Songs in languages you don't understand

[emma4enriquexx]

Ok strange topic. Does anyone else really enjoy listening to songs in another language? I listen to a lot of songs in Spanish, I like the tune to the songs a lot but I also like listening to the language. I am learning Spanish so I can translate some of lyrics or I just use an online translator but I love to be able to create my own lyrics to the song based on the tune and sometimes the video for more inspiration. However the attitude of most people I know is "what's the point on listening to a song you don't understand?"

Does anyone share my point of view or disagree?

[anarchiste]

Yep certainly do - and I love that cheesefest that is the Eurovision Song Contest!

As sad as it might seem I also love doing the karaoke versions of the songs, and I have found it helpful with learning other languages; in fact I have a Eurovision cd in the car and on my own I am full volume - it is great fun. :)

[rahdam]

Asian pop music. BoA, Hyori Lee, Aqua Timez...I have not a clue what they are saying, but it sounds awesome.

[Cygnus]

Many times the lyrics are not that important to my enjoyment..the sound and feeling are. I enjoy music and songs from many cultures and languages, not understanding the meaning does not bother me.

[MrDoom]

I listen to quite a bit from anime soundtracks. I'd like to learn the language but ust haven't had the time.

[Hamsta]

There is so much out there that isn't in Hebrew or English.

Some I love, some I like, some I am impartial to, and yet others I hate.

[Kisai]

Here's a song in a completely made up language: Green Bird (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.).

[UMDRevan]

I deeply love opera. And of course, most of the older ones are in Italian, and then they progressively move toward the vernacular of the composer's country. Should I ignore all of this music, simply because I don't understand the language?

[t3hrubikscube]

I don't really do it regularly, but yeah, I like to listen to music in languages that I don't understand. I find it interesting. I'm more into music than lyrics anyway, so it doesn't bother me if I don't understand the lyrics.

[ya lyublyu tebya]

I have a song in Yakut/Sakha on my iPod. I don't understand any of it, but I managed to memorize the lyrics from a transliteration I found. :laugh:

[Thunderstrat13]

I don't think this is a strange topic at all :)

I'm constantly on youtube searching for music sung in other languages.

This seems like a good place to ask for some recommends.So who has some?

[emma4enriquexx]

These ones are by Enrique Iglesias. First one is rap...don't think anyone will like it

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts./search/3/bt9GRGcLmSQ

[Hamsta]

Thunderstrat13 Here are a couple of random videos in languages I don't understand. Will you like them? I don't know, there's so much to choose from.

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[Causa Mortis]

I like Edith Pfiaf. She's first rate, even though I barely understand any of it.

[schizophrenia]

I listen to a lot of German music. I also like learning languages. So I combined the two and I'm learning German by myself.
It works.

[True Rune]

I'm into Japanese music. I will look up the lyrics sometimes, but I kind of enjoy the mystery.. and I think I'm allowed to.

[Thunderstrat13]

Thunderstrat13 Here are a couple of random videos in languages I don't understand. Will you like them? I don't know, there's so much to choose from.

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


Thank you!I like the second one.

Here's a favorite of mine.It's an American band doing one of their songs for the French market.I'm a bit biased since this is one of my favorite bands.



To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[Charly]

I like Edith Pfiaf. She's first rate, even though I barely understand any of it.

Edith Piaf is wonderful.

Here is My list.

Opera.
Mozart: the Marriage of Figaro
Puccini: pretty much anything.
Mozart's Requiem
T.a.T.u (in the original ruissian) It's trashy pop but meh.
Benea Reach (Norwegian I assume)

And as for made up languages, try Sigur Rós. This is one of my favorite songs ever by them and it's mostly sung in Vonlenska which isn't a language.
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Volenska:
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[lurk]

Miriam Makeba - To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Ladysmith Black Mombazo - To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

And another vote for Edith Pfiaf - To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[Takeru]

I listen to Spanish, English, French, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. Of which the only one I truly know is English (with a few words known here and there of the other languages.)

Typically, I check to see if there is a possible English translation (since I don't know the lyrics or all of the lyrics.) But I do typically listen to it just to listen to it and not bother with the lyrics if there isn't any that can be found on the internet that easily.

These songs typically give me certain images in my mind. Or rather, here is a few.

