Languages you've probably never heard
Here are some samples of languages which most Americans never hear.
Afrikaans:
Irish Gaelic:
Latvian:
Ukrainian:
A couple of points about this one: I have stood on the very spot where the performers are standing, in Independence Square in Kiev. And while this is obviously pop music, it's also a patriotic song (what sounds like "oo-kra-yee-na" is how the name of the country is pronounced in Ukrainian) -- in eastern Europe there's no felt contradiction between pop culture and patriotism.
Persian:
This commemorates the great mass protests of 2009 in Iran. Tehrân Jang-e means "Tehran is at war".
These languages have something in common -- they all belong to the Indo-European family, as English does, which means they are related to English. However, except in the case of Afrikaans, the relationship is not very close, and it would take some knowledge of linguistics to notice the similarities.
Finally, a language which may sound almost equally foreign, but actually is not -- this is a sample of English as spoken almost a thousand years ago, before the Norman conquest of England:
Afrikaans:
Irish Gaelic:
Latvian:
Ukrainian:
A couple of points about this one: I have stood on the very spot where the performers are standing, in Independence Square in Kiev. And while this is obviously pop music, it's also a patriotic song (what sounds like "oo-kra-yee-na" is how the name of the country is pronounced in Ukrainian) -- in eastern Europe there's no felt contradiction between pop culture and patriotism.
Persian:
This commemorates the great mass protests of 2009 in Iran. Tehrân Jang-e means "Tehran is at war".
These languages have something in common -- they all belong to the Indo-European family, as English does, which means they are related to English. However, except in the case of Afrikaans, the relationship is not very close, and it would take some knowledge of linguistics to notice the similarities.
Finally, a language which may sound almost equally foreign, but actually is not -- this is a sample of English as spoken almost a thousand years ago, before the Norman conquest of England:
posted by Infidel753 at 4:13 AM
4 Comments:
..and that favorite of the paleoarcheologists..Khoisan ...
The Old English rendition of the Lord's Prayer was haunting, and the landscapes primal and fitting. Thanks for sharing.
I need to hunt for some Ainu language videos. I've always wanted to hear what it sounds like.
Here you are, an article from The Ainu Times: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDWumYMPoDA
He speaks first in Japanese, then he starts reading Ainu.
More educational for me than anything else, since foreign language's is something I never run across much, I knoiw this is sort of a specialty of your's though Infidel. My neighbourhood 2013 is majority spanish speaking now, then english as a 2nd (mexicano). I have a buddy/ neighbour (Wolfgang) who is a Texan with a Texas draw, however, he is fluent in German I found out, because his parent's moved here from Germany ... oddly though, since he's in a relationship with a Mexican gal, and because of our neighbourhood, he also speak's spanish frequently with neighbour's. When I alwayz hear music such as Irish piece you have hear, I cant help to notice how much influence it has had over the year's on what is considered "American" folk music ... it clear as day how much influence had to come from the Irish. The last video was interesting, being that I had to wonder what some of the earliest english must have sounded like to someone like myself in this time. BTW ... I am absolutely crazy over Charlize! she really get's my adrenaline going! : )
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