I'm not a polyglot, but I find them very fascinating. I hope we can have more of these open discussions about topics in the language community on UA-cam. I hope you join the debate too. -Anming
Good discussion. Yeah, living somewhere for 5 years and not learning the native language is something that SHOULD be frowned upon. People saying "white priv" when it comes to language are literally stupid. Not sure how that has ANYTHING to do with learning a language, and the people talking smack about the videos are just jealous. If they are so great, then why don't they do something informative instead of just bashing everything? Lol. Anyways... I still like your videos, and also, I'm pretty sure you are technically a polyglot lol. Keep it up! One day I want my Japanese to be as good as yours, Matt's or Dogen's.
girl , ive seen some of ure vids in the past (since i found Xiaomanyc and utube started poppin u in my reccomandations ), i like ure channel . i get the pov some ppl might have . at the same time , utube isnt , or wasnt a main source of income ( in my times ) ,its just pure good fun time ? havin ppl chattin with others , in a ton of very, VeRy! remote languages(sometimes) , it inspires myself / others , to keep on track with what they know or even learn new languages . why is there even hate/criticism on this topic ???!!!! wth ?! ofc , someone can speak 50 languages , make vids ,just basic conversations, level 1 kindergarten most of the times , more or less , but i NEVER see them as clickbait/potential seed for hate comments . are polyglots really tryin to form a secret army ? if so , sign me up ? im fluent in 5-6 languages ? and i can scrap off some latin as well , includin all those 50 000 verbs/nouns conjugations ?
In my view, we learn languages for our own reasons. In my case it is to discover and connect with new languages and cultures. However imperfectly I speak a language, the hours and hours I put in to listening, reading and speaking in that language are all worth it. They broaden my perspective and change me in a good way. Speaking another language is all about communicating, not about performing.
That’s very wise Steve! Agreed completely. Each language brings another exciting opportunity to communicate with a new group of people. Polyglots like you really motivated me to take on Korean this year as a new language. Keep on inspiring people 大先輩 😊
I also learned languages to connect with people. I've put a lifetime of experiences into many of them and each of them have changed my perspectives and identity. I learned most of them starting at a young age and never stopped speaking them. They became a lifestyle. I have been a professional interpreter for 30 years so having a true command of the languages is essential. I have stuck with English, Romance Languages and Sign Language for very specific reasons and don't even care to delve into other languages even though languages are fascinating to me, in general, because my goal has always been to fill in the gaps and to have a high command of each language. I definitely cringe when people claim language proficiency when they simply know a few phrases.
My daughter is learning Spanish ,French, Portugese and also korean. It makes me feel real proud. It's not just the language you also learn about the culture which is very beautiful and confirms that under all these languages and cultures we are all human beings , part of an equally great creation.
That’s right. I wanted to know what people were saying in these languages so badly just to find that everyone is kind of saying the same things as everyone else.
Exactly. 😂😂😂 Native speakers should invite such people for a spontaneous conversation. Only then, these fake polyglots will abstain from making such videos. F**kin frauds.
@@OrientalPearl I watch almost every video of yours. They are so fun and inspirational. I'm also studying Japanese and videos like yours always get me back into the process of studying. They are like a reminder. Also, one of the goals of my language learning is also Showing off. 😊 Because why shouldn't we enjoy our hard work :) Anyway, Thanks for making such videos! I really appreciate it. I hope I can interview you on my channel so that more people get interested in the language learning 😊 Arigatou
Anything that shows people being happy without pushing a woke agenda is racist and evil, haven't you heard? You're not allowed to just go have genuine experiences anymore unless it's in the name of "progress".
"Why tape it?" Well it’s motivational for people learning the language. If i see another German speaking fluent Japanese, it shows that it’s possible and that it’s worth pursuing. I also think that it’s ok to flex sometimes. Learning a langue to fluency is hard work, so why shouldn’t you be allowed to demonstrate your skills? You wouldn't tell a musician to not play for an audience and only keep it to himself either right? But then there certainly are youtubers who make cringy "White guy speaks fluent %$§& and SHOCKS locals"-type videos. They often seem to only learn some basic phrases or like a script for the specific situation they're trying to make a video of. This creates a false image and no one needs that.
On the point of cringy titles, I disagree a bit. It does mask the truth with an illusion thru clickbait, but it depends if the video content leads to positive interaction between someone attempting to learn a language earnestly and talking to a native speaker, especially when you find more openness.
To all those who say " why is learning a new language negative"..that's not the point. People are angry at those who pretend they speak 20+ languages when all they know is small talk with bad grammar. I speak. A few languages myself but the so called polyglots diminish the actual hard work to full fluency with their small talk gimmick, to impress people rather than actual mastery.
Yeah lmao. The problem isn't about polyglots, it's about fake polyglots. There's a difference, just like how being a fake doctor is bad, but being a legit doctor isn't.
Hello everyone. First of all I want to thank Anming, It was awesome to join her video project. I also want to tell everyone that you are more than welcome to ciriticize me. I always try to improve the languages and videos where I make grammar and pronunciation mistakes are part of the process. I also want to wish everyone the best, keep learning and never give up! Cheers
People make fun of my grammer and mistakes in my own native language 🙃 even I do that to myself. I always say to not worry so much as long as we can understand you. Especially to people who is not native to a language. Even the native speakers make their own mistakes.
Man, I'm not going to criticize you. You speak way more languages than I ever could! I wish the language community on youtube would all get together and talk about study approaches when it comes to learning a language.
What's your native language? I'm from Ukraine (but my native language is Russian) and now that I moved to Germany I learn German and what to find someone to talk with. If you are interested in Russian, maybe we could help each other!
As an Indian I'm going to say that we would be really impressed seeing someone that isn't Indian speaking Hindi. Not many people seem to want to learn Hindi, it's just not as popular with language learners. It truly is shocking to see someone speak our language and we really appreciate it. If we Indians don't have a problem with it I don't see why anyone else should
I actually try to learn Hindi. I am french by the way but I loved Indian culture since young. In my university there is a class to take Hindi as 2nd language or third and they are people of different culture in their.
@@otariidae2067 omg! I'm the complete opposite! I am Indian knowing Hindi from birth, but had to learn French abroad through secondary school education! Lmao should we teach each other~
Wow. UA-cam drama really exists in EVERY branch of this site. You guys are awesome and I love what you do! You inspired me and many others to pick up languages that I never would've even thought about learning and you can be proud of that, as I am also very thankful for the inspiration you give!
Wtf?!?! How is speaking another language a negative thing.. if anything it encourages other people to be engaging and make a world a better place.. power and support for you both
I speak four languages myself on a daily basis but I've spent years immersing myself to be able to have a fundamental understanding of the language and the culture itself. Wouter's videos are the polar opposite of that, he shouts out a couple of sentences mostly with mistakes and based around the most typical stereotypes. He meets a Brazilian person and says "Footbal and samba, beaches, capirinha, football yeah!"... That'd be like meeting an American and shouting "Burgers and fries, Hollywood, cowbo cowboy yihaaaaa!" That's not speaking a language, it's memorising the most well known parts of a country and repeating the same three phrases in whatever local tongue over and over again. It's the markings of a person in need of attention rather than a person looking to connect, and that rightfully pisses people off that have spent years learning a language.
@@kaihocompany The people who spent years learning a language can also make their own videos and upload on UA-cam for everyone to judge and entertain. No one stop them doing so. It's in the minds of these people who think they are not good enough to make such and such videos. It's a self-help issue. They can't execute on ideas, they care about other people's opinions and they are not entrepreneurial.
People aren't mad at others for speaking other languages. They're mad at others pretending to speak other languages when all they know is small talk with bad grammar.
I only speak English. I'm dyslexic and I really struggle with language. The polyglot videos have really boosted my confidence - they're inspired me to try. Seeing people speak other languages has made me so less frightened to try. I would love to have moments with people in their native language. I haven't travelled in over decade, but when I do, I hope I can speak some of the native language of a country so I can respect the culture, and the polyglot channels have made language learning so more human and less intimidating
It takes a lot of mental gymnastics to link polyglots to colonialism. Damn. I'm Singaporean, where we have 4 official languages, one of which is English; our lingua franca. That said, we have a distinctive English dialect known colloquially as Singlish, or officially as Singapore Colloquial English, when anyone from overseas adopts Singlish, I honestly feel very proud and happy that they are willing and ready to learn how we communicate and adopt as their own means of communication.
Exactly. And wouldn't colonialism be the opposite, where local languages and regional flavours are oppressed and not at all celebrated, in favor of the dominant one?
exactly my thoughts upon hearing that ridiculous take. it’s literally just people engaging and getting along with each other using different languages lmao.
This is the weirdest shit ever. Like any time I watch someone speaking another language outside of their own culture I'm mesmerized because it shows the light of a what could be a fun encounter with someone and see some out of the box results. Screw these haters
Don't ever feel bad for trying to learn a new language or show your progress. There are always going to be those people who can sit on their couch and criticize others to make them selves feel better! Love both your videos! Never give up! Never surrender!
This whole topic is silly to me and it's a non issue. The ability to speak another language is a great thing and not cultural misappropriation. Why must we bring down others to make us look good? Let's rise up and have everyone look better.
Agreed it's not culture appropriatation, it's culture appreciation. It really shows how racist it is for people to indirectly say keep to your own culture and language. Atleast that's the message I get from people yelling culture appropriation.
@@horsewings3561 yeah thats basically it most of the time. They think u hate ur own country when u learn a different language. Or they r jealous because they cant speak so many languages.
@@horsewings3561 cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation are the same thing. You might be confusing appropriation with misappropriation. It's a new term that came out mainstream about 2015 but stems from 2010 acadamia. It just means to copy something or adopt something. The people calling it "colonial" have swallowed too much academia. People speak others languages all the time and to differing levels. The only way to misappropriate a langauge is to redefine words incorrectly or something.
@@EuriEuropa yup, it's a privilege when you meet someone who cares about your feelings, NO ONE IS OBLIGATED TO CARE ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS WHEN YOUR OFFENDED. Remember we used to have trigger warnings for people with epilepsy or ptsd? Now we have it for hurt feelings. It's why if I ever make a video I REFUSE to use trigger warnings for anything but what I mentioned above. Studies are now saying all these trigger warnings for sensitive people are making things worse. People don't know how to cope or endure and grow as a person anymore.
The reason this content is popular is because its heartwarming, entertaining and connecting. It's hard to top the rection when someones day is made because you speak their language. Angry polygots are angry beceause they didnt think to do it first, or have no social charisma/confidence
@@theoceansdepth8585 The bald guy never showed his language skills, although he craps on others. I wanted to hear his presumed abilities after hard study, like his presumed Mandarin skills and he never made a video solely in Mandarin. He also does not allow comments. What a coward.
You videos are inspiring. I’m a native English speaker, know some Spanish, a little French, and now learning Japanese. Being multilingual is such an incredible skill and I wish was more highly valued. I appreciate your content.
The more I think about this topic, the more I see parallels with virtually any discussion on Twitter or in the media. People who upload videos are an easy target, and make for a kind of virtual playground for anyone to be vocal about their own pet peeves, insecurities, or feelings about the world, politics, or society. It’s almost like a microcosm of the entire world seen through the prism of languages. Languages are also something people get very personally attached to. We all have our identities wrapped up in languages and language learning. So when it comes to UA-cam, it only takes a UA-camr to diverge very slightly from someone’s own views, to suddenly have a whole litany of commentary or accusations to make about them. When I see the comments here, there are generally far more positive and inspired comments than anything else, and I think we get distracted by a vocal minority who usually seem to be more interested in virtue signalling than anything else. In the end, like the rest of life, I don’t think there’s any resolution to this. People are different, UA-cam is weird, c’est la vie! Nice video!
You put that very well, and in multiple perspectives that shed light on different issues. I think the main issue is our paying attention to the minority and assuming they are a representation of the majority. The majority tend to stay quiet because they expect or believe others to primarily think like themselves, and often don't speak out enough; however, when called to the task, the majority will show itself. Yes, SOME people are pissed at polyglot street videos, but they are most likely negative-oriented in their worldviews. Most people love it and are happy about its effects and outcomes.
@@Xemptuous Exactly. I think from my perspective, I don’t necessarily love those street videos, but I’m perfectly happy to take them for what they are - entertainment. If you approach those videos and demand them to be a source of truth and authority in the field of language learning, you are bound to be disappointed. But then, I think the expectations were wrong in the first place! These people presumably don’t go around leaving aggressive comments on Minecraft videos, so why do it with language videos? Answer - it’s just something that they care more about. Either way, to go around finding fault and expressing your displeasure with everything just shows a basic lack of maturity and awareness in my view.
I think the polyglot and fake polyglot trending topics will die down in the near future, but the positive influence will remain and more people will learn other languages.
@@storylearning yeah :P being vocally angry at these polyglot videos just shows a lack of maturity, exactly. I can see myself being that way at much younger age honestly. It's like pointing out that a Magician that everyone loves isn't doing real magic. Why be a party pooper? If this injustice in life that someone "doesn't deserve their reputation/popularity/money/etc" is enough for you to be vocal about, then you're either very young, or incredibly fortunate that you haven't experience this many times over by now. It's entertainment and thats all. "Santa Claus". There are worse things someone could be in life XD.. You have a very wise opinion of this subject, it was refreshing to read.
it's stupid when people criticize you for doing what you love. besides, I'm actually learning from your videos so, I'd love to watch more of them. please don't stop uploading them because I'm learning german and I need some motivation thanks in advance.
As an American who’s never left the USA, I’m frightened to travel to a place like China or Japan even though It’s a dream of mine. I fear that I may come off as ignorant because I don’t know the local language. Or that I won’t be able to properly connect with the local culture if I only speak English. For me personally, watching these street videos gives me the courage and motivation in order to commit to learning a foreign language! To the people who talk poorly about these videos - they help me and so many others. If you have only negative things to say.. I’m sorry. Don’t watch them I guess 🤷🏼♂️
I've been to Japan 4 times and never communicated with the locals. The only time I've ever been talked to was me wearing a sumo shirt with Japanese on it haha otherwise most Japanese keep to themselves. I had the same mindset as you though. Go when you can!! Japan is worth it!!!