Bonnie Pink - Cotton Candy (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.=1&playnext_from=TL&videos=K3mf6J0y8BA&v=XxrGGJHx-gQ) (Japanese)

Tension - Our Story (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.=1&playnext_from=TL&videos=HfRQ-_paY7U&v=5B6o--QahrE) (Chinese - Mandarin)

Geu Deh Ji Geum (not sure who the artist is) (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.=1&playnext_from=TL&videos=mt9KMbfwlD0&v=N3uNXNwdBdM) (Korean)

Supernova - Tu y Yo (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.=1&playnext_from=TL&videos=eVHShJqdHrc&v=Z1j7M1rtbD4) (Spanish - unsure what region)

Kyo - Je Cours (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.=1&playnext_from=TL&videos=_GG3rIHerPE&v=RqvETYtyFHI) (French)

[Antares]

I generally prefer songs I can sing along to, and if it's in a language I understand, it's simply a bonus. That said, I like a lot of Spanish and French songs.

[Weber]

There's a reason it's called music. Even if we INTJ's like to make sense of things, this is about the harmony of sound and thus an aesthetic experience. I like a lot of lyricless (mostly classical) music too.

[El Cas]

I love to listen to a lot of music regardless of the language. I have english, spanish, portugese, italian, japanese, romanian, chinese, and hawaiian songs on my hard drive. Of which I understand only english and spanish, I can get understand the italian just cause it's close enough to spanish, a word here or there on the japanese and I have no clue on the rest.

I am always looking for songs that have a harmony with all of the instruments used, so lyrics don't really play a factor into the mix. If I know the lyrics, I will also analyze those but only to enhance my appreciation for the song I am listening.

[Synchronicity]

I love foreign language music. Even in English, the sound of the words is more important to my ears than the meaning, if that makes sense. It usually takes a few listens before I start paying attention to what the lyrics actually say. I enjoy listening to music in other languages simply because they sound interesting with phonemes I don't often get to hear. If I ever want to know the meaning of the song, I can always look it up; 90% of the time there's an English translation somewhere on the internet.

I also know a bit of German, so songs in German give me an opportunity to keep myself in touch with the language, and perhaps learn a word or two.

[Elena]

This is not a strange topic.
I was listening to a song in another laungue when I saw this thread.
I love the music more, but it makes ou think of a diffrent meaning for your self.
Recommendations?

ANYTHING by Sigour ros,(Or a band member who made a separte album) they sing in icelandic and a made up one.

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[Solsticio]

I like to listen to Телевизор, though I mostly only understand about a quarter, which is a shame, because the lyrics don't seem to be all too bad. Furthermore do I pretend to understand my Italian music, but without the written text I'm quite helpless : (

[ReinaMorena]

I prefer to listen to music in languages I understand (English and Spanish) for obvious reasons, but I have a tendency to pay close attention to lyrics, whether I'm trying to or not. Sometimes I want to listen to music for the sake of the music, I have some music in French and Portuguese I unwind to from time to time.

By the way, I think that listening to/watching videos of Spanish songs is a great way to pick up the nuances of the language. The double entendres and slang you'll hear in reggaeton, in particular, will give you a whole new appreciation for the language (and a heightened awareness of the limitations of English).

[El Cas]

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Here's the translated to english version (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)

[Hallow]

I love listening to foreign music, however didn't it occur to some of you to just look up the translation? I find that understanding the song and the meaning behind it made the song better. There has been times when I've discovered the meaning behind the song and it was a big disappointment.

[El Cas]

Supernova - Tu y Yo (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.=1&playnext_from=TL&videos=eVHShJqdHrc&v=Z1j7M1rtbD4) (Spanish - unsure what region)

They are from Chile

[emma4enriquexx]

I love listening to foreign music, however didn't it occur to some of you to just look up the translation? I find that understanding the song and the meaning behind it made the song better. There has been times when I've discovered the meaning behind the song and it was a big disappointment.

As I put in my original post sometimes I do translate the lyrics although I prefer to make up my own words in English to the tune of the song.

[Silverity]

Yum, foreign music! When I was a linguistics major I took a class called, "Languages Around the World" where every week we studied a new language. My prof always brought in music to share with us.

I wish I could remember their names, I'll have to plug in my old comp and move my mp3s but my prof introduced me to a fantastic duo of blind musicians who sang in a variety of Bantu languages, including Swahili which is what we were studying at the time.

Oh! I remembered it's Amadou et Mariam!

While I was learning German I listened to a lot of German music which I think helped my accent out tremendously.

I'm looking for more Russian music though if anyone has recommendations. I enjoy many genres but especially rock and altnerative.

[Hallow]

As I put in my original post sometimes I do translate the lyrics although I prefer to make up my own words in English to the tune of the song.

That is very creative, in fact that's very neat. Care to share some of these new lyrics?

