21 Comments

Nice research and thoughts. It was a great break to immerse in your writing in my busy day :)

Expand full comment
author

Thanks, Andrea! I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

Expand full comment

Agree ❤️

Expand full comment

This is a really interesting correlation ❤️

Expand full comment
author

Thanks, Paolo! Did you notice it as well in your own life or with foreigners you might have met along the way?

Expand full comment
Dec 18, 2023·edited Dec 18, 2023Liked by Monica Nastase

Love this! Absolutely fascinating. Linguistics is something of a minor special interest of mine. How does Romanian - weather and consonants - compare to Italian and Spanish?

Finnish, unrelated to Swedish and Danish, is also gender neutral, even with pronouns. Maybe a Nordic thing? I lived in Holland for six years. Dutch is also consonant heavy, but not as much as German. English has its moments. Strengths.

I love Spanish. I love hearing it, and reading it. Recommendations for Substacks in Spanish gratefully accepted. And Dutch, French, and German.

Expand full comment
author

I get you, linguistics is also super interesting for me! Romanian has more consonant-heavy words compared to Italian and Spanish (and French), and that's because it's made up of roughly 20% Slavic vocabulary. And -- to follow my theory -- the Slavic languages, with the exception of Bulgarian, are all geographically located in colder regions than Romania.

Climate wise, Romania has a slightly colder weather than Italy or Spain, mainly due to its continental climate, and no influence from the mild Mediterranean air.

I'm not sure what you mean by Substances in Spanish. Do you mean Substacks? 😊

Expand full comment

Yes, I mean Substacks! I just went in and fixed it. Autocorrect...

I didn't know about the Slavic influence on Romanian. Fascinating.

Expand full comment
author

For now, I read only in English around here. But if I come across Substacks (not substances hahah, that was taking a wrong turn) in other languages, I'll ping you.

Expand full comment

Thank you, Monica!

Expand full comment

I like your observations, although the map you included seems to largely go against your hypothesis—some of the places which have the most consonant thick languages are basically all of South Asia, a mostly incredibly hot and humid area where 1/5 or so of the entire world lives (and of course, we speak about the INDO-European languages—so there is a direct connection with your European examples, but not with climactic correlation), as well as Southern Africa, the source of all humans, another super hot area.

Expand full comment
author

Your points are valid as well, Nick, absolutely. These are theories that are being explored and researched, with multiple counter-examples or outliers. For me it's fascinating to follow the potential correlation of these two elements, the way we speak and our surroundings. But I don't think it's a black or white type of answer.

Other examples from the map are South East Asia, a hugely populated area as well, with warm climate and fewer-consonant-words; and also the north part of South America.

I also can't help but notice that the closer you are to the equator line, the more green dots there are on the map (= fewer-consonant words).

Expand full comment

I love this! I wonder if all the words Spanish have to say is the reason they talk so quickly 🤣

I really haven’t got the knack for those crossed over conversations, it’s impossible for me to understand anyone 🙈 perhaps when I reach my next level of fluency I will.

Andalusia is famous for it’s cutting off the ends of words, linking words together (like English) and fast paced speaking. Perhaps the heat? Got to get it out as quick as possible so we don’t bake 🤣

I also would be disappointed by their vocabulary for rain, I point and go ‘como se llama este tipo de lluvia’ and they never have much for me. But then I met a guy from Basque Country and he told me loads of words! Interesting, for how hot the south can be, they’ve limited words for the heat in my opinion 😆

Expand full comment
author

Yeah the Spanish barely close their mouths and the Andalusian cut off the words because they don't have a worry in the world about catching colds or being chilly. 😄

As for synonyms for heat, something to investigate!

Expand full comment

Hahaha 🤣 one thing I’ve noticed coming home is how everyone is sick 🤧 Lots of coughing going on everywhere I go. Best keep to my short English sounds to keep safe 😆

Expand full comment

Love this, am amazed by the many languages you speak and places you lived in Monica! I’m also obsessed over cultural-sociological views on things like language and yesss geography shapes it. Welcome to Munich! How long will you be here for?

Expand full comment
author

Thanks, Carmen! I'm in Munich for Christmas with the parents. Will go up to Austria for a couple of days too. Happy holidays! 🎄🤗

Expand full comment

This bus such an interesting concept...

Expand full comment
author

It's a theory I've had for a while, and the more I investigated it, the more I found others who get behind it too.

Expand full comment

It's not something I've considered, so now I really want to think about it! (I’m drawing a veil over the horrors of autocorrect, which seems to be hounding me at the moment…just glad you got the gist!)

Expand full comment
author

hahah no worries, I got it! :)

Expand full comment