My husband wants to go to Japan becasue he is in love with anime and such. I would love to go because I love the small minatures of food and doll house and scenery crafting. So basically Akihabara (sp?) in Tokyo... It would be a little bit of an insult to the Japanese or any country if one were to visit and not to at lease be able to order food, ask directions and say please and thank you. Also, growing up in Texas, Spanish was a necessary second language. I can speak enough to serve customers in a retail setting and explain art supply uses (I worked at Hobby Lobby). Those that get offended are too fragile and judgemental. Be brave and get out and go.
Totally agree and if you work hard for something and you want to show it off then why not. People who work hard to get toned bodies show it off lol. It is only your life and only you can live it. People will always have something negative to say whether you are doing bad or good
I think these people calling relating this to “colonialism” and saying it’s cringe are ridiculously ignorant and attention-seeking. I think it’s a beautiful thing to spread positivity and conversation with strangers. If anything, I think it lets people who aren’t exposed to cultures they can’t communicate with form understanding and empathy toward what is unfamiliar. I love your videos Anming
The whole point of colonialism is to take over a place and force your own culture onto it, so I don't know how those ppl think that learning the language of THAT place is colonial 💀💀
I’m American too, living in LA where some of the most of the attention seeking, virtue-signaling people who would call it colonialism live. It’s ironic how it’s always the most privileged, sheltered white people who are quick to point the finger at a woman who is fluent in multiple other languages and spreads the culture for English speakers to learn from…
Yeah the irony is it’s white people being outraged on the behalf on POC. Speaking for them and assuming their responses feels more colonial than a lot of these videos. I can get it to an extent, but the irony is palpable.
I am always impressed by people who can speak more than one language. I have a 10-year old granddaughter who is teaching herself Russian. Her motivation for doing that, is that it builds her confidence even if she has no one to converse with. I myself speak 3 and it has helped a lot travelling to many countries. Keep up with your inspiring videos Oriental Pearl and Wouter.
These YT clips can also have a positive effect on people's inherent xenophobia. They may see familiar banter between two separate cultures, the appreciation expressed by those native speakers and, perhaps ever so slightly, broaden their horizons.
@@78alJ0vle I was using the term in its most general and soft (for lack of a better word) sense. Everyone has a touch of it. It's a part of human nature, I think.
I know how those guys appear... They never got an interaction or a positive one with someone who's not the same race as he is... But ngl most PC people never talked to a black person either... They are just looking for attention
"Honestly this stereotype of monkey tricks by Western people speaking exotic languages...I don't know it just smacks of this colonial mentality" I think he has never visited Europe. It's completely normal here to speak multiple languages (even exotic ones because of Asian tourism), and it has nothing to do with colonial mentality.
It's normal to speak multiple languages in the United States as well. A lot of people or their ancestors come from somewhere else and they already speak another language natively.
This argument doesn't make sense either. The colonialists actually forced natives to speak their languages which is why we have french being spoken today in the heart of Africa. From my perspective an European speaking someone's native language (as exotic and rare they might be) actually has a sort of "compensatory" effect. I say that as someone whose country has also being colonized
I teach English and Japanese in Hungary. (Attention, all native speakers! Flaming time! :)) My students gain some knowledge of these languages and start communicating with foreigners. Job done. My younger daughter acquired Japanese in Japan, learnt Hungarian when we moved back to Hungary, she has been learning English and German because they are compulsory in her school and she has to handle some Latin because she goes to a Catholic music school. What's the big deal here? I really don't understand the big fuss over being a polyglot. Sometimes it just happens to people because of their environment. Learning a new language is part and parcel of adjusting to new circumstances or getting ready to do so. Or maybe language learning is their hobby. Why not, it's better than playing GTA.
Being half mexican, I felt a lot of internal shame only knowing english while watching for the first time. I only speak english and know very little Spanish. I felt pretty terrible not having the exposure, discipline or strong motivation to learn my family's native language. It was hard to pin down this feeling at first! This or feelings similar to this could be fueling some of those negative responses about reaction videos. Thought I would put this out there so perhaps someone else could recognize this in themselves instead of just projecting onto others.
Thank you for your last paragraph. I've wondered about this and have never figured out a way to discuss it politely. Several times I've found myself unexpectedly getting opportunities to learn other languages basically for FREE. I always jumped at it and took concurrent classes when I could. Then other people who were with me but chose NOT to try to learn the language acted like my limited proficiency was something that 'just happened to me' and I got lucky and they didn't. They act sullen & resentful and completely refuse to acknowledge that I put any time/energy/work into it at all.
Are you from America? Cause if you are then you have easy access to learn it. I'm jealous. I'm Polynesian, I don't speak my native tongue either and feel the shame lol. I grew up in New Zealand speaking English. There are no schools for me to learn, no online classes, no dup lingo etc. And my part of nz I live in there's no other people from my island to learn from. You should do it since you can. Me I'm fd lol :(
I always felt super-embarrassed in college speaking Spanish to native speakers--I went to school in Florida so there were a lot of ‘em. It was silly, really. My friends just wanted to help me elevate my skill level.
Not speaking a language fluently is perfectly fine. What irks me is that so many polyglots are stretching the term speaking beyond belief and they seem to be in such a hurry to add a language to ' The list'.
Once upon a time someone who spoke many languages was simply known as multi -lingual. Polyglot sounds like a disease. I've got a case of the polyglots.
Being able to say five sentences in a language is not speaking it. It's simply knowing a few words. There's nothing wrong with saying that before the whole polyglot boom. Like, "Ahh, I only know like, 2 words in Spanish". But that's turned into, "My Spanish isn't that good" or "It's really rusty" when you've never learned it in the first place. It's just dishonest. I agree with you.
Im intrigued as to why this in particular bothers you? In all forms of media across UA-cam and in life in general there are people who stretch the truth (or just lie). When you pick up a newspaper and the headline is sensationalised do you get upset. When a toothpaste advert has people with obviously perfect teeth already, do you get upset. When you open up Facebook and your own friends and family have filters on their pictures do you get upset?... I understand it may evoke mild annoyance but that should be all. In the modern world my best advice is to filter out what you know to be truth from fiction. I still feel that learning a language in a small capacity or full on fluency is something to be celebrated. Think of it as an incremental step to narrow segregation of language and culture!
@@Reeceline I understand what you mean, I think I am just annoyed about the change in the language community. I remember Luca's and Richard's first videos. Now the whole language learning thing on YT has become so gimmicky and the shock videos are popping up everywhere. I also think that the fluency illusion is real. You can't compare it to a toothpaste advert. That's different. Anyway, I will try to be less annoyed about it or watch fewer videos. The forums are still fun. They have a different vibe. (I hope my English is OK. I am still learning)
Don't let ignorant trash effect your life girl. The problem with the internet is stupid people also get to voice crap opinions, just remember some people are just haters. Keep being your seemingly wonderful self. Thank you for a glimpse into other places also :)
I do wanna point out, that she was like that probably not even a year ago to this man called Laoshu, I'm not hating on her but I'm just amazed at the 180 that she has more or less done since then. She used to criticize the man for not being as fluent in Mandarin as she was, although the man never claimed to be an expert in a lot of languages he speaks and he was very humble about it. This is just something I wanted to add.
@@luqmuhmmad2616 Yeah I know about what happened to him and rest in peace to him, I hope his family have recovered from it. I still felt the need to point this out because I do feel that she never addressed this 180 directly in a video and why she changed her opinion. Its definitely something I never thought that would've been what changed her mind, but I did find it somewhat hypocritical when she started doing the same thing she disapproved Laoshu of doing.
These videos are so wholesome! I don't see how you could take offence. It shows people connecting over culture lines through language. It's super inspiring!
People who speak other languages Very cool The number of Japanese people who speak various languages has increased.🤔 thank you for this awesome video anming❤️❤️❤️
@@OrientalPearl you should learn Swahili. I'm currently learning Spanish and Chinese.. Thanks to you!! Your videos are an inspiration. Regards from Kenya 🇰🇪
"Speak" and "master" are different things. A person can speak a language without having mastered it yet, as you do in Chinese. You've got Bradley Copper, he speaks French, and he's pretty good at it in certain subjects, but he has not mastered it whatsoever. I think it is important to point out that difference. People have the right to upload videos while they are still learning the language they want to show. Criticizing people just for not being masters in the language they're speaking on their videos is pointless; nobody starts learning a language from advanced level. I love Wouter's channel for that, just because he's full of motivation and willing to learn more, not because he speaks perfectly all the languages he uses on his videos.
It also encourages people who are at the same low level. People who are fluent look out of reach to those wanting to learn. Those at basic level look more attainable and it shows the awkwardness and struggles they go through and it shows we can do it too regardless of those struggles.
True, I am a one language speaker, and know that language pretty poorly. All I have to do is open up the unabridged webster's Dictionary and realize that I know very few of the 450,000 WORDS. But most people don't realize that most people ARE NOT wordsmiths and MOST humans know very little of their own languages let alone other languages.
I would never criticize a person for not being a master. That is why we learn. And the road to mastery can be fascinating, and a worthwhile subject in itself. So when someone is presenting their life in a country and doing their best to use the language, what’s to criticize? Absolutely nothing. And encouraging people to get interested in languages and learn them? Wonderful! On the other hand, sometimes I do find some of these videos annoying. Not because of “colonialism” or anything, but when they make false claims to promote themselves. For example, I speak pretty fluent Greek. I’m also learning Vietnamese. My Vietnamese still sucks, and I’m fine with that. But I would be really uncomfortable claiming that I spoke Vietnamese and then filming myself finding random Vietnamese people on the street to tell them I really like phở and bánh mì in pidgin Vietnamese. Which is essentially what Wouter did with Greek. Now, were any Greeks actually harmed because he did that? Of course not. Did he somehow “colonize” Greece? Nope. But as someone who can tell the difference between actually speaking Greek and repeating a few phrases, it just seemed kind of dorky to me. There’s no law against being dorky, and maybe it’s my problem; maybe I should be more relaxed about being publicly dorky. :-) It’s that point where dorkiness and low-key dishonesty meet, that feels a bit cringeworthy.
As a polyglot myself, fluent in 6 languages I don't like people who claim to speak a certain language when they only learn some sentences by heart and then spit them out to people on the street without any context. I've heard Walter saying things like "burrito, guacamole, fiesta, yo hablo poquito espanol" and then pretending he knows how to speak spanish.
Yes, I really thought they would speak all these languages in the beginning but then realized, they don't do. They just learn some sentences or read while filming, it's just a basic level if even. That's just not my understandig of "speaking". I'm around A1/2 in Spanish but I don't claim to speak it, I can't. I can somehow express what I like to say (missing all time forms) and get simple talk by others (like this guy, my spanish is about the same level, his german skills are rather low either), but that's not "speaking". I can speak german and english, there is a great difference to A1/2
But What about at the end where he was literally speaking Spanish? Does that just not count?? I mean sure you could suspect that he was reading off a script or something but I'm pretty sure you can't prove it so isn't it better to just believe him?
@@H-DA Here's the thing - there's ALSO a difference between speaking and being fluent You're not fluent (at least, you weren't 2 months ago - I can tell from some of your grammar) but you absolutely can speak. It didn't take me any extra effort to understand what you were trying to say, and even if it had I would be glad that you spent the effort to learn my language, because I definitely don't speak yours En la misma idea, mi español no es perfecta. Hago muchos problemas y no sé muchas palabras pero problamente puede leer mi mensaje? Y puedo tener un conversacion con una hispanahablante. Pues no necesito ser perfecto. La idioma es para hablar, y puedo hablar, entonces puedo usar la idoma
@@atonegames you missed his whole comment lmfao, hes not talking about racist people mad your not talking in their language lmfao, hes talking about polygots complaining about other polygots talking in other languages and making video titles they dont like, well different mate.
I think the gist of this, really, is people who claim more linguistic ability than they really have. Not anger at people who actually can speak the languages they profess.
This is just weird to me. I'm South African, and we have 11 official languages here. Seeing people speak multiple languages here is the norm, even if it's not one of our official languages (like French, for example), especially considering the amount of foreigners that are here. I do agree, though, that some titles for certain polyglot videos are indeed quite strange.
honestly, anybody who claims that they "speak" more than 5-8 languages is either flat out lying, or they're stretching the definition of "speaking a language" to a ridiculous extent. Excuse me, but being able to introduce yourself and talking about the weather or asking a stranger for directions with a horrendously unintelligible accent isnt exactly what i would consider "being able to speak a language". On the other hand, if someone spent +5 years learning a single language and reached a near native level, then that person has every right to do whatever he/she wants, they can show off as much as they want because they earned it.
@@christopherjenkins1882 No im not. Im 100% correct. Everybody is saying the world has gone crazy lately, everybody hates the media, all the crazy stuff going on is created by the left.
I have been trying to learn Chinese for about two years, and to be honest there were many times I felt like quitting. However, it was thanks to the content of Oriental Pearl and other UA-camrs I decided to continue. I am far from fluent, but whenever I meet Chinese people or go to my local Chinese restaurant, I get genuine smiles and appreciation for going out of my way to learn how to better communicate with them - and that's gold for one who struggles to learn. Ultimately I practice Chinese because I love reading Chinese history, culture and just meeting more people on a personal level.
Learning a language is cultural appreciation and very respectful. It's a great way to connect with people from other cultures as human beings. It demystifies people's perceptions of 'the exotic'
Honestly I want to learn lots of languages fluently. It isn’t to impress anybody. I’m not learning a language for people to be like “wow you speak this language? That’s amazing”. It’s because I want to be able to communicate easier with people who are in other countries. It would be easier to speak to people in Japanese than English if you’re in Japan. Honestly videos where people go out on the streets and have conversations, it makes me more motivated to learn languages. It seems so fun and fascinating to be able to communicate with others in a different way.
! 💯 Love all the support and positive energy the world needs more of that for sure! Also Hey what's the picture in your icon it's epic beautiful art with beautiful words!
