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When I try to write a poem or some lyrics in English, I am stuck with the very strict word order and other things like articles, very repetitive usage of articles (a/an, the) that destroy the sound when you are using nouns. You cannot drop the (I, you, he/she) like in Slavic languages etc.

When I write a poem in Czech or Slovak I like the plasticity of the words, I have much more possibilities when building rhymes, my words are free of the articles, word order I have the possibility to use the (untold) object/subject (because of the genders and grammatical cases), etc.

In Slovak language there is the "Rhythmic law" or rhythmic alternation length is changed for a short syllables after the previous long syllable. This law is typical for Slovak and other Slavic languages ​​do not have it.

E.g. omáčka (o-máč-ka/short-long-short) or vyúdený (vy-ú-de-ný/short-long-short-long).

I haven't seen something like that in any other language. It's perfect for poetry. The rhytmic changes make it melodic and very pleasant for the ears.

Another thing: I can pronounce every letter as it is(and with different modulation/tone), very hard to explain, but it's very powerful thing in poetry http://youtube.com/watch?v=B8u8Nd-n2XM

Here it's extremely obvious to notice short-long-short-long-short-long http://youtu.be/TCiZSxrWxTg it's characteristic for middle part of Slovakia

Or more serious "Mor ho!" from Samo Chalupka http://youtu.be/5KCse2zSzII.

Example of free word order (Czech) e.g.

Jsem z města.
lit. Am from city
I am from the city

could by said in poetry (or in real life too) like:

Z města jsem.
lit. From city am
From the city I am

or:

Já z města jsem
lit. I, From city Am

or:

Já jsem z města
lit. I am from city

or:

Z města já jsem
lit. From city I Am

and other combinations.

Are Slavic languages because of their plasticity better for poetry? Is there some study about using the languages in poetry (which languages are what advantages/disadvantages?)

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    This is pretty subjective - it really depends on what kind of poetry you're looking to write. I've found that more restrictions result in poetry I like better sometimes - for example, I think Japanese is better to write haiku in than English precisely because it's too easy to write a haiku in English (because you can fit more in the limited space). So it's more up to what you like - if you like being able to move things around, then sure, Slavic's great for that; but if you prefer working with restrictions, then maybe English is better. – Sjiveru Jul 10 '13 at 17:41
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    With apologies to cummings: Since feeling is first, who pays any attention to the syntax of things? Also try this poem about a grasshopper. – prash♦ Jul 10 '13 at 20:44
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    This is one of the questions IMO that illustrate the problem with linguistics.SE. Professionals are not going to spend time on here when people ask "questions" such as this one. – Fryie Jul 10 '13 at 23:16
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    Let's not write the OP off just yet. Although the question is too general, I think it's legitimate to ask, for example, whether such things as a) flexible word order and b) phonologies that permit only vowels at the ends of words make it easier to rhyme. – James Grossmann Jul 11 '13 at 6:13
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    @Derfder My argument is that you're using your own personal sense of aesthetics (how elegant you think the sentence looks), a subjective measure, to say some language is objectively better at something. It's a microcosm of your question in general; you [presumably] like Slavic poetry so you have an intuition that Slavic languages are better for poetry. In itself there is absolutely nothing wrong with this but you need to remember that this is based on your own personal preferences and others may hold contrary opinions which are just as valid. – acattle Jul 12 '13 at 1:50
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Definitely they are better suitable. Along the properties you highlighted there are some more:

  • Common endings of nouns and verbs makes it easier to find a suitable rhyme.

  • Richer set of suffixes and superposition of suffixes - makes it easier to control the desired number of syllables in a word. For example any noun has a lot of diminutives and other variants conveying the author's attitude to the noun.

Consider a word for "black": чёрный. It has many differently suffixed forms: чёрненький, черноватый, чернявый, чернейший, наичернейший, черноватенький, чернявенький, чернушный, чернеющий, почерневший, почерневшенький, зачернённый.

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  • Also, the grammatical category of gender for any objects can be very metaphorical and emotionally provocative. :) –  Пилум Sep 17 '20 at 17:01
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In my opinion, a suitability of a language for creative writing is a matter of creative witer' s language proficiency. Any language fits just fine, the trick is to let its poetics flow.

Speaking on Slavic languages, I thing that irregular word order together with, say, irregular word stress (like in Russian) is more like a disaster for a poetic rhythm than an advantage.

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    Have you heard e.g. Slovak language? "Rhythmic law" or rhythmic alternation length is changed for a short syllables after the previous long syllable. This law is typical for Slovak and other Slavic languages ​​do not have it. E.g. omáčka (o-máč-ka/short-long-short). I haven't seen something like that in any other language. It's perfect for poetry. I think Slovak is better than Czech for poetry. Another fact I can pronounce every letter as it is(and with different modulation/tone), very hard to explain, but it's very powerful thing in poetry youtube.com/watch?v=B8u8Nd-n2XM – Derfder Jul 14 '13 at 20:13
  • Here it's extremely obvious to notice short-long-short-long-short-long youtu.be/TCiZSxrWxTg it's characteristic for middle part of Slovakia – Derfder Jul 14 '13 at 20:34
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    Yes, but this is not a unique poetic feature. It can be noticed in all Eastern Slavic languages, not mentioning ancient Greek and Latin, or any other language with length-stressed vowels. To the best of my knowledge, Slovak has more or less regular stress pattern. – Manjusri Jul 15 '13 at 6:41

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