Have you ever tried to hear English without actually understanding it? If one has spoken English all their life, it is very hard to do. When you hear someone speaking French you can usually tell it is so without understanding what the person is saying. It is the same thing with recognizing German, Spanish, Russian, or Italian, though I can confuse that one with French sometimes. They each have their own distinctive sound: French and Italian sound smooth and flowing while German and Russian are more staccato and reminds me of the military for some odd reason.
But what does English sound like to those who can’t actually understand it? It’s a difficult task but I managed it once in my life. There was a lady talking and for a brief moment or two I actually heard her speaking without understanding the words. It was a surreal moment that was gone again in a flash.
So what did English sound like to me right then?
It sounded like German.