What American English sounds like to non-English speakers

[Valkyriefury]

What makes it sound like English? I think the presence of certain sounds in similar distribution, the odd unpatterned stressing is also meant to mock English, I think. And , of course, there's the accent. What I'm curious about, it when mocking other languages, say Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, what do we naturally do to create the sound? Just listen to Feynman, for example, who considered himself a great language mocker. What was he up to?

[destroyersoueu]

Perfeito....eu ouço assim também..... perfect..this is the way i listen

[DreadfulRay]

That's right, Americans were the only people who still sounded good in the 1970s.

[iRtehKITTEH]

I couldn't tell the difference

[IvyEyezPK]

wut.

[LittleBaconLover]

Is that what we look like too...?

[PickyMcCritical]

@LittleBaconLover Haha I hope not...

[neocon2009]

WTF?

[JohnLennonILoveYou]

What the fuck kind of show is this?

[mdorcy16]

i love this soo much!

[LovedayTrelawney]

My head was telling me I should understand but I couldn't!! Total mind fuck!!

[TehTyg13]

Haha what's so scary is that I was extremely sure they were actually speaking english.

[theGoob713]

@TehTyg13 I know! I was like, 'WTF, brain! What are they saying?!'

[daziya11]

10 Points for The US of America!

Hahah. We sound pretty cool!

[intersezioni]

@daziya11 but it's italian! :-)

[xanas3712]

This is kinda cool.

[NephilimfreePHD]

catchy tune actually

[emlove748]

eyes

[puffrooster]

I'd like to see this video with lyrics!

[baahhhFATALITY11]

I thought they were speaking english.... XD

[rendilkraesin]

I grew up learning English from schools & science books in the norse/northern USA area. This is almost exactly what people from the anglo-gaelic region around Kentucky & south Appalachians sound like to me. My ears insist this IS English if I could just sort out the slurring. Excellent reproduction! This is what I hear local anglo-gaelic people saying on southern Illinois streets. The german-americans I can make out better, since they are newer to English. USA dialects are quite varied.

[fiarucci]

and italian sounds lalala ananaa lllaaa wah whah -- your point?

[puffrooster]

I can't stop watching this; Italians are so cool!

[cronevineti]

i find this really scary!

[beanie021]

@spike848 English is a Germanic language, I'm not saying it's influenced by German. Just like Italian is a Romantic language. wikipedia(dot)org/wiki/Germani­c_languages

[puffrooster]

I would buy the CD! Anyone know where I can MP3 download this!?

[Pductions]

@puffrooster See the tab button under the video that says "Download"? Just click that and save it as an MP3

[puffrooster]

@Pductions I don't have that button!? Where is it exactly?

[Pductions]

@puffrooster Oh umm for me it is the 4th tab from the "Like" button. Do you see it there?

[puffrooster]

@Pductions No! My fourth tab is a flag icon, (to flag as inappropiate). Are you just teasing me? I have, Like (thumbs up), then a thumbs down, then +Add to, then Share and then a little flag icon!?

[Pductions]

@puffrooster Hmm stange, for me it is left of the flag button. Im using internet explorer , which browser are you using? I tried with google chrome and it wasnt there. So many its just an internet explorer thing

[Overlord360]

@Pductions

It's cause you're using html5

[puffrooster]

@Pductions I'm using Explorer as well. Left of the flag button for me is the Share tab.

[Pductions]

@puffrooster A guy commented on my last post to you and he said it was because Im using Html5. I dont know what that is but I guess you could research it. Sorry I could be a complete help

[puffrooster]

@Pductions Thanks; I'm not sure what html5 is either. I guess I could google it. Could be also because I'm in Canada!? As it is, there are some music videos' I can't watch, as well as some TV shows I can't watch online because of copyright laws, or so I'm told. To watch South Park I have to go to a special, "Canadian site". I can't watch it on an American site! Everyone wants to control what everyone watches and listens to for some reason. (They) say it is for the money, but I think its control.

