French and Italian [0] are considered romance languages, because among other things they sound pretty. Russian [1] (and I suppose most Slavic languages) just don't generally sound pretty. For what its worth, I speak Russian; not terribly well, but I speak it. Russian really isn't a language that sounds "pretty" or "silky", or whichever adjective you'd prefer.
The reason I decided to respond to you comment was a little more abstract than that though. People liking or disliking things about other kinds of people isn't racist. Some people just don't like things. I don't like black licorice (no idea who invented it, but I don't like it). I don't particularly care for traditional German food (I'll eat it, its just not my go to for food), and I don't think I'd ever wear a kilt to a wedding (I'm mostly Irish, then Italian, then Native American).
I don't think those things make me racist or xenophobic. At least, I don't think less of anyone who prefers any of those things. I just don't like them for me.
I think if we start claiming that not liking something like a language is racist, we're on a slippery slope indeed. For example, I don't like the color red. I don't like traditional Mexican music. Do either one of those things make me racist?
I'm not trying to attack by any means, I'm sincerely curious.
> French and Italian [0] are considered romance languages, because among other things they sound pretty.
No, they (along with Spanish and others) are considered "romance languages" because they descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of the common Romans of the late Imperial period. [0]
> French and Italian [0] are considered romance languages, because among other things they sound pretty.
Not relevant to your point, but just to clarify a common misconception: Romance languages are languages derived from Latin. The name means "language of the Romans", not "language of the amorous".
Not liking a language seems like a very far-reaching thing. There are people who were born into that language and have little choice but to use that language to communicate. They weren't born with only red clothes are being able to dance nothing but traditional Mexican music (btw, which traditional Mexican music do you not like? Huapango? Son jarocho? Rancheras? Bandas? There's not one musical style in Café Tacuba's Re that you like?).
But disliking a language is disliking something very entrenched within an ethnicity. I'm sure that there are Mexicans who dislike some of our traditional music, but how many Mexicans think that Spanish is ugly and are embarrassed to speak it? How many Germans think the same about German?
If indeed native speakers don't consider their own language ugly, then foreigners who think that seem to be exhibiting a kind of xenophobia.
> Not liking a language seems like a very far-reaching thing. There are people who were born into that language and have little choice but to use that language to communicate.
What does that have to do with anything? Nobody's indicting anyone for speaking a language. The question here is just whether some languages are generally more mellifluous.
> If indeed native speakers don't consider their own language ugly, then foreigners who think that seem to be exhibiting a kind of xenophobia.
Maybe, but it seems more likely to me that native speakers are just deaf to how their own language sounds to other people — similar to how most people don't think they have an accent, and are surprised what their voice sounds like recorded because they're used to hearing it rumble from within.
Saying something is beautiful or ugly is a value judgement, in this case a value judgement you're passing on what is usually an ethnicity's most common element: language. And this value judgement is upon a certain ethnicity. If you were to hear that Africans tend to be uglier than Swedes, wouldn't you consider that an uncomfortable value judgement to hear? Oh, but it's just your preference. There's nothing wrong with thinking that Swedes are prettier than Africans, and nobody should be considered racist or xenophobic for making such a claim.
Going back to language, if you're saying my language is ugly because of how it sounds to you, all I hear is that you don't know anything about it and you're referring to something unknown as ugly. It just seems like ignorance.
As to your second point, being unaware of one's accent and being unaware of one's own timbre are completely different things.
French and Italian [0] are considered romance languages, because among other things they sound pretty. Russian [1] (and I suppose most Slavic languages) just don't generally sound pretty. For what its worth, I speak Russian; not terribly well, but I speak it. Russian really isn't a language that sounds "pretty" or "silky", or whichever adjective you'd prefer.
The reason I decided to respond to you comment was a little more abstract than that though. People liking or disliking things about other kinds of people isn't racist. Some people just don't like things. I don't like black licorice (no idea who invented it, but I don't like it). I don't particularly care for traditional German food (I'll eat it, its just not my go to for food), and I don't think I'd ever wear a kilt to a wedding (I'm mostly Irish, then Italian, then Native American).
I don't think those things make me racist or xenophobic. At least, I don't think less of anyone who prefers any of those things. I just don't like them for me.
I think if we start claiming that not liking something like a language is racist, we're on a slippery slope indeed. For example, I don't like the color red. I don't like traditional Mexican music. Do either one of those things make me racist?
I'm not trying to attack by any means, I'm sincerely curious.
[0] http://www.orbilat.com/General_Survey/List_of_Romance_Langua...
[1] http://www.russiaslam.com/2012/stories/the-russian-language-...