Beautiful German
Speaking of French duels, I hereby challenge Rob the Llamabutcher to one, for calling the lovely German language hideous. (Full disclosure: my undergraduate degree was in German).
Among the sung languages, certainly Latin is the most beautiful, but German has an earthy power to it, much like English. Just read Der Erlkoenig (The Elf-King), by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and listen to a decent recording of Schubert's rendering of this poem.
If you have a child, I dare you to make it through the song without a tear in your eye.
We had to memorize Der Elkoenig in German class when I was in junior high...I still shudder.
Posted by: Nic at May 8, 2004 05:53 AMHa! I'm always reminded of Ernie Kovac's German version of "Mack the Knife," as well as his German version of the Lone Ranger: "Guttentag, Kimosabe!"