[TehTyg13]

@puffrooster @puffrooster HTML5 is just a new version of the language we use to write websites and allows us easily insert video into pages. Normally we use Flash, however that needs to be installed and is inconveient. However, not all web browsers have full support for HTML5 yet because it's pretty new. You're actually correct, it has something to do with copyright. Google and Mozilla refuse to pay the royalties on the video format Youtube uses, so they're stuck with Flash for now.

[puffrooster]

@TehTyg13 Thank you for the information! i assume your a web site developer? What is your primary creation software for web-site design?

[TehTyg13]

@puffrooster Well, I'm not really much of a web developer, I'm just knowledgeable about these things. On the amateur level there are creation sites and things like Adobe Dreamweaver (expensive though). However, professionally and for those very skilled with computers most people just write the code directly. It's like being able to write a program: you just need to know how to code HTML and PHP and stuff of that nature.

[911mistake]

well its a engilish north american jumble then a german slur

[PrettyRagdoll]

As an American I got to say... this sounds awesome

[awwwyeaboyeeee]

This guy sounds like he's impersonating Borat.



[skiendog]

I'm pretty sure this is English, but they jumbled random words together. 

[atrapforfools]

sounds like my sims when they talk lol

[ArentWeSpecial]

I have this cute penpal from Spain who asked me to help her learn English. I think I'm going to send her this as a prank...

[TheAryonB]

I love this so much.

[kenlor71]

what the hell is the point to this vid???

[ztharris69]

Dude we sound AWESOME!

[AaronCherr]

@ztharris69

Americans speaking Simlish...

[xXUnholyxXxScourgeXx]

Oddly enough it reminds me of German.

Which I don't mind, considering I love the way German sounds. XD

[beanie021]

@xXUnholyxXxScourgeXx English and German are both Germanic languages. :3

[spike848]

@beanie021 English is not merely Germanic; it has received many influenced over time, including Nordic, Gaelic, ..

[frogbutt11]

as an American, I found this pretty interesting. And it does sound just like if you can't understand the words to a song, but it sounds sort of like American English wording. Weird.

[AunorSjet88]

I think my Universal Translator is broken...

[wshkspr1]

Sounds rather Dylanesque . . .

[mgc1022]

it DOES freakishly sound like english.....lol this is genius xDDDDD

[fatrussian]

We're staying in shoes while you hold me to see whole if rape maybe to cut a boy's diet.

Trrr, checking some mines, baby it's cold yeah Blue Joe, hoe.

We're staying in shoes while you hold me to see whole if rape maybe to cut a boy's time.

Whether it's the same way stupid countries sing. You never travel, never judging called David the Sham. You are coming up - choose my wife and I'll show hoes get a lotta cover no time. A magnificent stand - why them shoes they cover man.

Easy.

[itscvl]

this is so frustrating!

[rankingtrevor]

Disliked for silly song

[YourWaiter]

It brings out of english the old german twang.

[MattRodrig]

I'm not an English native speaker. It does sound like English, very accurate in my opinion. You guys can trust that!

[tkoizumi]

It's so sad that most English speakers especially in America do not speak more than 1 language. It's hard to describe what it feels like when you hear your own native language and hear an English in the background. Much like when I watch Anime and Original JP Dub and when my wife is talking on the phone haha

[velokaw]

@tkoizumi Computer languages count, right?

[AnaBana987]

@tkoizumi

sign language count?

[AlimeProductions]

@tkoizumi It makes me so mad when other kids say that learning a language is "nerdy" or it means you "don't have a life" I'm 16 and I'm a boy, I want to be a polyglot so I can interact with the rest of the world. It makes people more "open" I'd say. Right now I am learning Mandarin Chinese, I enjoy it and it's easy.