[ArtistTyrant]

i heart Rammenstein and some J-Pop

[Celeborn]

I love listening to music in other languages.
I listen to Finnish folk music. I do not speak the language, but I love the sound of it.
As well, I enjoy Latin choral music by Thomas Tallis and Byrd.

[emma4enriquexx]

That is very creative, in fact that's very neat. Care to share some of these new lyrics?

Well, there's a song called Ruleta Rusa (russian roulette) which I made the lyrics into something about the difficulties of marriage, which actually wasn't far off what the lyrics really meant. Lluvia cae, I imagined it to be to do with tribes in rainforests dancing in the rain. The song title means rain falls but I can't find the full lyrics to translate.

I have done this for many other songs. Most of the time I just get an idea what the song is about and make up a few of the lyrics.

[seraphicharm]

All the time. :) I listen to music in Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Thai, Dutch, French, Spanish.

[pocohauntus]

i'm trying to learn espa~nol so my radio station is set to the spanish station. i just try to figure out new words by listening to them in context. if i hear one and don't understand it, i go home and put it up on google translate. and i think spanish music is lovely anyway.

[Ytterbium]

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
That song is an extremely good example of languages. It has been made in so many versions in different languages. Whether serious or parodies they all aim to fit the beat. Making the language sounding somewhat similar. Like this one (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.) in Hungerian or this in Slovenian (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.).

And a favourite of mine. A Eurovision song preformed by two Spanish women, singing in English. Translated into German by a Finn (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.).

Edit: Forgot to add that the funniest thing in foreign songs is to giggle at false friends. 'Misheard' lyrics etc.

[Yardy]

Most of the music I listen to is written in eastern European languages with unique time signiatures. Värttinä from finland is probly my favorite active band.

Mainstream western music (radio music) really just gets on my nerves anymore, regardless of the language. I do like plenty of American music, but translating music slowly, or never translating the lyrics at all give special meaning to the sounds and words.

[XFire35]

I like Kyo especially
I also like German, Japanese, Sami, Sanskrit, Sigour Ros are OK as well. On the whole I'm not fussed which language it is in, as long as it sounds good.

[thiagofralves]

I do listen to a lot of stuff in languages I don't understand either well or not at all, like: dutch, hungarian, japanese, french... I really don't care for the lyrics in most of the songs, so it's easy for me to like this kind of stuff. I only pay attention to the lyrics when I really like the song... and if the lyrics are cheap I just don't pay attention anymore.

[callalilly]

Yes, spanish, italian, middle eastern-arabic

[seeyouatx]

I love languages in general, so I'm always listening to something different. Right now it's a mixture of German, Dutch, Swedish, French, Finnish, and Russian (even though I only speak the first four).

[Ytterbium]

Don't you have any examples on anything foreign you like to listen to?

[Calica]

yes, japanese, french and icelandic. I love the feeling I get from listening to Sigur Ros.

[azelismia]

Astrid Gilberto Aqua de beber
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.



TC Lebanese blonde
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[mal]

yeah, language doesn't matter.
If it's got a good flow and groove that's pleanty.

Love this:

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[fwiffo]

I *love* listening to songs in foreign languages! That's mostly what I listen to.

Other languages sound so beautiful, and I love how the regional culture can often affect the sounds used in the music. Plus, I don't like when a song has predictable or trite lyrics. At least if I don't understand what they're saying, then it's harder for me to get tired of a song or turned off because they're singing about something stupid ;)



azelismia: Lebanese Blonde... great song! Thanks for the link.
Takeru: Based on what you suggested, have you heard Janice - jin ye ni bu hui lai (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)? You might like it.
mal: Do you have any other reggaeton you'd suggest? I'd like to find more, but I find that guy's nasal voice a little... hard to listen to. :lipsrsealed:
emma4enriquexx: Since you seem to like Spanish love songs, have you heard Alex Ubago - Sin Miedo a Nada (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)? It's one of my favorites. Or La Oreja de Van Gogh - Rosas (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)? I also mostly have music in Spanish so that I can practice my comprehension.