That's the difference with Wouter, he doesn't do it for himself or to get closer to other cultures he does it for the wow-factor. I speak four languages and understand quite a few more through the foundation that these have given me. In almost all of the languages he speaks whenever he meets people he just repeats the most stereotypical aspects of that country/culture. He'd meet a Brazilian person and says "Football, Ronaldinho, Caipirinha, Rio de Janeiro, yes football, samba sambaaaa!"... He does it every single time. He doesn't actually speak those languages, he has just memorised phrases and the most stereotypical elements of a country. The fact that his English is as bad as it is while it's the language closest to his mother tongue next to German says enough.
What I don't get is... why should it be wrong to "show off" great language skills by posting videos of it? If someone is good at something, it's ok to be proud, to show it, and to get well deserved attention. Learning a language takes a lot of work, probably just like any other impressive skill
@dacrosber I don't think that is the reason. At least I hope it isn't. I think seeing greatness always has the downside that you get very aware of what you have not achieved yourself. People can take that as motivation or get tesentful about it. The latter is certainly a lot easier.
Hahah this is so true, that's like telling people at the olympics that they're 'showing off' their skills by earning a golden medal or some shit. These people are just ignorant and jealous
@@AwkwardTurtle10 Not really, it's the equivalent of someone doing a fast 100 meter sprint and calling themselves the fastest marathon runner. Or somebody who's only practiced layups calling themselves the best basketball player ever. If you're amazing at one single aspect of anything that's great for you but it doesn't make you good at the real deal. I could call myself the best Spanish speaker in the world because I have mastered the word Burrito, but that doesn't actually make me a Spanish speaker.
@@kaihocompany nobody mentioned being the 'best' at anything. I think you missed the point of their discussion maybe, but it was about people hating on UA-camrs (like the yt'ers in the video) showing off their skill of knowing a foreign language or multiple languages and then being called attention seekers or other nasty things that don't make sense. They never said they were the best at speaking Japanese or anything like that
Those of us who DON'T speak multiple languages appreciate the "fish out of water" aspect of these videos. I would love to be fluent in many languages, and visiting countries where I can use my knowledge. But I've found that in every country I've visited, you definitely open doors from attempting to speak the local language.
I would have loved to have heard Moses thoughts on this. He inspired countless people with his videos and brought smiles to so many faces. I think haters are going to hate, regardless of the topic. Keep loving, keep laughing, keep learning languages; it brings us all together.
His Mandarin is not great and his other languages is very beginner level, but to be fair Moses also do not claim to be great in all the languages he speaks. His videos are kinda entertaining and inspiring for new learners especially to overcome shyness however if I'm serious in learning a new language, I wouldn't learn from him. RIP
@@mocmocmoc13 are you kidding me? He studied Mandarin for 18 years, he was native level and even his pronunciation was spot on most of the times. You could say his Spanish, French, Arabic etc were not great, but Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese were his strengths!!
@@Stopitgetsomehelp3012 I know, for 18 years it's not that great, far from "native level". His cantonese is quite bad too but I have no idea how long he's been speaking it. I'm also holding him to a higher standard as he offers courses on these languages.
I'm a polyglot in progress. It's a passion. It's a huge interest since young. These videos motivate me and inspire me. Laoshou (may he rest in peace) was a huge motivation into getting me and keeping me on track w learning more language while practicing the ones I already know. Then his videos led me to you guys and others. These people complaining are just upset that they don't have the popularity, if they did you wouldn't hear peep. It's just people looking to complain about something. I think it's projection.
In my personal opinion, mastering a single second language shows more dedication and it more fulfilling than learning 20 to knowing how to say things like: How are you? I like x country. Whats your name?” But thats just a personal thing. I understand people enjoy the idea of being able to have basic conversations with people from a bunch of different countries. I guess it all depends on what you want to do with the language.
For a person to have the ability to speak multiple languages and share that with others is something I find fascinating! Why some people get annoyed with that is beyond me.
Honestly, keep doing what you do - both of you. As long as the interviewee/subjects agree with being filmed, fun interactions where people can connect make for great memories and learning experiences. And it’s inspiring too. Languages are like riding bikes - if you’re very academic and private at it, but never go out and ride? You’ll fall and fail.
I never really thought there was an issue with people talking in many languages. People that have an issue with other people knowing too many languages are just jealous. I know 4 languages and speak them fluently.
isnt that how you learn languages lmao i have to repeat paragraphs of chinese in my class all the time to be able to learn and have context of the words im saying. its still impressive
My eyes rolled so far back in my head, I watched my own birth. You guys are all awesome. Do your thing, show folks the world, and make your money. There are some people that are far to butthurt about everything. Professional outrage is gross.
Glade to see you and another inspiring video. Many years ago I lived in Germany and was lost speaking no German. I took the time just to learn the basics and what a difference. I wasn't lost and enjoyed my time much better. I think it's beneficial to learn different languages it can help. Take care till next time 😇
I totally sympathise with Wouter regarding long-term residents not becoming skilled in the language of the land... HOWEVER, this really needs some context. There are a number of countries in the world where it's very common to find people with a high level of proficiency in English (as non-native speakers). The Netherlands is king among these, but the Nordic countries all rank strongly in this regard. A - possibly resident - anglophone starts speaking to the local in their language, only to find that the local has replied - and continues to reply - in English. As this is often meant as a courtesy, it's hard to press said local into speaking their own language, so the anglophone can practise. This creates a conundrum, which I experienced, living for 4 months in a rural part of the Netherlands (the island of Texel). The longer one is living in said place, the deeper one's relationships become, and the more advanced one's need for proficiency becomes, wanting to express more and more complicated ideas. But, having been regularly dissuaded from speaking the local language, by well-meaning locals, one's lack of proficiency becomes more apparent. THEN, the same well-meaning locals will ask you why you haven't made more of an effort to learn their language. This can arise from 3 different causes, all of which stymie one's language learning goals. 1) As above, one's interlocutor is genuinely trying to be helpful. Not wanting to seem ungrateful, and/or welcoming the convenience, conversation continues in English... serially, one situation after another, with different people. 2) Your interlocutor lacks the patience to wait for one to struggle to express themselves, and switch to their better English, for their own convenience... although generally trying to make it SEEM like they had intended it as a courtesy. 3) Your interlocutor simply can't bear to hear their native language spoken badly, and seek refuge in their (better) English, lest one's imperfect pronunciation and grammar pollute their ears. Iceland is rich with such "language snobs". One will also find this in France, most especially in Paris. I've experienced this as an anglophone Canadian (French is my second, and best among my additional languages). MOST insultingly, I've been told by Canadian francophones that this happens to them as well! It's a pretty strong insult when someone would rather speak their second language with you - rather than your SHARED first language - because they find your articulation of the latter as offensive to their ears!! Bringing this full circle, Wouter must appreciate that foreigners must risk chronically offending people in the short term - "But, I'm trying to do you a favour" - in order to avoid offending people in the long term - "Why don't you speak Dutch yet?" - as a resident.
Very excellent points and good knowledge of the problems of English-speaking language learners in countries like the Netherlands. I've experienced the same.
knowledge of many languages opened many doors in the world, especially in my profession - symphonic conductor…I speak: English,Deutsch, 日本語, polski, русский and українською🇺🇦my native… just those people who criticize polyglots - envy.
there are definately some ego issues creeping into it, however i do feel that exchange between cultures can be win/win for everyone. I feel like a western person or any person actually learning a hard language like chinese or japanese is a sign of respect for the culture you are learning the language from.
Since I’ve never lived in a country where I stuck out as a foreigner I didn’t realize that the type of street videos you make are basically your everyday experience. From that perspective, that makes so much sense.
Its actually very encouraging to show ppl able to speak other languages. Without ppl like you showing this skills ppl wont have the push they need to pickup other languages.
I know poly means “many”, so technically as long as you are fluent in 2 languages, I guess you can be called a polygot. For me, most ppl are either monolingual, bilingual, or trilingual. So I use the term polygot for ppl with fluency in 4 or more languages. You have English, Japanese, Mandarin, and now you are learning Korean. In my book that def makes you a polygot or you are on your way to becoming a polygot once you achieve fluency in Korean. I guess the issue is when can you say you “know” a language, considering they are various levels of fluency. Based on my experience growing up in a multilingual family, I will say if you can’t at least understand a movie in your target language without subtitles, you don’t know that language and can’t claim to “speak” that language. With that said, I also feel ppl greatly underestimate what it means to speak 20+ languages on an A1-A2 level. There is more to A1-A2 then saying “hello my name is damacx” lol. I know too many ppl who took French or Spanish for 5-6 years, and still STRUGGLE to understand a basic conversation in real time scenarios, yet they will tell me they are at a strong B1 level lol. There is nothing wrong with being a language dabbler, I love the concept of wanting to expose yourself to as many different cultures and groups of people as possible. As this video said, ppl have different goals of learning a language. At the same time, just like language dabblers should be equally respected (it is not as easy as ppl in the comments section like to say), the term polygot shouldn’t be abused and should be equally respected for the ppl that put in the work to achieve full fluency (can watch movies without subtitles, listen to music albums, read literature, etc). I mean at this point you got ppl calling themselves “hyperpolygots” lol, like really? To each their own. *Hops off soap box*
@@papaparde8606 Poly doesn't mean 5. It means 'multiple'. A polymer is a chemical of multiple monomers. Polytechnics teach multiple technical-level subjects (as opposed to say, a college of education or medicine). A Polymath is someone who has mastered multiple fields of knowledge like mathematics, languages and architecture etc So a polyglot can be someone who speaks at least 2-3 languages fluently along with dialects and slangs etc as well.
I think it comes down to intentions. A more positive intention to learn a language is wanting to genuninely connect with others. But if your intention is to impress people, get validation and boost your ego, then that's not a positive intention in my books.
When it comes to learning new languages, one shouldn't have to justify themselves to anyone for their reasons to do so. It promotes the mentality that one should act their own race instead of entering into another foreign culture and being seen as some kind of intruder/poser. English being the official international language of the world and the many people that speaks it proves just how versatile and easy it is to learn compared to the many other major languages of the world, so it's not surprising that the locals aren't shocked when a foreigner who's first language is not English manages to speak it But other languages, especially Chinese and Japanese are some of the hardest languages in the world to learn. So it's understandable that the locals might feel impressed, even proud that a foreigner managed to take an interest in their language and culture, but it's not meant to make others feel uncomfortable. I don't get how anyone could view learning a complex language as some kind of liability instead of an advantage. Official translators for example, especially those that work under the head of state is a high paying top level career, they don't just let anyone do it, one needs to have a general affinity for learning languages to even have a shot One cannot curb their desire to learn just to placate societal norms or for vanity sake
I'm a retired ESL teacher. One comment I read several times in grad school was that one of the reasons English and Spanish have spread so far and are so popular as second languages is that one can mangle the grammar pretty badly and still be understood. You can't do that in many other languages.
For me it's a complete non issue. Knowing other languages is a marvelous thing. You guys are great. I love these videos. Avoid clickbait obviously. The critics are likely monolingual English.
My experiences are not average, but I must agree. Monolingual English speakers seem seriously over represented when it comes to anything negative about languages and language learning.
To be perfectly honest, Wouter is precisely one of those people who make me question the validity of some of these channels. As a fellow Dutchman, I've bumped into his channel and i can't help but notice that he navigates conversations by sticking to a script of very few basic phrases, occasionally throwing in arguments he's prepared, kind of out of the blue, with people he talks to often clearly bemused as to why the telling them that specific thing. And if they start talking beyond the basics, he is often utterly lost. Since it occurs in languages I often don't know myself, it's hard to judge if this is an attempt at giving an impression of fluency when it isn't there or just a personal take on things. Hearing him claim that he speaks 29 languages.. To then clarify that he is fluent in six.. I have to wonder if most of those others aren't just "known" at a very, very basic level, in a "my name is.. where is the toilet?" kind of way. I speak 4 languages fluently and have a pretty good understanding/chance of understanding Spanish and German on top of those 4. I would never claim to speak either of those 2 languages even if i can get around and follow conversations in both. To me, when I see it happen, it smacks of gimmicky grandstanding. Likewise I've seen videos of the departed Moses McCormick talking in the languages I do speak and doing this at a very basic level. Which didn't help fostering trust in what these people are saying, Especially if they happen to be promoting a sponsor who happens to peddle a language learning tool. That said, I do appreciate the social impact and relevance of what they are doing, and understand that they have to make a living. I appreciate that to speak to someone in their own language is always a step in the right direction towards a multicultural society.. And i get the entertainment value, or I wouldn't be watching these videos to begin with. I also understand how the UA-cam algorithms work.. And that these channels do foster curiosity towards learning languages. I just wish that some of these people, including Wouter were a little less sensationalistic in their titles, and a little bit more honest and transparent with their fluency in the various languages.
"Hearing him claim that he speaks 29 languages.. To then clarify that he is fluent in six.. I have to wonder if most of those others aren't just "known" at a very, very basic level, in a "my name is.. where is the toilet?" kind of way." Yeah I agree, honestly. I appreciate he wants to learn all these languages, but I would rather he just be upfront and say he's only fluent in six and learning more.
I'm currently in my first year of uni, and just starting my journey of learning Chinese. However, I recently lost basically all my passion and wasn't able to focus on anything for all my semesters. However, i'm slowly getting back into a better and healthier mentality, and part of that is because of these videos. They're super inspirational to someone like me
I think its cool that people learn to speak other languages even if its just on a basic level for the most part. The issue with some polyglot yters is that they say that they speak "14 languages fluently" even tho they might speak 3-4 languages fluently or atleast at a very good level, the rest of the languages they just know the basic conversational skills of. But they won't tell you that cuz they are trying to sell you their product so that you also can become fluent in 10+ languages. It's more inpressive with someone that can speak at mastery level in say 5 languages, but that just doesnt sound as cool i guess.
I very much enjoy your videos, Anming. I find them to be much more honest and compelling to watch than those of the "polyglots" who learn the same 5 "getting to know you" phrases in dozens of languages. I set myself the goal of fluency in German, since it is my heritage (northern Wisconsin), and after 20+ years, I am still learning the nuances of the language. (Will I EVER be able to be "casually funny" in German, without causing an awkward silence in the room???!!!) To me, this is much more satisfying than being able to say, "Hi. Where are you from?" in 20 different languages. I know, to each their own. Keep up the good work!
