No. of Phonetics in different languages ???

[j4mes_bond25]

British English has around 44 sounds (24 Consonants + 7 short vowels + 5 long vowels + 8 diphthongs).

I wonder, how many sounds are there in Standard
(i.e. ignoring any regional variation) French, German, Spanish, Hindi & Chinese ???

Lastly, which language in the world has the least & most sounds in it ???

[Naughty Beef]

Spanish is easy- they just have the five vowels, and the consonants.... check any Spanish language teachign book, and they'll tell you.
It's not at all like English!!!

[MyLastestPlague]

Originally Posted by Naughty Beef

Spanish is easy- they just have the five vowels, and the consonants.... check any Spanish language teachign book, and they'll tell you.
It's not at all like English!!!

Spanish is VERY VERY much easier then English after all English is the secound hardest language in the world

[MyLastestPlague]

Originally Posted by Naughty Beef

Spanish is easy- they just have the five vowels, and the consonants.... check any Spanish language teachign book, and they'll tell you.
It's not at all like English!!!

Spanish is VERY VERY much easier then English after all English is the secound hardest language in the world

[rogusx]

I seem to remember the minimal vowel system ever studied (I believe it was Quechua) had only three vowels: /i/ /a/ and /u/. Latin had a five-vowel system and so does Spanish, as others have correctly pointed out. But the other romance languages have taken their system from Vulgar Latin which had 7 vowels /i/ /e/ /E/ /a/ /O/ /o/ and /u/, and have made additions of their own (Portuguese and French adding nasalized vowels for example). Different kinds of English have different systems though, and perhaps RP is one of the most complex. Other accents have a reduced number of contrasts (e.g. Scottish English has no /u/~/U/ opposition).