I heard some people talking today in what I think was Nigerian English, which always sounds happy to me. These particularly people seemed to be very cheerful, but there seems to be something about Nigerian English that makes it sound very jolly, to my ears at least. I think it’s something about the sounds they use and the intonation patterns.
This got me wondering whether I alone in thinking this, and whether other languages have an inherently happy sound to them.
Jamaican also sounds happy to me.
Do any particular languages, dialects or accents sound happy/jolly/cheerful to you?
Absolutely! I strongly agree with Jamaican. Also Swahili – it always seems to me that you cannot be angry and speak Swahili.
My grandmother used to live in South Africa, and I remember her saying that even when her South African friends were shouting angrily, their accents made them sound liltingly happy. I think Caribbean dialects in English generally also make people sound happy.
On the flip side, I think that New York accents sometimes sound negative or sarcastic, although that might just be a product of the particular New Yorkers I’ve interacted with…
In Sweden Norwegian as well as some of the Swedish dialects along the border are generally considered to be happy.
Toki Pona is being marketed as the language which makes you good.
By looking at Swedish films (and switching occasionally to the mother tounge) I have had the feeling that angry Swedes sound much calmer than other ones.
Cajun English always seems relaxed.