First, please ignore the critics. I started watching UA-cam because of the pandemic. I started watching you and then subscribed because I admire your language skills. I have always wanted to learn two languages, but because I don't travel there is no way of becoming fluent. So keep up the good work and good vlogs. From Pennsylvania.
Jack of all trades, master of none. Language is not just words, it's an expression of the culture, and way of life. Not bothering to speak it PROPERLY like WuteverChudwiener does, is a huge disrespect to the culture and way of life of the people, of the language he claims to speak!
Seen a lot of these polyglot video's and noticed that some of them claiming to speak a language, but they only can have a two minute chat about some city's, a popular sportsteam and the local food. And there it ends. This way I also can claim to speak ten languages, but speaking only three languages fluent.
This was my irritation with Laoshu and the fact that he makes money off "teaching." His Mandarin and Cantonese was ok, but you could easily tell when he got lost. Any other language, it was as you say.
@@KYLgonk I'm not sure he's claimed to be fluent in most of his languages. I think he'd be the first to downplay his ability outside his top 6. Like, he'd freely admit his Mandarin is very basic.
@@AccountInactive Wtf are you talking about his mandarin was really good and his Cantonese pronunciation was almost perfect. He also spoke many of my languages very well, like Arabic, Swedish and German. It's not easy, don't disrespect the goat.
I'm glad that you brought up non-western youtubers making the exact same type of videos. Being able to speak multiple languages is such a beautiful thing. I would absolutely love to have the ability to connect with people in their own language, because I am so interested in other people and other cultures. There will always be people who look down on this type of content, but they have no place to dictate your actions. Keep up the great work.
The thing which annoys me the most about some polyglots is that they claim to “speak” the languages. However, they just pretend to “know” the languages by speaking a few phrases. Yes, they probably took some courses of the languages but that doesn’t make them speakers of those languages. Personally, being able to “speak” refers to capable of making a small talk casually. Nonetheless ,some of them speak even less than basic , they just kept on repeating the same sentences to different interviewees.
The cringe about those videos is that: * many languages they are not good at them they just use cheap tricks to railroad the conversation. It's basically, *short introduction*, I like your country/national food, let the other person talk back, whatever they answer, just move on to the next subject like "I like your national soccer team *name of famous player*" and/or just edit a cut in your video. You can see it when he "speaks" Malay. The other guy looks confused like, 'what is talking about?', and they play it like 'he's so confused I can speak his language'. He says he knows 6 languages at conversational level which is actually a pretty low level, far from fluent. * also when you're a super polyglot you'd expect people to do something cool about it like traveling in foreign countries, not doing cheap tricks on the street.
As someone who is trying to learn as many languages as possible I had given up on chinese and started working on my Swedish. Japanese (I mean kanji) was challenging enough let alone Chinese. After I saw your videos I was motivated to continue chinese. I am a lucky one because I try to talk with strangers as much as possible when we go on vacations or when I see strangers but on my parents' supervision since im a minor. And the people around me were anything but jealous or judging, they all supported me and even sometimes friends ask me to help them too.
If you say "I can speak X language", most people take that to mean you are reasonably fluent in that language like high B or C level. I know how to greet someone in probably about 20 languages, I would never dream of saying I "speak" 20 languages. This is where it makes the entire thing feel cheap. If people that claim to be polyglots were more up front about this, I wouldn't have so much of a problem with it, but they're generally not. They mislead and play the UA-cam clickbait game, fooling people that don't really know much about the process of language learning. It's lying by omission, so I personally choose not to engage with that type of content.
I think you’re right. With a really loose definition I also speak Spanish and Korean, but my level is so low I don’t think it’s right to claim I know it.
you got the point I learn many languages as a hobby, I know basic phrases and I can make basic sentences in those languages, but I don't think I should tell people that I speak those languages I always say that I know some basic and IMO showing off basic skills on public places is good as long as you tell the truth, don't tell people that you speak the language, it'd be better to tell people that you're gonna practice some basic conversation that you've learned so far so instead of telling people to see how good you are or how fluent you are in foreign language/s, you tell people to see your process of learning and practicing to keep people motivated to do the same or even better
This is exactly it. I have no problem with someone saying "I know some words in 29 languages", or "I've studied 29 languages and speak X of them fluently", or just "I speak some X". But to me it's a misrepresentation to say "I speak 29 languages" when all you can really do in most of them are the same few stock greetings.
i guess my question is whether or not its intentionally meant to be deceptive or he just has a very loose definition of "to speak a language". like on one hand it implies a lot more fluency than what is actually true, but he also seems to be upfront about no speaking them all super well? This also leads me to question why would one want to learn a language if you have no intention of ever approaching fluency
edit tip: isolate audio from the video, keep each audio source going per the best version so it doesn't sound like the audio sources are changing (I.e. we shouldn't hear Woulter from the iPad speakers ever, and vice versa). You'll need some room tone to keep the tracks clean so it doesn't sound like the audio is going up/down every time the primary sound changes, so to speak. This is hard to describe, sorry if it's confusing lol. Takes a bit more time to clean audio, but the pay off is great for the viewers
This shouldn't be a debate. Problem these days is that everyone is worried about hurting feelings. Those people need to learn to simply change the channel if they find something hurtful. Or maybe grow some thicker skin. Insanity.
I mean, I think there are some things that you can have a debate about. I have no problem with Anming's videos, but there are some self proclaimed "polyglots" where it's pretty obvious that they don't really speak those languages. Someone who just took a few hours to google some basic sentences in a foreign language to have the same basic conversations with different people on Omegle, but has no real intentions of learning the language is not really a polyglot, but a fraud.
First of all, Pearl great videos, you come across so genuine. For me, mostly Laoshu and Xiaoma inspired me to try to learn a language myself (Turkish), even though I have never enjoyed language in highschool and having dyslexia. It is fun to surprise native speakers but in the end I also learned to enjoy grammar and all those things I used to hate. Just saying, these type of vids DID inspire me to learn a new language that is not close to my native speach.
I found your channel through Xiaoma and love you both as the main languages you speak are at a super high level and I love watching your genuine conversations with locals. It inspires me to keep going with Korean when it gets hard. I love seeing how people light up when they hear you speak their language. It's wholesome. I don't watch the ones where people claim they learnt a language in 2 days or where they only know tiny bits of random languages but are claiming to be fluent. Those aren't interesting. I like the one Wouter did with the free tea if he didn't speak their language. You can tell it was also helping him practise and I love seeing the process. I feel if everyone got interested in other languages and cultures the world would become a better place.
I’m not a polyglot, but I work in an IT sector that deals with all kinds of protocols being exchanged across the internet. Strangely enough, this has inspired a striving within myself to become more familiar with more… human protocols (languages) to deepen my appreciation for other cultures and languages and reinforce my understanding of both networking and fellow humans! Nice video! 👍🏻
Honestly, I enjoy them so much! As a Chinese person who speaks English, it’s great to see people learn our language and it’s funny to see the reactions! Also my parents doesn’t speak English (only Chinese) so when I show them the videos we have a good laugh lmao 😭
Before Laoshu died nobody wanted to collab but, after he passed certain famous youtubers shead crocodile tears. Learning and spreading love isn't always accepted in today's goldfish memory mainstream media tripe.
You had that Irish guy collab with Laoshu. Xiaoma, Frankie and Steve all wanted to meet Laoshu. Aswell as the others I imagine. I'm a learner but not a UA-camr and I imagined meeting Laoshu and Xiaoma. And I cried when Laoshu passed and still get choked up.
You will always get those who choose to get upset but also many others who are genuinely interested and find value and entertainment from others sharing their experiences of different cultures and languages. It’s a nice way to connect the world
I speak Hindi, English and Spanish at native level. I'll learn Swedish, Japanese and German after high school ,not now as I have to crack JEE and I need to focus a lot on STEM for two years right now.
@@lovelyfluer that's great. Unfortunately in India it's impossible to continue multiple tracks like STEM and languages together because the system is rigorous and compartmentalised
Very interesting to hear the feeling of a polyglot. I speak two languages, Japanese and English, and a little French, but I usually say I'm bilingual not polyglot. People usually show favorable reactions when you speak other languages, but I have encountered situations when people showed dislike or resentment. When I met my old high school friend, he told me that he hated people who spoke English, I was really shocked. Since then, our friendship was not quite the same anymore. 😰
The thing is, sometimes people are surprised when someone speaks English. It all just depends on the audience and the context. For example, in the Korean entertainment world, fans often make a big deal out of a Korean celebrity speaking English when they weren't expected to. But if it's a celebrity who was born in and/or studied in an English-speaking country, it's not that big of a deal.
I've been a subscriber of Wouter's for years. He's like the perfect ambassador for polyglots, always very honest about his ability and fun too, not egotistical or cocky. I was lucky to be exposed to many languages and cultures as a child, so always fantasized about being able to talk with anyone. More of it
I studied French, German, and Latin when I was younger. I’ve always loved learning new languages. I think everyone should learn a different language as it also makes you learn more about your native one.
Wouter is misleading. He should only be promoting that he knows 6 languages. That's already impressive on its own. He shouldn't be claiming he learned 29 languages when he can only say hi how are you and maybe some other basic phrases with a very horrible pronunciation that sounds like gibberish. If that's what it means to know a language then there are tons of polyglots in the world then lol.
What is misleading about saying "I speak 29 language" always IMMEDIATELY followed by "in different levels, I'm fluent in 6, and have different degrees of fluency in the other 23 [...]" ?
As soon as that guy mentioned colonialism he's revealed his deeply rooted self hatred, indoctrinated attitude and nihilism, all hidden and wrapped up tightly in a gloss of self righteousness and arrogance. These videos are popular, friendly, fun and endearing to name a few things, regardless of whether or not some like it.
The natives are shocked and appreciative and respectful however the non natives get mad and ask to stop..... What a world to be living in 🤦♂️ Keep shocking natives and spread the love for languages ✌️.. Respect from Sudan
I personally have a problem with channels like Wouter's because their videos go beyond just clickbait into actually lying. His most popular videos are all scripted and even then the quality of his language is very low in almost all languages he speaks in his videos, yet the title will be something like "Polyglot speaks over 20 languages fluently with natives". Clickbait channels like yours or xiaoma's whose videos are all "white people speaks fluent X" are perfectly fine in my opinion as your level is very high and it is impressive.
> Clickbait channels like yours or xiaoma's whose videos are all "white people speaks fluent X" are perfectly fine in my opinion as your level is very high and it is impressive. Not really clickbaiting then.
Actually, I've been following Wouter's channel since 2018/2019 and I've never seen a title like that "speaks X number of languages fluently with natives". To be honest, I'm also following xiaoma and I really enjoy his contents but -he- has a lot of vids saying things like "I learned blabla language in 7 days/15 days". Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're just pointing your finger at the wrong direction, dude.
The polyglot videos have been extremely important to my experience learning language and practicing with people. Being able to connect with people who I otherwise never would know existed is a lovely idea, and seeing how comfortable many polyglots like Wouter have become speaking with strangers in their language has played an integral role in my confidence and language learning
It seems like waving a flag of ignorance to be shocked by someone speaking multiple languages or speaking one we might not expect based on appearances. In many places, multilingualism is common and normal. Even in America, it used to be the norm for college-educated people to have at least some study of ancient and modern languages (Greek, Latin, Hebrew, French, etc.). Learning languages takes time, dedication, hard work, and talent, and that should be encouraged and respected. It's a intellectual/academic discipline and a practical tool, not some magic trick to gawk at or to use to rack up UA-cam views. People throw around the term "polyglot" way too readily, too. How do you define it? There are different levels of fluency or mastery. How do you judge that someone actually knows or speaks a foreign language? This guy's German and French pronunciation are pretty rough, for example, the German is rambling, and the French sounds partially canned and memorized. To his credit, he says he's not fluent in German.
@@PetraStaal Language-learning isn't a contest, but, yeah, I'd like to actually see him and some of the other so-called UA-cam polyglots engage in real, fluent, unscripted converations with total strangers, going beyond basic introductions, asking about the weather, etc. I learn languages for fun, and when people ask about it, I'm transparent about what I can and can't do in each one. But I'm not a UA-camr trying to rack up views and revenue :)
I think it's because people expect someone who speaks a foreign language to have a high level of fluency and not basic level or know a few words or greetings. I love languages ❤
I'm from germany and I love to see all these videos where people are able to speak different languages and try to talk to native speakers. For me it's not like "showing off" it's more like enjoying to watch the progress they made and I often can relate to the surprised reactions of the native speakers because german is not a language that many foreigners learn and if I see a refugee, a soldier, a tourist or whoever who tries to speak in German to me then I'm always happy to see people being interested in my culture. I personally think that making these videos of speaking to native speakers will actually help to motivate people to keep learning. I started to learn my girlfriends native language too a while ago and seeing a positive reaction of a native speakers is like a good feedback to me. So keep up the good work 🤍
Basically what these people on the internet are saying is “Learning a new language is fine but having a conversation with native speakers is cultural appropriation!” What?! Who the f*** spends years learning a skill just to “keep it to themselves” 😂. So what if I go to a Trade and learn to be a mechanic I’m not supposed to fix peoples cars? What if I get the opportunity to study abroad, I’m not supposed to learn the language to make my learning experience easier and to communicate with wonderful people? 🤦♂️
Never for a second did I think people would think learning other languages and polyglots are dumb and showing off, never even crossed my mind. We’ve reached a new low as humans😂😂
Had someone ask me last year to help him out a bit with italian (as I was planning on passing the C1 Celi4 so thought it might be good practise for myself. Even if he lied about his level which was much lower. He even asked himself) So i explain to him what usually a C1 exam entails or in general language official exams because i would be mostly focusing on that (and using as an example my C1 cambridge exam from 2019) I was called a show off (I'm fluent in spanish, catalan and french, studying a full degree in the UK/in english and was also taking german language classes) I have never been able to shake off these words when i was just trying to be helpful (i was literally approached and asked for that too) Reminded me when I was told it was dumb to read and buy books in different languages when I was younger...by my own direct family (well jokes on them I can even read novels in japanese now as well, and I'm pretty much the only one that was/is able to study abroad) Not sure if it is jealousy or simply that they don't think before they open their mouth, but damn (and it's not like i actually show off as I say nothing about the languages i know until directly asked) Needless to say i have no idea if he progressed or not with his italian, he was never serious when it came to actually studying it and i got tired of it real fast After that i'm pretty much unwilling to help anyone ngl
I'm not a polyglot, but I find them very fascinating. I hope we can have more of these open discussions about topics in the language community on UA-cam. I hope you join the debate too. -Anming
You are!
