[Enigmatic Entity]

Pretty interesting, although we still try to "figure it out". To me it sounded like a song about shoes...

[Pred the Penguin]

I think I may have seen this a long time ago, but it's still pretty wild.  It's interesting to think about what various languages sound like to people who speak various other language.  I've watched a decent amount of anime in Japanese, so I'm generally very familiar with how that sounds, but something like Chinese still comes across as incredibly harsh to my ears.  A few really crazy instances I've heard involve someone speaking in Japanese with something like an Italian or German accent.

Chinese recording usually sucks...

[Snail]

To be honest most music sounds like this to me, I dunno why but I usually can't understand lyrics.

[Pred the Penguin]

I usually have to focus to understand the lyrics with most popular songs...

[karajorma]

To be honest most music sounds like this to me, I dunno why but I usually can't understand lyrics.

http://www.kissthisguy.com/

sometimes that happens with your native language.

I remember once on a long journey me and my sister decided to write down what the **** we though the lyrics were for The day we caught the train. They bore little relation to the actual lyrics.

[Ypoknons]

I've watched a decent amount of anime in Japanese, so I'm generally very familiar with how that sounds, but something like Chinese still comes across as incredibly harsh to my ears.

Well spoken Chinese dialects are largely mutually unintelligble (initially; it gets better with experiance and some education but not fully) and ways of speaking vary dramatically. Cantonese is fast and tonal differences between words are kept light; coming from Cantonese the 'proper' way speak do Mandarin seems overly melodic and exaggerated. Mandarin is the soft, more polite dialect, but that's why Cantonese is fun - it''s fast and rude, but genuinely witty at times.

[Snail]

Mandarin is the soft, more polite dialect, but that's why Cantonese is fun - it''s fast and rude, but genuinely witty at times.

Which is why when the relatives start talking in Cantonese, I just know they're talking about me.

[pecenipicek]

i wonder how croatian sounds to the rest of you folks...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2KFK16QJb8




Mmmm. Civil unrest!


i'm keeping my ass out of all that.

[Iss Mneur]

For those that swear they could make out words, there is a subtitled version using the actual English words used (which is why it sounds like English it just doesn't make sense): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz04IBZqfFE

Not that knowing what the words are actually make the song make sense.

[General Battuta]

Christ that's uncanny.

[Mongoose]

Wow, now it sounds like an Engrish-packed anime opening.

[redsniper]

Freezing cold and ants and I tools old.... All right.

[Pred the Penguin]

Wow.... I'm speechless.

[Topgun]

Reminds me of a Catherine Tate comedy sketch for some reason, which was poking fun at English stereotypes of other languages...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNKn5ykP9PU

Castilian Spanish must sound very different from Mexican Spanish, because that sounded nothing like Spanish to my ears.

didn't sound like castilian spainish either. I mean it makes fun of ceceo but its not like every word in spainish has a c or z in it.

[Dark Hunter]

For those that swear they could make out words, there is a subtitled version using the actual English words used (which is why it sounds like English it just doesn't make sense)

I've seen several different subtitled versions. I don't think any actual English words were used, they just happen to sound similar. The subtitles are what different people have thought they heard.

I mean, here's the same thing done to Caramelldansen, which is in Swedish:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWqC4KKiVbU

[NGTM-1R]

The term you are looking for is called mondegreen.

[Dark Hunter]

Is that an actual term or just something TVTropes came up with? I wasn't sure.

[NGTM-1R]

It's an actual term.

[SypheDMar]

I've watched a decent amount of anime in Japanese, so I'm generally very familiar with how that sounds, but something like Chinese still comes across as incredibly harsh to my ears.

Well spoken Chinese dialects are largely mutually unintelligble (initially; it gets better with experiance and some education but not fully) and ways of speaking vary dramatically. Cantonese is fast and tonal differences between words are kept light; coming from Cantonese the 'proper' way speak do Mandarin seems overly melodic and exaggerated. Mandarin is the soft, more polite dialect, but that's why Cantonese is fun - it''s fast and rude, but genuinely witty at times.

Depends on the accents as well. Cantonese women on TVB sounds less harsh than their dubbed counterparts/Mandarin-speaking women.

[Ypoknons]

oh ... but you know the '*huen' Cantonese women

* rude, I suppose, would be an adequate translation.