Videos where you can somehow get the gist without speaking the language
August 24, 2022 3:31 AM Subscribe
I'm looking for short video clips where someone is speaking in any language other than English, there's no translation, but the viewer can still weirdly clearly pick up the gist of what's going on regardless through the speaker's gesture, body language, visible emotion, etc.
Not everything, but enough to summarise the general intent of what's going on.
Mr Bean and all mime is an example I suppose, but I'm looking for less artificial (dramatic gesturing is great though, if it seems authentic) examples where people actually are talking/signing.
An example (that I don't have a video of) was getting directions from a Hungarian nana poking her head out of her living room window when I was lost. She chatted away in Hungarian verbally giving directions, but I could follow the rather complicated directions well enough just through the map she was simultaneously drawing with her gestures. Then at the end she almost certainly said something like "and when you get there, eat a nice big lunch!", which could be understood from a smile and a gesture. It was a surprisingly rich communication given how little there was to work with.
Not everything, but enough to summarise the general intent of what's going on.
Mr Bean and all mime is an example I suppose, but I'm looking for less artificial (dramatic gesturing is great though, if it seems authentic) examples where people actually are talking/signing.
An example (that I don't have a video of) was getting directions from a Hungarian nana poking her head out of her living room window when I was lost. She chatted away in Hungarian verbally giving directions, but I could follow the rather complicated directions well enough just through the map she was simultaneously drawing with her gestures. Then at the end she almost certainly said something like "and when you get there, eat a nice big lunch!", which could be understood from a smile and a gesture. It was a surprisingly rich communication given how little there was to work with.
Cooking videos. Crocheting/knitting/sewing videos. You Tube is full of them, i seek out languages i don't know at all, eg Albanian, Turkish , Portugese or Korean and watch without subtitles. Very soothing.
posted by 15L06 at 6:03 AM on August 24, 2022
posted by 15L06 at 6:03 AM on August 24, 2022
You reminded me of this one from 2011. It's not exactly what you're asking for, but communicating a scene without a familiar language, for sure.
posted by yamel at 10:48 AM on August 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by yamel at 10:48 AM on August 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
This video is not quite what you are asking for, but it's at least relevant and it's so much fun I can't resist sharing.
In the early 1970s, the popular Italian singer Adriano Celentano released a song called "Prisencolinensinainciusol". The song's lyrics are gibberish, but they sound strangely like American English. Celentano's audience was (and remains) largely Italian-speaking, and the apocryphal explanation is that he wrote the song to cynically "prove" that people would love any song that sounded American. In reality, his intention was to explore linguistic barriers and demonstrate what American English sounds like to nonspeakers. He explained, "I thought that I would write a song which would only have as its theme the inability to communicate."
The video is here. It's one of my favorite things on YouTube. Even if you're not into the story behind the lyrics, it's a really great song and Celentano's showmanship in the video is unmissable.
Edited to note that the video posted by yamel appears to be the natural successor to "Prisencolinensinainciusol".
posted by easy, lucky, free at 10:53 AM on August 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
In the early 1970s, the popular Italian singer Adriano Celentano released a song called "Prisencolinensinainciusol". The song's lyrics are gibberish, but they sound strangely like American English. Celentano's audience was (and remains) largely Italian-speaking, and the apocryphal explanation is that he wrote the song to cynically "prove" that people would love any song that sounded American. In reality, his intention was to explore linguistic barriers and demonstrate what American English sounds like to nonspeakers. He explained, "I thought that I would write a song which would only have as its theme the inability to communicate."
The video is here. It's one of my favorite things on YouTube. Even if you're not into the story behind the lyrics, it's a really great song and Celentano's showmanship in the video is unmissable.
Edited to note that the video posted by yamel appears to be the natural successor to "Prisencolinensinainciusol".
posted by easy, lucky, free at 10:53 AM on August 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
Here's a video in German that ostensibly teaches safety when driving a forklift. It quickly devolves into silliness.
Content warning: silly, over-the-top humorous violence and some (very obviously fake) blood.
posted by cleverevans at 4:58 PM on August 24, 2022
Content warning: silly, over-the-top humorous violence and some (very obviously fake) blood.
posted by cleverevans at 4:58 PM on August 24, 2022
Best answer: This Japanese video gets the point across if you don't know Japanese, I think. (There are subtitles though, so cover those). It also reminded me of this Coco Peru video where she shares her annoyance over dumped trash in the street with a non-English-speaking Armenian lady.
Out-of-the-scope: children's animation does this very well, Pingu for example.
posted by snusmumrik at 8:10 AM on August 25, 2022
Out-of-the-scope: children's animation does this very well, Pingu for example.
posted by snusmumrik at 8:10 AM on August 25, 2022
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There's a lot of English, but one section is entirely in French. (And it's pretty funny)
posted by cozenedindigo at 6:02 AM on August 24, 2022 [1 favorite]