[madundy]

@AlimeProductions your a fucking loser, go play world of warcraft in french

[AlimeProductions]

@madundy Your a fucking loser, go to college, get laid, and make some money and do something with your life. Or just go to hell you son of a bitch! And I'm pretty sure I don't play World of Warcraft, it's the gayest game ever. I'll be dating girls from all over the fucking world and you'll be dating a fat whore!

[madundy]

@AlimeProductions I'm a Loser? Ouch that really hurts when a recyclopath throws my own burns right back at me. As for college I am majoring in biology and have a minor in calculas. How is the short bus this time of year? World of Warcraft is not the gayest game, that honor goes to you and your dad and your version of pin the tail on the donkey. And I don't think you should be calling your mom a fat whore, she prefers the term bang maid.

[AlimeProductions]

@madundy Also, why the fuck are you on this video? If you think language stuff is nerdy than why the fuck would you look it up? Get fucked you shitty fag!

[PickyMcCritical]

@AlimeProductions I was just looking through comments and noticed your wall of anger... You know he was just trying to piss you off, right?

Search troll on Urbandictionary if you didn't

[loft42]

He did it again here with Shaggy: /watch?v=QGxFtU349oc&feature=r­elated (min 3:30)

[bigarv65]

Not watching the video while doing something else, it turned in to "Frankie Goes to Hollywood".  Pretty cool.

[kagome121]

The trick to understanding this is just have it as background music and not really listen intently to it. As soon as you pay attention and try to understand the lyrics, you loose them.

[nofreedomofspeech]

Genius

[superclaydude]

So apparently we enjoy dancing, and sexy female voices, and dancing in choreography, and nonsense gibberish, and harmonies. Hmm.

[DrizzitDudden02]

@superclaydude if by harmonies you mean singing in unison...

[rexstube]

What does the girl ask at the beginning?

[PRSYplays]

We all sound like Bob Dylan.

[PenguinJusticeMedia]

. . . IT NEEDS TO BE IN SIMS!

[Dannyboyyay]

This is awesome!!!!

It fits perfectly! I wish there was something like this for german and portuguese too, cause I can still remember how it has been when I couldn't speak english.

[epsilon910]

I can't stop listening to this at all!!

[csdmn92]

This beat is freedomlicious.

[LaLaRC]

i honestly thought this was english for a few minutes. ... just goes to show I really don't listen to some lyrics if the music is awesomeeeee

[83Tubes]

release this on the American airwaves and it'll be a hit; we like anything with a good beat.

[hotdogman67]

@83Tubes

Lol. Ain't that the truth.

[arcticfox7014]

...so we sound like idiots... but we can dance sexy. I suppose there's a consolation there. XD

[BattousaiHBr]

@arcticfox7014 i think the way you dance simply doesnt have anything to do with what language you speak at all.

[arcticfox7014]

@BattousaiHBr I didn't say it did.

[BattousaiHBr]

@arcticfox7014 "...so we sound like idiots... but WE can dance sexy. I suppose there's a consolation there. XD"

what did you mean by "we" then? i thought it meant "english speakers"

[arcticfox7014]

@BattousaiHBr By we I meant "Americans". Considering the video title is about how "American" English sounds to non-English speakers, I thought that train of thought would follow.

[CallOfDrewthulhu]

Wow, and here I just thought I could not understand the lyrics to this song all these years:

/watch?v=lQ3PTa560Z0 (a pretty sweet dance remix!)

[Royberg]

this must be pretty accurate. this is exactly the kind of crap i hear when i cant understand the lyrics to a song or if im just not paying much attention to it and its just background noise to me

[TheWhh81194]

@Royberg Try being dyslexic.

[MrGermanNinja]

english sounds ugly

[moh459]

@MrGermanNinja And why your user name is in English?

[MinecraftKid2011]

@MrGermanNinja if they sing it like that

[MrHeadshotPG]

I used to under stand english but then i took an arrow to the knee.

[paintedingrays]

@MrHeadshotPG I've never been a jerk to anyone on the internet. I've always tried to be above that kind of thing. But seriously, shut the fuck up with this old joke.