You speak three languages. I feel like that definitely fits into the description of a polyglot.
Good discussion. Yeah, living somewhere for 5 years and not learning the native language is something that SHOULD be frowned upon. People saying "white priv" when it comes to language are literally stupid. Not sure how that has ANYTHING to do with learning a language, and the people talking smack about the videos are just jealous. If they are so great, then why don't they do something informative instead of just bashing everything? Lol. Anyways... I still like your videos, and also, I'm pretty sure you are technically a polyglot lol. Keep it up! One day I want my Japanese to be as good as yours, Matt's or Dogen's.
@@scathach2815 she’s definitely a polyglot.
girl , ive seen some of ure vids in the past (since i found Xiaomanyc and utube started poppin u in my reccomandations ), i like ure channel . i get the pov some ppl might have . at the same time , utube isnt , or wasnt a main source of income ( in my times ) ,its just pure good fun time ? havin ppl chattin with others , in a ton of very, VeRy! remote languages(sometimes) , it inspires myself / others , to keep on track with what they know or even learn new languages . why is there even hate/criticism on this topic ???!!!! wth ?! ofc , someone can speak 50 languages , make vids ,just basic conversations, level 1 kindergarten most of the times , more or less , but i NEVER see them as clickbait/potential seed for hate comments . are polyglots really tryin to form a secret army ? if so , sign me up ? im fluent in 5-6 languages ? and i can scrap off some latin as well , includin all those 50 000 verbs/nouns conjugations ?
In my view, we learn languages for our own reasons. In my case it is to discover and connect with new languages and cultures. However imperfectly I speak a language, the hours and hours I put in to listening, reading and speaking in that language are all worth it. They broaden my perspective and change me in a good way. Speaking another language is all about communicating, not about performing.
That’s very wise Steve! Agreed completely. Each language brings another exciting opportunity to communicate with a new group of people. Polyglots like you really motivated me to take on Korean this year as a new language. Keep on inspiring people 大先輩 😊
@@OrientalPearl Good luck on Korean! I think having excellent knowledge in Japanese will definitely give you a huge headstart!
The legend has spoken
I also learned languages to connect with people. I've put a lifetime of experiences into many of them and each of them have changed my perspectives and identity. I learned most of them starting at a young age and never stopped speaking them. They became a lifestyle. I have been a professional interpreter for 30 years so having a true command of the languages is essential. I have stuck with English, Romance Languages and Sign Language for very specific reasons and don't even care to delve into other languages even though languages are fascinating to me, in general, because my goal has always been to fill in the gaps and to have a high command of each language. I definitely cringe when people claim language proficiency when they simply know a few phrases.
I think Steve Kaufman is the only polyglot that can pass B2 in four or more languages! You’re the GOAT!
My daughter is learning Spanish ,French, Portugese and also korean. It makes me feel real proud. It's not just the language you also learn about the culture which is very beautiful and confirms that under all these languages and cultures we are all human beings , part of an equally great creation.
That’s right. I wanted to know what people were saying in these languages so badly just to find that everyone is kind of saying the same things as everyone else.
Saying "I like [country]" "I would like to eat [country dish]" is not speaking a language, that's knowing sentences
This, they are scammers.
Exactly. 😂😂😂
Native speakers should invite such people for a spontaneous conversation.
Only then, these fake polyglots will abstain from making such videos.
F**kin frauds.
I really love those street videos! They are the only videos that appeal to masses and encourage people to interact with foreigners without shame.
Thank you so much! I love when other youtubers comment. Yeah, the street videos have gotten a lot of people interested in learning languages.
@@OrientalPearl I watch almost every video of yours. They are so fun and inspirational. I'm also studying Japanese and videos like yours always get me back into the process of studying. They are like a reminder. Also, one of the goals of my language learning is also Showing off. 😊 Because why shouldn't we enjoy our hard work :) Anyway, Thanks for making such videos! I really appreciate it. I hope I can interview you on my channel so that more people get interested in the language learning 😊 Arigatou
All of the videos? I’m so thrilled! Thank you.
@@OrientalPearl 😊😊😊👍
Anything that shows people being happy without pushing a woke agenda is racist and evil, haven't you heard? You're not allowed to just go have genuine experiences anymore unless it's in the name of "progress".
"Why tape it?"
Well it’s motivational for people learning the language. If i see another German speaking fluent Japanese, it shows that it’s possible and that it’s worth pursuing. I also think that it’s ok to flex sometimes. Learning a langue to fluency is hard work, so why shouldn’t you be allowed to demonstrate your skills? You wouldn't tell a musician to not play for an audience and only keep it to himself either right?
But then there certainly are youtubers who make cringy "White guy speaks fluent %$§& and SHOCKS locals"-type videos. They often seem to only learn some basic phrases or like a script for the specific situation they're trying to make a video of. This creates a false image and no one needs that.
I like your musician reference. That’s a good point. Should we ban street performers too? 😊
On the point of cringy titles, I disagree a bit. It does mask the truth with an illusion thru clickbait, but it depends if the video content leads to positive interaction between someone attempting to learn a language earnestly and talking to a native speaker, especially when you find more openness.
@@dionysianapollomarx I was talking about people who don’t actually lean the langue to a conversational level. And only pretend for a cringy video.
But when it's just flexing when there's nothing sincere in the content, it makes the clickbait way less forgivable.
@@dionysianapollomarx Yes, that was my point.
To all those who say " why is learning a new language negative"..that's not the point. People are angry at those who pretend they speak 20+ languages when all they know is small talk with bad grammar. I speak. A few languages myself but the so called polyglots diminish the actual hard work to full fluency with their small talk gimmick, to impress people rather than actual mastery.
Yeah lmao. The problem isn't about polyglots, it's about fake polyglots. There's a difference, just like how being a fake doctor is bad, but being a legit doctor isn't.
Hello everyone. First of all I want to thank Anming, It was awesome to join her video project. I also want to tell everyone that you are more than welcome to ciriticize me. I always try to improve the languages and videos where I make grammar and pronunciation mistakes are part of the process. I also want to wish everyone the best, keep learning and never give up! Cheers
Wouter i like your public reactions to polyglots videos, keep them coming ! saya suka menonton channel awak, salam dari Malaysia !
Thanks for the great discussion Wouter! Looking forward to seeing the Chinese corrections video on your channel.
@@policeyoutube2369 saya juga suka videonya salam dari filipina 🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭
People make fun of my grammer and mistakes in my own native language 🙃 even I do that to myself. I always say to not worry so much as long as we can understand you. Especially to people who is not native to a language. Even the native speakers make their own mistakes.
Man, I'm not going to criticize you. You speak way more languages than I ever could! I wish the language community on youtube would all get together and talk about study approaches when it comes to learning a language.
I think its quite respectful that someone takes the time to learn the native language.
True, I always love learning new languages
@Kepler 186-F I love learning new languages. This is my biggest dream. I want to be a polygot ❤❤
What's your native language? I'm from Ukraine (but my native language is Russian) and now that I moved to Germany I learn German and what to find someone to talk with. If you are interested in Russian, maybe we could help each other!
As an Indian I'm going to say that we would be really impressed seeing someone that isn't Indian speaking Hindi. Not many people seem to want to learn Hindi, it's just not as popular with language learners. It truly is shocking to see someone speak our language and we really appreciate it. If we Indians don't have a problem with it I don't see why anyone else should
Exactly, it’s not as popular and I’ve also heard that it’s one of the hardest languages in the world
I actually try to learn Hindi. I am french by the way but I loved Indian culture since young. In my university there is a class to take Hindi as 2nd language or third and they are people of different culture in their.
@@otariidae2067 that's really cool! Good luck!
@@darkvip3r thanks
@@otariidae2067 omg! I'm the complete opposite! I am Indian knowing Hindi from birth, but had to learn French abroad through secondary school education! Lmao should we teach each other~
Wow. UA-cam drama really exists in EVERY branch of this site. You guys are awesome and I love what you do! You inspired me and many others to pick up languages that I never would've even thought about learning and you can be proud of that, as I am also very thankful for the inspiration you give!
There’s a lot of drama in the language learning community because it can be (maybe shouldn’t be) competitive.
I agree. I share the same sentiments!
I had no idea drama was a thing with language channels. But I guess that's youtube >_<
Keep up the good work ^_^
ppl are stupid what you expected.
Competitive...
Wtf?!?! How is speaking another language a negative thing.. if anything it encourages other people to be engaging and make a world a better place.. power and support for you both
People will complain about anything. They love being triggered and offended by things so that they can be involved without putting in any work.
I speak four languages myself on a daily basis but I've spent years immersing myself to be able to have a fundamental understanding of the language and the culture itself.
Wouter's videos are the polar opposite of that, he shouts out a couple of sentences mostly with mistakes and based around the most typical stereotypes.
He meets a Brazilian person and says "Footbal and samba, beaches, capirinha, football yeah!"...
That'd be like meeting an American and shouting "Burgers and fries, Hollywood, cowbo cowboy yihaaaaa!"
That's not speaking a language, it's memorising the most well known parts of a country and repeating the same three phrases in whatever local tongue over and over again.
It's the markings of a person in need of attention rather than a person looking to connect, and that rightfully pisses people off that have spent years learning a language.
@@kaihocompany The people who spent years learning a language can also make their own videos and upload on UA-cam for everyone to judge and entertain. No one stop them doing so. It's in the minds of these people who think they are not good enough to make such and such videos. It's a self-help issue. They can't execute on ideas, they care about other people's opinions and they are not entrepreneurial.
@@jamescarbon3853 word.
People aren't mad at others for speaking other languages. They're mad at others pretending to speak other languages when all they know is small talk with bad grammar.
I only speak English. I'm dyslexic and I really struggle with language. The polyglot videos have really boosted my confidence - they're inspired me to try. Seeing people speak other languages has made me so less frightened to try. I would love to have moments with people in their native language. I haven't travelled in over decade, but when I do, I hope I can speak some of the native language of a country so I can respect the culture, and the polyglot channels have made language learning so more human and less intimidating
Try focusing on audio and video content. There are some polyglots with eye problems that learn this way
Can you speak another language now?
It takes a lot of mental gymnastics to link polyglots to colonialism. Damn. I'm Singaporean, where we have 4 official languages, one of which is English; our lingua franca. That said, we have a distinctive English dialect known colloquially as Singlish, or officially as Singapore Colloquial English, when anyone from overseas adopts Singlish, I honestly feel very proud and happy that they are willing and ready to learn how we communicate and adopt as their own means of communication.
The woke can make anything about racism or colonialism. They could make fruit racist.
Exactly. And wouldn't colonialism be the opposite, where local languages and regional flavours are oppressed and not at all celebrated, in favor of the dominant one?
@@SantosoWijaya yes that happens in a lot of nations and it's absolutely true that colonialism has contributed to that.
Yes, I was taken aback by that comment.
exactly my thoughts upon hearing that ridiculous take. it’s literally just people engaging and getting along with each other using different languages lmao.
This is the weirdest shit ever. Like any time I watch someone speaking another language outside of their own culture I'm mesmerized because it shows the light of a what could be a fun encounter with someone and see some out of the box results. Screw these haters
Yes. I’m impressed too. Really don’t understand this hate either.
@@benjackson7872 I think the other peeps are just envious. Lol
@@playalots Same
💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯
Ha yes, the famous "they don't think the same way I do so they are haters".
Don't ever feel bad for trying to learn a new language or show your progress. There are always going to be those people who can sit on their couch and criticize others to make them selves feel better! Love both your videos! Never give up! Never surrender!
This whole topic is silly to me and it's a non issue. The ability to speak another language is a great thing and not cultural misappropriation. Why must we bring down others to make us look good? Let's rise up and have everyone look better.
Agreed it's not culture appropriatation, it's culture appreciation. It really shows how racist it is for people to indirectly say keep to your own culture and language. Atleast that's the message I get from people yelling culture appropriation.
@@horsewings3561 yeah thats basically it most of the time. They think u hate ur own country when u learn a different language. Or they r jealous because they cant speak so many languages.
I mean seriously! I’m not surprised anymore. There’s always someone uncomfortable or offended by literally anything it’s ridiculous
@@horsewings3561 cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation are the same thing. You might be confusing appropriation with misappropriation. It's a new term that came out mainstream about 2015 but stems from 2010 acadamia. It just means to copy something or adopt something. The people calling it "colonial" have swallowed too much academia. People speak others languages all the time and to differing levels. The only way to misappropriate a langauge is to redefine words incorrectly or something.
@@EuriEuropa yup, it's a privilege when you meet someone who cares about your feelings, NO ONE IS OBLIGATED TO CARE ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS WHEN YOUR OFFENDED. Remember we used to have trigger warnings for people with epilepsy or ptsd? Now we have it for hurt feelings. It's why if I ever make a video I REFUSE to use trigger warnings for anything but what I mentioned above. Studies are now saying all these trigger warnings for sensitive people are making things worse. People don't know how to cope or endure and grow as a person anymore.
The reason this content is popular is because its heartwarming, entertaining and connecting. It's hard to top the rection when someones day is made because you speak their language. Angry polygots are angry beceause they didnt think to do it first, or have no social charisma/confidence
Until it’s in a language you know and you realise that most of those interactions were super awkward
Yeah that's now why people are mad, kekw.
Yeah that bald guy only gets views talking about other people. Lame.
