Reading David Crystal's webpage I came across this discipline. Phonaesthetics is "the study of the expressive properties of sound". This seems to be the reason why we like or dislike certain words.
The following poem gives a taste of it:
Caprice in consonants
Some words have such a lovely sound
It's pleasant to roll them round and round
And savor their syllables on the tongue, -
Words like oriole, melody, young.
Other words, though of ungraceful letter,
Harsh, abrasive,...sound even better!
These are words of intrinsic beauty, -
Service, conscience, kindliness, duty.
-Alma Denny, New York
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