[electroscandal]

@MrHeadshotPG dude that joke is so old now

[smileyjack3]

this is so gnarly. i keep thinking that i can understand them but at the end of each verse im just so so confused

[olivierlar]

yep, that's my vision of english when I was a 8 year old kid, it's pretty accurate (my first language is french)

[breadbutt]

huh. I must be doing it wrong then.

[flars9]

Fascinating! Thanks for the info. I was raised a polyglot, and I have to say that it is so much easier when you are taught languages from infancy. Some of my previous-generation relatives had a difficult time with English. My family emigrated to the US, and for a time lived in MA. We jokingly referred to the state's pronunciation as "Machachucha". That's as close as we could get.

[flars9]

This is amazing! I'm sending this to everyone on FB. This is not as easy as it looks---try it yourself.

[ferretyluv]

Well, it DOES sound like American English. Like a "Louie, Louie" sorta way.

I got "I, by chance I," and "there's 200 cars".

This is begging for an animutation.

[AsukoLucario]

Oh god! I keep hearing random English words!

[patrick112590]

What's with the fucking dancing?! God DAMN I hate dancing!

[moomar2]

@patrick112590 you're probably in the bottom .5% of humanity

[patrick112590]

@moomar2 So?

[superclaydude]

@patrick112590 your poor tormented soul.

[ksuav]

Grooovy

[justa16thnote]

This would be a good song if the words made sense!

[intersezioni]

Other videos of ballets from this italian tv show with the blond girl in this video Raffaella' carra'

here the start of tv show

/watch?v=kV_7yhi_rA4

a crazy ballet:

/watch?v=JvZwur6ynwk

[miss9starr7]

and we get some cold pizza

[miss9starr7]

So I was listening to German music today, and it basically sounded like this.. because I didn't know what they were saying.. English is a very Germanic language.

[turncoattradition]

@miss9starr7

They're both etymologically derived from a common language.

[nadfas]

@miss9starr7 actually german is a very english language, anglo-saxon really...

[demejiuk]

@nadfas afraid you have it absolutely twisted as anglo saxon originates from ancient GERMANIC.

[flars9]

@demejiuk ---True. The English language is basically Germanic, and has "borrowed" words from many different languages along the way, which have become part of English.

[JimKuback2009]

@flars9 It's kind of ridiculous when you think about what a bastard language English has really become, though. We've had influences from just about every other language on earth in some way, shape or form. Those of us lucky enough to grow up speaking it don't really realise what a pain it is to learn; mainly because it has so many rules and exceptions thereto. Old English and Plattdeutsch (low German dialect) are so similar they're almost exactly the same, by the way.

[12345678909269]

@miss9starr7 English, Dutch, Afrikaanz and German are pretty similiar indeed.

[codysmpsn143]

umm... ok

[Anzallos]

Way to mess with someone learning English/Potentially bash modern artists:

1. Play this video and one that actually makes sense.

2. Ask the learner which was actually English.

3. ???

4. PROFIT!

[Emersonleccaipalmi]

Figata

[jakeyalmighty]

i can't stop watching yet its so frustrating!!

[lastshotgun]

this is so funny

[foxy1985xx]

The guy looks like sacha baron cohon.

[kilo1981]

Sounds like a song Can might do.

[NoobTwinz5]

Oh my God, that's simply amazing. Simply. Amazing.

[ucantw1n10]

They're clearly speaking some sort of Sims language.

[Jinzalinz]

@ucantw1n10 Yeah, I think simlish sounds very much like english even if they claim it was inspired by tagalog, finnish and something... :P

[BonjourBit]

Poke something! My eyes are sizzeling! Let's get some pizza, All right?!