@@theoceansdepth8585 The bald guy never showed his language skills, although he craps on others. I wanted to hear his presumed abilities after hard study, like his presumed Mandarin skills and he never made a video solely in Mandarin. He also does not allow comments. What a coward.
@@alanguages he knows that the Laoshu squad would destroy him, that's why he doesn't allow commentary.
You videos are inspiring. I’m a native English speaker, know some Spanish, a little French, and now learning Japanese. Being multilingual is such an incredible skill and I wish was more highly valued. I appreciate your content.
The more I think about this topic, the more I see parallels with virtually any discussion on Twitter or in the media. People who upload videos are an easy target, and make for a kind of virtual playground for anyone to be vocal about their own pet peeves, insecurities, or feelings about the world, politics, or society. It’s almost like a microcosm of the entire world seen through the prism of languages. Languages are also something people get very personally attached to. We all have our identities wrapped up in languages and language learning. So when it comes to UA-cam, it only takes a UA-camr to diverge very slightly from someone’s own views, to suddenly have a whole litany of commentary or accusations to make about them. When I see the comments here, there are generally far more positive and inspired comments than anything else, and I think we get distracted by a vocal minority who usually seem to be more interested in virtue signalling than anything else. In the end, like the rest of life, I don’t think there’s any resolution to this. People are different, UA-cam is weird, c’est la vie! Nice video!
Very well put Olly. Thanks for watching. I love when other youtubers come and share their thoughts here.
You put that very well, and in multiple perspectives that shed light on different issues. I think the main issue is our paying attention to the minority and assuming they are a representation of the majority. The majority tend to stay quiet because they expect or believe others to primarily think like themselves, and often don't speak out enough; however, when called to the task, the majority will show itself. Yes, SOME people are pissed at polyglot street videos, but they are most likely negative-oriented in their worldviews. Most people love it and are happy about its effects and outcomes.
@@Xemptuous Exactly. I think from my perspective, I don’t necessarily love those street videos, but I’m perfectly happy to take them for what they are - entertainment. If you approach those videos and demand them to be a source of truth and authority in the field of language learning, you are bound to be disappointed. But then, I think the expectations were wrong in the first place! These people presumably don’t go around leaving aggressive comments on Minecraft videos, so why do it with language videos? Answer - it’s just something that they care more about. Either way, to go around finding fault and expressing your displeasure with everything just shows a basic lack of maturity and awareness in my view.
I think the polyglot and fake polyglot trending topics will die down in the near future, but the positive influence will remain and more people will learn other languages.
@@storylearning yeah :P being vocally angry at these polyglot videos just shows a lack of maturity, exactly. I can see myself being that way at much younger age honestly. It's like pointing out that a Magician that everyone loves isn't doing real magic. Why be a party pooper? If this injustice in life that someone "doesn't deserve their reputation/popularity/money/etc" is enough for you to be vocal about, then you're either very young, or incredibly fortunate that you haven't experience this many times over by now. It's entertainment and thats all. "Santa Claus". There are worse things someone could be in life XD..
You have a very wise opinion of this subject, it was refreshing to read.
it's stupid when people criticize you for doing what you love. besides, I'm actually learning from your videos so, I'd love to watch more of them. please don't stop uploading them because I'm learning german and I need some motivation thanks in advance.
As an American who’s never left the USA, I’m frightened to travel to a place like China or Japan even though It’s a dream of mine. I fear that I may come off as ignorant because I don’t know the local language. Or that I won’t be able to properly connect with the local culture if I only speak English. For me personally, watching these street videos gives me the courage and motivation in order to commit to learning a foreign language! To the people who talk poorly about these videos - they help me and so many others. If you have only negative things to say.. I’m sorry. Don’t watch them I guess 🤷🏼♂️
Just go. People understand how it is. Just use Google translate and you'll be fine.
R. D. Barnhart fair point
I've been to Japan 4 times and never communicated with the locals. The only time I've ever been talked to was me wearing a sumo shirt with Japanese on it haha otherwise most Japanese keep to themselves. I had the same mindset as you though. Go when you can!! Japan is worth it!!!
My husband wants to go to Japan becasue he is in love with anime and such. I would love to go because I love the small minatures of food and doll house and scenery crafting. So basically Akihabara (sp?) in Tokyo... It would be a little bit of an insult to the Japanese or any country if one were to visit and not to at lease be able to order food, ask directions and say please and thank you. Also, growing up in Texas, Spanish was a necessary second language. I can speak enough to serve customers in a retail setting and explain art supply uses (I worked at Hobby Lobby). Those that get offended are too fragile and judgemental. Be brave and get out and go.
Totally agree and if you work hard for something and you want to show it off then why not. People who work hard to get toned bodies show it off lol. It is only your life and only you can live it. People will always have something negative to say whether you are doing bad or good
I think these people calling relating this to “colonialism” and saying it’s cringe are ridiculously ignorant and attention-seeking. I think it’s a beautiful thing to spread positivity and conversation with strangers. If anything, I think it lets people who aren’t exposed to cultures they can’t communicate with form understanding and empathy toward what is unfamiliar. I love your videos Anming
Yeah, I think that saying it’s colonial is way over the top.
they are all americans
The whole point of colonialism is to take over a place and force your own culture onto it, so I don't know how those ppl think that learning the language of THAT place is colonial 💀💀
I’m American too, living in LA where some of the most of the attention seeking, virtue-signaling people who would call it colonialism live. It’s ironic how it’s always the most privileged, sheltered white people who are quick to point the finger at a woman who is fluent in multiple other languages and spreads the culture for English speakers to learn from…
Yeah the irony is it’s white people being outraged on the behalf on POC. Speaking for them and assuming their responses feels more colonial than a lot of these videos. I can get it to an extent, but the irony is palpable.
I am always impressed by people who can speak more than one language. I have a 10-year old granddaughter who is teaching herself Russian. Her motivation for doing that, is that it builds her confidence even if she has no one to converse with. I myself speak 3 and it has helped a lot travelling to many countries. Keep up with your inspiring videos Oriental Pearl and Wouter.
Thank you so much!
These YT clips can also have a positive effect on people's inherent xenophobia. They may see familiar banter between two separate cultures, the appreciation expressed by those native speakers and, perhaps ever so slightly, broaden their horizons.
That’s right, because you come to realize we are all just people.
@@78alJ0vle I was using the term in its most general and soft (for lack of a better word) sense. Everyone has a touch of it. It's a part of human nature, I think.
THIS
I know how those guys appear... They never got an interaction or a positive one with someone who's not the same race as he is... But ngl most PC people never talked to a black person either... They are just looking for attention
"Honestly this stereotype of monkey tricks by Western people speaking exotic languages...I don't know it just smacks of this colonial mentality"
I think he has never visited Europe. It's completely normal here to speak multiple languages (even exotic ones because of Asian tourism), and it has nothing to do with colonial mentality.
It's normal to speak multiple languages in the United States as well. A lot of people or their ancestors come from somewhere else and they already speak another language natively.
Wouldn’t colonialism be expecting foreigners to speak your language when going to their country?
You realize that Wouter is native to Scandinavia, right?
This argument doesn't make sense either. The colonialists actually forced natives to speak their languages which is why we have french being spoken today in the heart of Africa. From my perspective an European speaking someone's native language (as exotic and rare they might be) actually has a sort of "compensatory" effect. I say that as someone whose country has also being colonized
I teach English and Japanese in Hungary. (Attention, all native speakers! Flaming time! :)) My students gain some knowledge of these languages and start communicating with foreigners. Job done. My younger daughter acquired Japanese in Japan, learnt Hungarian when we moved back to Hungary, she has been learning English and German because they are compulsory in her school and she has to handle some Latin because she goes to a Catholic music school. What's the big deal here? I really don't understand the big fuss over being a polyglot. Sometimes it just happens to people because of their environment. Learning a new language is part and parcel of adjusting to new circumstances or getting ready to do so. Or maybe language learning is their hobby. Why not, it's better than playing GTA.
Being half mexican, I felt a lot of internal shame only knowing english while watching for the first time. I only speak english and know very little Spanish.
I felt pretty terrible not having the exposure, discipline or strong motivation to learn my family's native language. It was hard to pin down this feeling at first!
This or feelings similar to this could be fueling some of those negative responses about reaction videos. Thought I would put this out there so perhaps someone else could recognize this in themselves instead of just projecting onto others.
Thank you for your last paragraph. I've wondered about this and have never figured out a way to discuss it politely. Several times I've found myself unexpectedly getting opportunities to learn other languages basically for FREE. I always jumped at it and took concurrent classes when I could. Then other people who were with me but chose NOT to try to learn the language acted like my limited proficiency was something that 'just happened to me' and I got lucky and they didn't. They act sullen & resentful and completely refuse to acknowledge that I put any time/energy/work into it at all.
Are you from America? Cause if you are then you have easy access to learn it. I'm jealous. I'm Polynesian, I don't speak my native tongue either and feel the shame lol. I grew up in New Zealand speaking English. There are no schools for me to learn, no online classes, no dup lingo etc. And my part of nz I live in there's no other people from my island to learn from. You should do it since you can. Me I'm fd lol :(
I always felt super-embarrassed in college speaking Spanish to native speakers--I went to school in Florida so there were a lot of ‘em. It was silly, really. My friends just wanted to help me elevate my skill level.
Not speaking a language fluently is perfectly fine. What irks me is that so many polyglots are stretching the term speaking beyond belief and they seem to be in such a hurry to add a language to ' The list'.
This is a VERY good point. I want to do more discussions about this exact topic.
Once upon a time someone who spoke many languages was simply known as multi -lingual. Polyglot sounds like a disease. I've got a case of the polyglots.
Being able to say five sentences in a language is not speaking it. It's simply knowing a few words. There's nothing wrong with saying that before the whole polyglot boom. Like, "Ahh, I only know like, 2 words in Spanish". But that's turned into, "My Spanish isn't that good" or "It's really rusty" when you've never learned it in the first place. It's just dishonest. I agree with you.
Im intrigued as to why this in particular bothers you? In all forms of media across UA-cam and in life in general there are people who stretch the truth (or just lie). When you pick up a newspaper and the headline is sensationalised do you get upset. When a toothpaste advert has people with obviously perfect teeth already, do you get upset. When you open up Facebook and your own friends and family have filters on their pictures do you get upset?...
I understand it may evoke mild annoyance but that should be all. In the modern world my best advice is to filter out what you know to be truth from fiction. I still feel that learning a language in a small capacity or full on fluency is something to be celebrated. Think of it as an incremental step to narrow segregation of language and culture!
@@Reeceline I understand what you mean, I think I am just annoyed about the change in the language community. I remember Luca's and Richard's first videos. Now the whole language learning thing on YT has become so gimmicky and the shock videos are popping up everywhere.
I also think that the fluency illusion is real. You can't compare it to a toothpaste advert. That's different.
Anyway, I will try to be less annoyed about it or watch fewer videos. The forums are still fun. They have a different vibe. (I hope my English is OK. I am still learning)
Don't let ignorant trash effect your life girl. The problem with the internet is stupid people also get to voice crap opinions, just remember some people are just haters. Keep being your seemingly wonderful self. Thank you for a glimpse into other places also :)
It's all just jealousy, honestly.
I do wanna point out, that she was like that probably not even a year ago to this man called Laoshu, I'm not hating on her but I'm just amazed at the 180 that she has more or less done since then. She used to criticize the man for not being as fluent in Mandarin as she was, although the man never claimed to be an expert in a lot of languages he speaks and he was very humble about it. This is just something I wanted to add.
@@reflex9238 well you do know what happened to him? Mightve been that that changed perspective. Who knows.
@@luqmuhmmad2616 Yeah I know about what happened to him and rest in peace to him, I hope his family have recovered from it. I still felt the need to point this out because I do feel that she never addressed this 180 directly in a video and why she changed her opinion. Its definitely something I never thought that would've been what changed her mind, but I did find it somewhat hypocritical when she started doing the same thing she disapproved Laoshu of doing.
Spoken like a Taylor swift fan.
"SHAKE THEM HATERS OFF GIRL YAAAS QUEEN"
These videos are so wholesome! I don't see how you could take offence. It shows people connecting over culture lines through language. It's super inspiring!
People who speak other languages
Very cool
The number of Japanese people who speak various languages has increased.🤔
thank you for this awesome video
anming❤️❤️❤️
Thanks Emi! Are you going to try Swahili too?
Emi Emi- I speak fluent English and Chinese. But I do not know Japanese :)
@@OrientalPearl you should learn Swahili. I'm currently learning Spanish and Chinese.. Thanks to you!! Your videos are an inspiration. Regards from Kenya 🇰🇪
@@vick.8671 If more people knew that HAKUNA MATATA is Kiswahili, that might encourage further interest
"Speak" and "master" are different things. A person can speak a language without having mastered it yet, as you do in Chinese. You've got Bradley Copper, he speaks French, and he's pretty good at it in certain subjects, but he has not mastered it whatsoever. I think it is important to point out that difference.
People have the right to upload videos while they are still learning the language they want to show. Criticizing people just for not being masters in the language they're speaking on their videos is pointless; nobody starts learning a language from advanced level. I love Wouter's channel for that, just because he's full of motivation and willing to learn more, not because he speaks perfectly all the languages he uses on his videos.
It also encourages people who are at the same low level. People who are fluent look out of reach to those wanting to learn. Those at basic level look more attainable and it shows the awkwardness and struggles they go through and it shows we can do it too regardless of those struggles.
True, I am a one language speaker, and know that language pretty poorly. All I have to do is open up the unabridged webster's Dictionary and realize that I know very few of the 450,000 WORDS. But most people don't realize that most people ARE NOT wordsmiths and MOST humans know very little of their own languages let alone other languages.
I would never criticize a person for not being a master. That is why we learn.
And the road to mastery can be fascinating, and a worthwhile subject in itself. So when someone is presenting their life in a country and doing their best to use the language, what’s to criticize? Absolutely nothing.
And encouraging people to get interested in languages and learn them? Wonderful!
