, and far more beautiful than beautiful.”

What makes up your enjoyment of a word? Is it the meaning and associations, or the sound? What are some of your favorite words and why?

I like “transient,” “estuary,” “golden,” and “somnambulist,” so for me I think it’s mostly about meaning. Those words aren’t especially pretty sounding, but I like the meanings.

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Answers

KateTheGreat's avatar

Many words just sound beautiful coming out of one’s mouth. I personally like the word “clandestine”.

zenvelo's avatar

“Cellar door” moves the tongue around in the mouth in a pleasing way. There is a sibilant, and an “ell” then the mouth opens and then the tongue touches the back of the teeth, then the mouth opens again. it’s sensual.

I think “mellifluous” does a similar trick of the tongue. The tongue is pretty sensual.

seazen_'s avatar

Breast.

My favourite word, always on the tip of my tongue.

CaptainHarley's avatar

I like “elucidate” and “condemnation.”

ddude1116's avatar

Some words just sound better, their tones and pronunciations, and others just in the way they are used. And others are just fun to say in general (here’s looking at you, tintinnabulation).

seazen_'s avatar

While Juliet surely meant well when she said to Romeo, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” she might not have been very concerned about how marketable the flower was.

What if a rose were called a sniffastinkubutt?

Words and names are very important in marketing.

Too bad it isn’t as simple as comedian Mitch Hedberg portrayed it to be. “I want to get a job as someone who names kitchen appliances. Toaster, refrigerator, blender…all you do is say what it does and add ‘er.’ Hey, what does that do? It keeps shit fresh. Well that’s a fresher…I’m going on break.”

(Adapted from Arment Dietrich)

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