[datsik]

(cont) There's just too many cars another four world gradja state I iced my chancelet It helps to go with feels up... Eyes You the car and majestay wah Please sit calm and listen act two song- All righhhttt You'd erase "your not Phil's" he could out' em and dole Less beaver than that she'll have beaten ya'll I eyes my senselet And get some foamy pizza..eyes. You can come make a scene while priests ain't calling this not Tuscon... All right. You'd erase "your not Phil's" he could out' em and dole

[datsik]

(cont) You can trust two them not call devraidah girls. Ay-eyes eyes says they Yes I'm going easel.. eyes. You can call me and say to what breeze and holiday and choose L.. All-right Ay-eyes mine sense lick And he goes so doughy beezul Eyes. Peas and corn and essenatchuzel.. all right! Well ass is not skipping and giving the scene To land the tits of NUVA DUFF HO have a good time Let faith go. We been seeing in the sailor and the shoes a come a van

[orcinus74]

Peas and corn and ants and I choose so, all right.

[stripedsockscat]

This is amazing.

[dicktracypa]

Please in pollinate my shoes or...

[crzyrp11]

sounds like Dutch a little bit hahahahahaha

[SixtyNineWoodstock]

He has the pronunciation all wrong... all I understood was at the beginning ALL RIGHT!

[fjordlandson]

this is brilliance

[ozerunlu]

If you squint your eyes and try real hard you can actually understand some of the lyrics :P

[ScarletWhite]

like if you're here from doghouse diaries :)

[thebattlecat]

Freezin' cold and assin' my shoes off. I've been coming back to this video repeatedly this last year. Pure awesome. Is there a version of this where I can hear the guitar accompaniment clearer?

[shrikechan]

very Bob Dylan ;)

[shrikechan]

You know what's funny, though? The Rolling Stones were easily just as unintelligible at times, and not only were they not doing so deliberatly, they were English, not American.

[shrikechan]

I keep hearing "color of time." So it just makes me think of 1960s psycedelic rock. lol

[BillRoyMcBill]

There's alot of worse sounding languages you can hear and not understand...at least from an American perspective. If that's how non-English speakers hear me I don't mind. = )

[AnaBana987]

I FIGURED OUT THE LYRICS FOR THE BEGINNING (like if it sounds just like this lol):

Where the same in the shoes and the whole in the ceiling and whole rape maybe cut my balls Dan!

BRRRRR chickens n' baby get nicole baby just stay uh ya pimp chat oh!"

[08metalmama]

@AnaBana987 oh my god that made me giggle XD your genius!

[1nineeight4]

@AnaBana987 Epic comment 10/10

[AnaBana987]

@1nineeight4

haha thanks!

[RMac777]

You can definitely hear it being on the softer end of the guttural germanic languages.

[DeadEye935]

I actually wondered earlier today what Americans sounds like to other people. It's rather weird. It's like I think I should be able to understand it, but I can't. I suppose that means the desired effect was achieved.

[endub909]

@DeadEye935 I feel the same way when I hear Dutch

[WoahiFoundNemo]

If this is the case then we sound pretty rad

[chopchopdoggydog]

freezing cold in ancient i hueso, youa cool may say what freezing cold in ancient i hueso alright

[Justmyopinionlol]

Welcome to New York! My neighborhood sounds like this, esp. in the subway.

[implodesafely]

I don't know which would be harder to learn: the song or the dance...... O.o

[massBabe479]

This is so hilarious, but it does mess with your head hahaha!

[daveo2992]

There's something amazing about that dance... tho i feel as if everyone in it now has horrible back and neck problems

[CassetteMaster]

I for a long time have wondered what English sounded like to non-English speakers!!!! This video made me laugh so hard!

[NARWALLABY]

I kept hearing "we design the shoes". I guess that makes sense.

[UshuaianSky]

that would be perect for a "misheard lyrics" video ;)

[ShadowChan4]

For some odd reason, I am in love with this.....

[SwitsaSwoo]

Weird thing is...when I first heard it, it actually sounded like American English. But then your brain tries to understand and make real words out of it and the illusion is ruined.