On the other hand, sometimes I do find some of these videos annoying. Not because of “colonialism” or anything, but when they make false claims to promote themselves. For example, I speak pretty fluent Greek. I’m also learning Vietnamese. My Vietnamese still sucks, and I’m fine with that. But I would be really uncomfortable claiming that I spoke Vietnamese and then filming myself finding random Vietnamese people on the street to tell them I really like phở and bánh mì in pidgin Vietnamese. Which is essentially what Wouter did with Greek.
Now, were any Greeks actually harmed because he did that? Of course not. Did he somehow “colonize” Greece? Nope. But as someone who can tell the difference between actually speaking Greek and repeating a few phrases, it just seemed kind of dorky to me.
There’s no law against being dorky, and maybe it’s my problem; maybe I should be more relaxed about being publicly dorky. :-) It’s that point where dorkiness and low-key dishonesty meet, that feels a bit cringeworthy.
@@sazji how did colonization come into the convo.
@@DarkAngel2512
2.52
The so called 'critic' brought it up
As a polyglot myself, fluent in 6 languages I don't like people who claim to speak a certain language when they only learn some sentences by heart and then spit them out to people on the street without any context. I've heard Walter saying things like "burrito, guacamole, fiesta, yo hablo poquito espanol" and then pretending he knows how to speak spanish.
I don’t like that stuff either.
Yes, I really thought they would speak all these languages in the beginning but then realized, they don't do. They just learn some sentences or read while filming, it's just a basic level if even. That's just not my understandig of "speaking". I'm around A1/2 in Spanish but I don't claim to speak it, I can't. I can somehow express what I like to say (missing all time forms) and get simple talk by others (like this guy, my spanish is about the same level, his german skills are rather low either), but that's not "speaking". I can speak german and english, there is a great difference to A1/2
Yes exactly this. There needs to be a differentiation between “speaking” fluently and just talking a few phrases
But
What about at the end where he was literally speaking Spanish? Does that just not count??
I mean sure you could suspect that he was reading off a script or something but I'm pretty sure you can't prove it so isn't it better to just believe him?
@@H-DA Here's the thing - there's ALSO a difference between speaking and being fluent
You're not fluent (at least, you weren't 2 months ago - I can tell from some of your grammar) but you absolutely can speak. It didn't take me any extra effort to understand what you were trying to say, and even if it had I would be glad that you spent the effort to learn my language, because I definitely don't speak yours
En la misma idea, mi español no es perfecta. Hago muchos problemas y no sé muchas palabras pero problamente puede leer mi mensaje? Y puedo tener un conversacion con una hispanahablante. Pues no necesito ser perfecto. La idioma es para hablar, y puedo hablar, entonces puedo usar la idoma
Imagine being angry at someone for speaking another language
The people that are angry are just jealous.
Go to America, lol. You dont have to imagine it. Speak a little Spanish and some ignorant idiots get very sensitive 😂. Sadly not difficult to imagine.
@@atonegames you missed his whole comment lmfao, hes not talking about racist people mad your not talking in their language lmfao, hes talking about polygots complaining about other polygots talking in other languages and making video titles they dont like, well different mate.
I think the gist of this, really, is people who claim more linguistic ability than they really have. Not anger at people who actually can speak the languages they profess.
it's silly, isn't it ?
This is just weird to me. I'm South African, and we have 11 official languages here. Seeing people speak multiple languages here is the norm, even if it's not one of our official languages (like French, for example), especially considering the amount of foreigners that are here. I do agree, though, that some titles for certain polyglot videos are indeed quite strange.
True true
When I heard Japan's foreigner population is 2% was crazy considered I'm south african
@@omo708. Aweh, bru. It's seriously that low? Eish.
honestly, anybody who claims that they "speak" more than 5-8 languages is either flat out lying, or they're stretching the definition of "speaking a language" to a ridiculous extent. Excuse me, but being able to introduce yourself and talking about the weather or asking a stranger for directions with a horrendously unintelligible accent isnt exactly what i would consider "being able to speak a language". On the other hand, if someone spent +5 years learning a single language and reached a near native level, then that person has every right to do whatever he/she wants, they can show off as much as they want because they earned it.
80s: "tolerance and learn about other cultures"
2020: "its my culture, stop learning about it"
This is what the left have created.
@@christopherjenkins1882 No im not. Im 100% correct. Everybody is saying the world has gone crazy lately, everybody hates the media, all the crazy stuff going on is created by the left.
Lol you cant win 😂
Don't let dumb ass people win with their dumb ass reason
2020 is more like “it’s not my culture but I can tell you not to learn it”
I have been trying to learn Chinese for about two years, and to be honest there were many times I felt like quitting. However, it was thanks to the content of Oriental Pearl and other UA-camrs I decided to continue. I am far from fluent, but whenever I meet Chinese people or go to my local Chinese restaurant, I get genuine smiles and appreciation for going out of my way to learn how to better communicate with them - and that's gold for one who struggles to learn. Ultimately I practice Chinese because I love reading Chinese history, culture and just meeting more people on a personal level.
Chinese, can be mean many, Madarin I presume, Cantonese is much harder ;)
@@MrAlan1828 是的，我主要是学习普通话。我还没准备好粤语哈哈
@@martinp3166 你现在啥hsk水平呢?
@@cubecomber9162 我现在只有hsk 3 😅
Wow, I’m so glad to hear that these videos kept you from giving up!
Learning a language is cultural appreciation and very respectful. It's a great way to connect with people from other cultures as human beings. It demystifies people's perceptions of 'the exotic'
Honestly I want to learn lots of languages fluently. It isn’t to impress anybody. I’m not learning a language for people to be like “wow you speak this language? That’s amazing”. It’s because I want to be able to communicate easier with people who are in other countries. It would be easier to speak to people in Japanese than English if you’re in Japan. Honestly videos where people go out on the streets and have conversations, it makes me more motivated to learn languages. It seems so fun and fascinating to be able to communicate with others in a different way.
! 💯 Love all the support and positive energy the world needs more of that for sure! Also Hey what's the picture in your icon it's epic beautiful art with beautiful words!
That's the difference with Wouter, he doesn't do it for himself or to get closer to other cultures he does it for the wow-factor.
I speak four languages and understand quite a few more through the foundation that these have given me.
In almost all of the languages he speaks whenever he meets people he just repeats the most stereotypical aspects of that country/culture.
He'd meet a Brazilian person and says "Football, Ronaldinho, Caipirinha, Rio de Janeiro, yes football, samba sambaaaa!"...
He does it every single time. He doesn't actually speak those languages, he has just memorised phrases and the most stereotypical elements of a country.
The fact that his English is as bad as it is while it's the language closest to his mother tongue next to German says enough.
What I don't get is... why should it be wrong to "show off" great language skills by posting videos of it? If someone is good at something, it's ok to be proud, to show it, and to get well deserved attention. Learning a language takes a lot of work, probably just like any other impressive skill
@dacrosber I don't think that is the reason. At least I hope it isn't. I think seeing greatness always has the downside that you get very aware of what you have not achieved yourself. People can take that as motivation or get tesentful about it. The latter is certainly a lot easier.
Hahah this is so true, that's like telling people at the olympics that they're 'showing off' their skills by earning a golden medal or some shit. These people are just ignorant and jealous
@@AwkwardTurtle10 Haha, I like that comparison very much!
@@AwkwardTurtle10 Not really, it's the equivalent of someone doing a fast 100 meter sprint and calling themselves the fastest marathon runner.
Or somebody who's only practiced layups calling themselves the best basketball player ever.
If you're amazing at one single aspect of anything that's great for you but it doesn't make you good at the real deal.
I could call myself the best Spanish speaker in the world because I have mastered the word Burrito, but that doesn't actually make me a Spanish speaker.
@@kaihocompany nobody mentioned being the 'best' at anything. I think you missed the point of their discussion maybe, but it was about people hating on UA-camrs (like the yt'ers in the video) showing off their skill of knowing a foreign language or multiple languages and then being called attention seekers or other nasty things that don't make sense. They never said they were the best at speaking Japanese or anything like that
Those of us who DON'T speak multiple languages appreciate the "fish out of water" aspect of these videos. I would love to be fluent in many languages, and visiting countries where I can use my knowledge. But I've found that in every country I've visited, you definitely open doors from attempting to speak the local language.
I would have loved to have heard Moses thoughts on this. He inspired countless people with his videos and brought smiles to so many faces.
I think haters are going to hate, regardless of the topic. Keep loving, keep laughing, keep learning languages; it brings us all together.
Rip
She never acknowledges him. I don't think she was a fan. Also she is the one that always seems bitter and bothered about other language learners.
His Mandarin is not great and his other languages is very beginner level, but to be fair Moses also do not claim to be great in all the languages he speaks. His videos are kinda entertaining and inspiring for new learners especially to overcome shyness however if I'm serious in learning a new language, I wouldn't learn from him. RIP
@@mocmocmoc13 are you kidding me? He studied Mandarin for 18 years, he was native level and even his pronunciation was spot on most of the times. You could say his Spanish, French, Arabic etc were not great, but Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese were his strengths!!
@@Stopitgetsomehelp3012 I know, for 18 years it's not that great, far from "native level". His cantonese is quite bad too but I have no idea how long he's been speaking it. I'm also holding him to a higher standard as he offers courses on these languages.
I'm a polyglot in progress. It's a passion. It's a huge interest since young. These videos motivate me and inspire me. Laoshou (may he rest in peace) was a huge motivation into getting me and keeping me on track w learning more language while practicing the ones I already know. Then his videos led me to you guys and others. These people complaining are just upset that they don't have the popularity, if they did you wouldn't hear peep. It's just people looking to complain about something. I think it's projection.
i miss Moses, your text makes me cry.
@@Miembr0 same. He was so inspiring.
In my personal opinion, mastering a single second language shows more dedication and it more fulfilling than learning 20 to knowing how to say things like: How are you? I like x country. Whats your name?” But thats just a personal thing. I understand people enjoy the idea of being able to have basic conversations with people from a bunch of different countries. I guess it all depends on what you want to do with the language.
so how many languages that you're fluently speaking?
You’re not a “polyglot in progress.” What languages besides English do you speak to fluency?
For a person to have the ability to speak multiple languages and share that with others is something I find fascinating! Why some people get annoyed with that is beyond me.
Honestly, keep doing what you do - both of you. As long as the interviewee/subjects agree with being filmed, fun interactions where people can connect make for great memories and learning experiences. And it’s inspiring too. Languages are like riding bikes - if you’re very academic and private at it, but never go out and ride? You’ll fall and fail.
I like your bike metaphor.
I never really thought there was an issue with people talking in many languages. People that have an issue with other people knowing too many languages are just jealous. I know 4 languages and speak them fluently.
That guy doesn't speak 29 languages. He just knows script and repeat them. That's it.
isnt that how you learn languages lmao i have to repeat paragraphs of chinese in my class all the time to be able to learn and have context of the words im saying. its still impressive
I think that is still impressive. he does note that it is only 6 languages he has "deep conversational level with"
@@AntiAnathema I would be surprised if he isn't overselling those 6.
Yeah thats how every language works you learn words and sentences and use them
@@ancientstarfruit no, it absolutely is not
My eyes rolled so far back in my head, I watched my own birth. You guys are all awesome. Do your thing, show folks the world, and make your money. There are some people that are far to butthurt about everything. Professional outrage is gross.
Glade to see you and another inspiring video. Many years ago I lived in Germany and was lost speaking no German. I took the time just to learn the basics and what a difference. I wasn't lost and enjoyed my time much better. I think it's beneficial to learn different languages it can help. Take care till next time 😇
Thanks for sharing! I hope you watched to the end to hear him speak German.
I totally sympathise with Wouter regarding long-term residents not becoming skilled in the language of the land... HOWEVER, this really needs some context. There are a number of countries in the world where it's very common to find people with a high level of proficiency in English (as non-native speakers). The Netherlands is king among these, but the Nordic countries all rank strongly in this regard. A - possibly resident - anglophone starts speaking to the local in their language, only to find that the local has replied - and continues to reply - in English. As this is often meant as a courtesy, it's hard to press said local into speaking their own language, so the anglophone can practise. This creates a conundrum, which I experienced, living for 4 months in a rural part of the Netherlands (the island of Texel). The longer one is living in said place, the deeper one's relationships become, and the more advanced one's need for proficiency becomes, wanting to express more and more complicated ideas. But, having been regularly dissuaded from speaking the local language, by well-meaning locals, one's lack of proficiency becomes more apparent. THEN, the same well-meaning locals will ask you why you haven't made more of an effort to learn their language. This can arise from 3 different causes, all of which stymie one's language learning goals. 1) As above, one's interlocutor is genuinely trying to be helpful. Not wanting to seem ungrateful, and/or welcoming the convenience, conversation continues in English... serially, one situation after another, with different people. 2) Your interlocutor lacks the patience to wait for one to struggle to express themselves, and switch to their better English, for their own convenience... although generally trying to make it SEEM like they had intended it as a courtesy. 3) Your interlocutor simply can't bear to hear their native language spoken badly, and seek refuge in their (better) English, lest one's imperfect pronunciation and grammar pollute their ears. Iceland is rich with such "language snobs". One will also find this in France, most especially in Paris. I've experienced this as an anglophone Canadian (French is my second, and best among my additional languages). MOST insultingly, I've been told by Canadian francophones that this happens to them as well! It's a pretty strong insult when someone would rather speak their second language with you - rather than your SHARED first language - because they find your articulation of the latter as offensive to their ears!! Bringing this full circle, Wouter must appreciate that foreigners must risk chronically offending people in the short term - "But, I'm trying to do you a favour" - in order to avoid offending people in the long term - "Why don't you speak Dutch yet?" - as a resident.
Very excellent points and good knowledge of the problems of English-speaking language learners in countries like the Netherlands. I've experienced the same.
knowledge of many languages opened many doors in the world, especially in my profession - symphonic conductor…I speak: English,Deutsch, 日本語, polski, русский and українською🇺🇦my native…
just those people who criticize polyglots - envy.
there are definately some ego issues creeping into it, however i do feel that exchange between cultures can be win/win for everyone. I feel like a western person or any person actually learning a hard language like chinese or japanese is a sign of respect for the culture you are learning the language from.