Here are some of my other favorites:

Marisa Monte - Infinito Particular (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.): Brazilian popular singer
Souad Massi - Ya Kalbi (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.): Algerian folk singer
Calle 13 - Electro Movimiento (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.): 80s pop inspired reggaeton
Calle 13 - La Perla (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.): reggaeton/latin fusion, mellow
Orishas - Hay Un Son (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.): Cuban rap group
Ojos de Brujo - El Confort no Reconforta (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.): flamenco influenced hip hop
Facto Delafe y Las Flores Azules - Mar el Poder del Mar (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.): folk/hip hop/electronica in Spanish
Moenia - Manto Estelar (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.): essentially, they're the Mexican Depeche Mode
Kati Kovacs - Szolj Ram Ha Hangosan Enekelek (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.) - Hungarian funk
Teresa Teng - Airport (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.): old, popular Japanese love song, the singer is pretty much legendary in Asia
GIGI - Gud Fella: (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.) Ethiopian singer
Jolin Tsai ft. Jay Chou - Qi Shi Jing Shen (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.): Chinese rap/pop


I have a ton more but for length I'll just stop now. If you want to see some (but not all) of the other stuff that I listen to, here is my last fm account. (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)

[Fenrir]

I've got the English, Russian, German and Swedish songs in my library, I only understand English, mandarin chinese, and am studying latin. I noticed languages within the germanic language family are very fitting with heavy metal music. East asian languages + heavy metal make me go ???

[Takeru]

Takeru: Based on what you suggested, have you heard Janice - jin ye ni bu hui lai (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)? You might like it.


Yes. In fact I love it. I AM sure it is partly in Mandarin and partly in Cantonese.

[AnnoyingPony]

I like listening to this song: To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

I think it's being sung in a constructed language called Hymmnos.

[Mikk]

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

This is the catchiest song I've ever heard, and the video blows me away.

[Fenrir]

Yes. In fact I love it. I AM sure it is partly in Mandarin and partly in Cantonese.

It's in Mandarin. Didn't listen to the whole thing, but notice the chinese script there? It's in traditional script, not simplified modern script, which is ONLY used in Taiwan, which happens to speak Mandarin chinese. Out of curiousity, what's your ethnicity? I hope you're not chinese.

[Takeru]

It's in Mandarin. Didn't listen to the whole thing, but notice the chinese script there? It's in traditional script, not simplified modern script, which is ONLY used in Taiwan, which happens to speak Mandarin chinese. Out of curiousity, what's your ethnicity? I hope you're not chinese.

What if I am? What if I am not? :p I'm able to notice the differences between the Chinese dialects (at least between Cantonese and Mandarin.) I have a thing for hearing someone talk in their language and notice German, French, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese Chinese. Though for most, I don't know the regional differences.

There is a lot of the transition that goes from Mandarin to Cantonese and back in this song if you listen to it long enough.

I am still sure HK still uses the traditional script too. And besides To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[HAL 9000]

I love listening to the Red Army Choir, though I cannot understand a bit of Russian.

[MrFlaneur]

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

I miss BritPop. Those were the days.

[mind_wander]

It's in Mandarin. Didn't listen to the whole thing, but notice the chinese script there? It's in traditional script, not simplified modern script, which is ONLY used in Taiwan, which happens to speak Mandarin chinese. Out of curiousity, what's your ethnicity? I hope you're not chinese.
That is in Mandarin,since its pretty easy to understand if you know it.

Here is a sample 浪花兄弟《想你就寫信》MV:To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. is very soothing :)

[Takeru]

That is in Mandarin,since its pretty easy to understand if you know it.

The thing is there is a part I understood as Cantonese. Like I said, there was a transition in the song. You have to listen to it long enough to pick up the Cantonese part. I know I can usually pick up the difference between Mandarin and Cantonese because I can speak a bit of Cantonese(though not fluent.) And I have heard Mandarin enough to notice the difference.

Mandarin until it gets to 47 seconds, and then it transitions to Cantonese.
Cantonese from 47 to 1:38 and transitions back to Mandarin from there.
1:38-2:27 Mandarin, Cantonese, Mandarin, Cantonese
2:27-3:15 Cantonese
3:15-end Mandarin, Cantonese, and then Mandarin the rest of the song.

As for the title, I won't disagree that the title is in Mandarin.

Here is a sample 浪花兄弟《想你就寫信》MV:To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. is very soothing :)
I actually like this (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)one from Jay Chou. There is more that I like from him, but I listen to this one a lot.

[Zombicide]

I probably understand less than half of what Rammstein or French singers say, and virtually none of what Italian or Middle Eastern singers are saying but it's good music.

[Rationality]

Language and meaning don't matter to me. My favorite musician is non-English (Susumu Hirasawa) and I'd listen to more exotic music if it were easier to find. I like what little I've heard of Sufi music and bands like Sigur Ros (whom I've seen in concert, they're good).

[MurkyWings]

I love Putamayo's stuff, like World Lounge, etc. The nice tunes behind the vocals make up for any comprehension I wish I had. Sometimes I learn the sound of the singing and.. without knowing the meaning, I sing in a (heavily distorted) foreign language.