People who work with language often focus on meaning and accuracy, but language has another, more ephemeral and subjective quality that is also worth considering: euphonia, a word that comes from ancient Greek, combining ‘eu,’ which means ‘good’ and ‘phōnē,’ which means ‘sound’ or ‘voice.’
Language that is experienced as pleasing to the ear is described as ‘euphonious.’ This can encompass poetic techniques such as alliteration (the combination of words beginning with the same sound), rhyme, and things such as the sound of a particular person’s voice. In audio works such as podcasting, radio, audio books, and so on, euphonia is often especially important.
Most people agree on certain voices and sounds as being particularly euphonious (even if they might not know the word!): Frank Sinatra, the sound of light rain against the window, the swish of gentle waves against sand, and so on. We all react more positively to information and experiences that we experience as euphonious, which is why it’s so important, for example, for things like prerecorded warnings (think ‘mind the gap’ on the London tube) to be spoken by actors with voices generally experienced as pleasant.
Clearly, euphonia can also be quite a subjective quality, because we can react differently to different sounds depending on the firsthand experiences we have had with them, although there are many sounds that most people experience as pleasant, making them part of the toolbox of advertisers and others who seek to communicate with, and influence, the masses.
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