Because it's Friday: I ice my sense let and it doesn't come with pizza

Even if you don't speak a foreign language, I'm sure you hear a French speaker and know, "that sounds like French". Same goes for many other languages. But have you ever wondered how English sounds to a non-English speaker? In 1972, Italian singer songwriter Adriano Celentano released the song Prisencolinensinainciusol comprised entirely of Italian nonsense words that sound uncannily like English would, if you couldn't understand the words. And now thanks to the mahic of YouTube, you can hear the song along with its gloriously funky music video:

 

It kinda sounds like Bob Dylan singing the Black Keys, but with words that are almost, but not quite, identifiable. Now for the mind-blowing part: watch the same video again, but this time with subtitles provided by YouTube user emeryemery:

 

It's like someone slipped a Babel Fish into your ear. It's the same song, and the same Italian words, but now the words are suddenly comprehensible English ... still nonesense, but definitely worlds. It's quite the mind-twist. It's kind of the same effect as the Bad Lip Reading videos, where perfectly ordinary speeches by politicians get converted into nonsense.

That's all for this week. Enjoy your weekend!

Comments

[nico]

"comprised entirely of Italian worlds [sic] that sound uncannily like English would, if you couldn't understand the words".

Actually not! Good ol' Adriano just made a song with complete nonsense words: they are not Italian, they just sounds like what English sounds to an Italian.

Also related (from ~9:00 on): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T_jwq9ph8k

[David Smith]

Thanks for the info, nico! Obviously I'm not an Italian speaker :). I've updated the post above.

[Matt Frost]

If it seems familiar, this might be why: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpX_WGkbcnE

[Jester Freeman]

The song is cool. I did not understand the lyrics completely. It's cool to hear the sound of the English Language when you don't understand it.