Exactly. All of these polyglots have HUGE egos.
Since I’ve never lived in a country where I stuck out as a foreigner I didn’t realize that the type of street videos you make are basically your everyday experience. From that perspective, that makes so much sense.
Its actually very encouraging to show ppl able to speak other languages. Without ppl like you showing this skills ppl wont have the push they need to pickup other languages.
I know poly means “many”, so technically as long as you are fluent in 2 languages, I guess you can be called a polygot. For me, most ppl are either monolingual, bilingual, or trilingual. So I use the term polygot for ppl with fluency in 4 or more languages. You have English, Japanese, Mandarin, and now you are learning Korean. In my book that def makes you a polygot or you are on your way to becoming a polygot once you achieve fluency in Korean.
I guess the issue is when can you say you “know” a language, considering they are various levels of fluency. Based on my experience growing up in a multilingual family, I will say if you can’t at least understand a movie in your target language without subtitles, you don’t know that language and can’t claim to “speak” that language.
With that said, I also feel ppl greatly underestimate what it means to speak 20+ languages on an A1-A2 level. There is more to A1-A2 then saying “hello my name is damacx” lol. I know too many ppl who took French or Spanish for 5-6 years, and still STRUGGLE to understand a basic conversation in real time scenarios, yet they will tell me they are at a strong B1 level lol.
There is nothing wrong with being a language dabbler, I love the concept of wanting to expose yourself to as many different cultures and groups of people as possible. As this video said, ppl have different goals of learning a language. At the same time, just like language dabblers should be equally respected (it is not as easy as ppl in the comments section like to say), the term polygot shouldn’t be abused and should be equally respected for the ppl that put in the work to achieve full fluency (can watch movies without subtitles, listen to music albums, read literature, etc). I mean at this point you got ppl calling themselves “hyperpolygots” lol, like really? To each their own.
*Hops off soap box*
Thank you! Once I get about a year in for studying Korean, I’ll take the title. Lol
Poly means 5, you're a polyglot when you speak 5 languages or more
@@papaparde8606 poly doesn’t mean five
@@papaparde8606 poly means more or several.
@@papaparde8606 Poly doesn't mean 5. It means 'multiple'. A polymer is a chemical of multiple monomers. Polytechnics teach multiple technical-level subjects (as opposed to say, a college of education or medicine). A Polymath is someone who has mastered multiple fields of knowledge like mathematics, languages and architecture etc
So a polyglot can be someone who speaks at least 2-3 languages fluently along with dialects and slangs etc as well.
I think it comes down to intentions. A more positive intention to learn a language is wanting to genuninely connect with others. But if your intention is to impress people, get validation and boost your ego, then that's not a positive intention in my books.
When it comes to learning new languages, one shouldn't have to justify themselves to anyone for their reasons to do so. It promotes the mentality that one should act their own race instead of entering into another foreign culture and being seen as some kind of intruder/poser. English being the official international language of the world and the many people that speaks it proves just how versatile and easy it is to learn compared to the many other major languages of the world, so it's not surprising that the locals aren't shocked when a foreigner who's first language is not English manages to speak it
But other languages, especially Chinese and Japanese are some of the hardest languages in the world to learn. So it's understandable that the locals might feel impressed, even proud that a foreigner managed to take an interest in their language and culture, but it's not meant to make others feel uncomfortable. I don't get how anyone could view learning a complex language as some kind of liability instead of an advantage. Official translators for example, especially those that work under the head of state is a high paying top level career, they don't just let anyone do it, one needs to have a general affinity for learning languages to even have a shot
One cannot curb their desire to learn just to placate societal norms or for vanity sake
I'm a retired ESL teacher. One comment I read several times in grad school was that one of the reasons English and Spanish have spread so far and are so popular as second languages is that one can mangle the grammar pretty badly and still be understood. You can't do that in many other languages.
For me it's a complete non issue. Knowing other languages is a marvelous thing. You guys are great. I love these videos. Avoid clickbait obviously. The critics are likely monolingual English.
My experiences are not average, but I must agree. Monolingual English speakers seem seriously over represented when it comes to anything negative about languages and language learning.
Learning language is hard work, u deserve recognition for the effort
Thank you so much. I appreciate that. I hope you subscribe today and enjoy more of my videos.
To be perfectly honest, Wouter is precisely one of those people who make me question the validity of some of these channels. As a fellow Dutchman, I've bumped into his channel and i can't help but notice that he navigates conversations by sticking to a script of very few basic phrases, occasionally throwing in arguments he's prepared, kind of out of the blue, with people he talks to often clearly bemused as to why the telling them that specific thing. And if they start talking beyond the basics, he is often utterly lost. Since it occurs in languages I often don't know myself, it's hard to judge if this is an attempt at giving an impression of fluency when it isn't there or just a personal take on things.
Hearing him claim that he speaks 29 languages.. To then clarify that he is fluent in six.. I have to wonder if most of those others aren't just "known" at a very, very basic level, in a "my name is.. where is the toilet?" kind of way.
I speak 4 languages fluently and have a pretty good understanding/chance of understanding Spanish and German on top of those 4. I would never claim to speak either of those 2 languages even if i can get around and follow conversations in both.
To me, when I see it happen, it smacks of gimmicky grandstanding.
Likewise I've seen videos of the departed Moses McCormick talking in the languages I do speak and doing this at a very basic level.
Which didn't help fostering trust in what these people are saying, Especially if they happen to be promoting a sponsor who happens to peddle a language learning tool.
That said, I do appreciate the social impact and relevance of what they are doing, and understand that they have to make a living. I appreciate that to speak to someone in their own language is always a step in the right direction towards a multicultural society.. And i get the entertainment value, or I wouldn't be watching these videos to begin with.
I also understand how the UA-cam algorithms work.. And that these channels do foster curiosity towards learning languages.
I just wish that some of these people, including Wouter were a little less sensationalistic in their titles, and a little bit more honest and transparent with their fluency in the various languages.
Amen!
"Hearing him claim that he speaks 29 languages.. To then clarify that he is fluent in six.. I have to wonder if most of those others aren't just "known" at a very, very basic level, in a "my name is.. where is the toilet?" kind of way." Yeah I agree, honestly. I appreciate he wants to learn all these languages, but I would rather he just be upfront and say he's only fluent in six and learning more.
@@scathach2815 He seems very attached to that number. He mentions it everywhere.
I think this is a very well-rounded perspective from another Dutchman lol
@@OrientalPearl I am a Dutchie too.
I'm currently in my first year of uni, and just starting my journey of learning Chinese. However, I recently lost basically all my passion and wasn't able to focus on anything for all my semesters. However, i'm slowly getting back into a better and healthier mentality, and part of that is because of these videos. They're super inspirational to someone like me
That’s amazing! You’re starting around the same time I did.
@@OrientalPearl omg, you just made me even more hopeful to succeed😂. You've honestly helped me have such a harder working mind. Thank you 💜
I think its cool that people learn to speak other languages even if its just on a basic level for the most part. The issue with some polyglot yters is that they say that they speak "14 languages fluently" even tho they might speak 3-4 languages fluently or atleast at a very good level, the rest of the languages they just know the basic conversational skills of. But they won't tell you that cuz they are trying to sell you their product so that you also can become fluent in 10+ languages. It's more inpressive with someone that can speak at mastery level in say 5 languages, but that just doesnt sound as cool i guess.
I very much enjoy your videos, Anming. I find them to be much more honest and compelling to watch than those of the "polyglots" who learn the same 5 "getting to know you" phrases in dozens of languages. I set myself the goal of fluency in German, since it is my heritage (northern Wisconsin), and after 20+ years, I am still learning the nuances of the language. (Will I EVER be able to be "casually funny" in German, without causing an awkward silence in the room???!!!) To me, this is much more satisfying than being able to say, "Hi. Where are you from?" in 20 different languages. I know, to each their own. Keep up the good work!
First, please ignore the critics. I started watching UA-cam because of the pandemic. I started watching you and then subscribed because I admire your language skills. I have always wanted to learn two languages, but because I don't travel there is no way of becoming fluent. So keep up the good work and good vlogs. From Pennsylvania.
Thanks! I hope you enjoyed the topic.
You do believe you can become fluent without travelling, dont be discourage!!
Jack of all trades, master of none.
Language is not just words, it's an expression of the culture, and way of life.
Not bothering to speak it PROPERLY like WuteverChudwiener does, is a huge disrespect to the culture and way of life of the people, of the language he claims to speak!
Seen a lot of these polyglot video's and noticed that some of them claiming to speak a language, but they only can have a two minute chat about some city's, a popular sportsteam and the local food. And there it ends. This way I also can claim to speak ten languages, but speaking only three languages fluent.
This was my irritation with Laoshu and the fact that he makes money off "teaching." His Mandarin and Cantonese was ok, but you could easily tell when he got lost. Any other language, it was as you say.
Exactly this! Or claiming to speak PERFECT but only can speak touristy phrases. Its clickbait-y
This is my issue with Wouter here. He's not fluent in absolutely every language that he claims to be fluent in.
@@KYLgonk I'm not sure he's claimed to be fluent in most of his languages. I think he'd be the first to downplay his ability outside his top 6. Like, he'd freely admit his Mandarin is very basic.
@@AccountInactive Wtf are you talking about his mandarin was really good and his Cantonese pronunciation was almost perfect. He also spoke many of my languages very well, like Arabic, Swedish and German. It's not easy, don't disrespect the goat.
I'm glad that you brought up non-western youtubers making the exact same type of videos. Being able to speak multiple languages is such a beautiful thing. I would absolutely love to have the ability to connect with people in their own language, because I am so interested in other people and other cultures. There will always be people who look down on this type of content, but they have no place to dictate your actions. Keep up the great work.
The thing which annoys me the most about some polyglots is that they claim to “speak” the languages. However, they just pretend to “know” the languages by speaking a few phrases. Yes, they probably took some courses of the languages but that doesn’t make them speakers of those languages. Personally, being able to “speak” refers to capable of making a small talk casually. Nonetheless ,some of them speak even less than basic , they just kept on repeating the same sentences to different interviewees.
17:07 "Mein Deutsch ist nicht fließend (glaube ich), aber die Gedanken fließen in meinem Kopf" is honestly a great sentence!
in 'meinem', no less! wp wouter!
Trying to use my pitiful German to guess here: "My German is not fluent, but in my head the thoughts flow"
Am I close?
@@meadish You are spot on, correct! :) Good Job!
Haters gonna hate Anming, I love that you share your experiences with us.
This is true! I know it just comes with putting stuff on the internet.
The cringe about those videos is that:
* many languages they are not good at them they just use cheap tricks to railroad the conversation. It's basically, *short introduction*, I like your country/national food, let the other person talk back, whatever they answer, just move on to the next subject like "I like your national soccer team *name of famous player*" and/or just edit a cut in your video.
You can see it when he "speaks" Malay. The other guy looks confused like, 'what is talking about?', and they play it like 'he's so confused I can speak his language'.
He says he knows 6 languages at conversational level which is actually a pretty low level, far from fluent.
* also when you're a super polyglot you'd expect people to do something cool about it like traveling in foreign countries, not doing cheap tricks on the street.
As someone who is trying to learn as many languages as possible I had given up on chinese and started working on my Swedish. Japanese (I mean kanji) was challenging enough let alone Chinese. After I saw your videos I was motivated to continue chinese. I am a lucky one because I try to talk with strangers as much as possible when we go on vacations or when I see strangers but on my parents' supervision since im a minor. And the people around me were anything but jealous or judging, they all supported me and even sometimes friends ask me to help them too.
If you say "I can speak X language", most people take that to mean you are reasonably fluent in that language like high B or C level. I know how to greet someone in probably about 20 languages, I would never dream of saying I "speak" 20 languages. This is where it makes the entire thing feel cheap. If people that claim to be polyglots were more up front about this, I wouldn't have so much of a problem with it, but they're generally not. They mislead and play the UA-cam clickbait game, fooling people that don't really know much about the process of language learning. It's lying by omission, so I personally choose not to engage with that type of content.
I think you’re right. With a really loose definition I also speak Spanish and Korean, but my level is so low I don’t think it’s right to claim I know it.
you got the point
I learn many languages as a hobby, I know basic phrases and I can make basic sentences in those languages, but I don't think I should tell people that I speak those languages
I always say that I know some basic
and IMO showing off basic skills on public places is good as long as you tell the truth,
don't tell people that you speak the language, it'd be better to tell people that you're gonna practice some basic conversation that you've learned so far
so instead of telling people to see how good you are or how fluent you are in foreign language/s, you tell people to see your process of learning and practicing to keep people motivated to do the same or even better
This is exactly it. I have no problem with someone saying "I know some words in 29 languages", or "I've studied 29 languages and speak X of them fluently", or just "I speak some X". But to me it's a misrepresentation to say "I speak 29 languages" when all you can really do in most of them are the same few stock greetings.
i guess my question is whether or not its intentionally meant to be deceptive or he just has a very loose definition of "to speak a language". like on one hand it implies a lot more fluency than what is actually true, but he also seems to be upfront about no speaking them all super well? This also leads me to question why would one want to learn a language if you have no intention of ever approaching fluency
edit tip: isolate audio from the video, keep each audio source going per the best version so it doesn't sound like the audio sources are changing (I.e. we shouldn't hear Woulter from the iPad speakers ever, and vice versa). You'll need some room tone to keep the tracks clean so it doesn't sound like the audio is going up/down every time the primary sound changes, so to speak. This is hard to describe, sorry if it's confusing lol. Takes a bit more time to clean audio, but the pay off is great for the viewers
Uncultured people.. what you’re doing is amazing and gives me confidence to learn a new Language! Explore the world and connecting to all.
Stupid people want others to stop learning so they feel better about themselves, i really mean it
This shouldn't be a debate. Problem these days is that everyone is worried about hurting feelings. Those people need to learn to simply change the channel if they find something hurtful. Or maybe grow some thicker skin. Insanity.
I mean, I think there are some things that you can have a debate about.
I have no problem with Anming's videos, but there are some self proclaimed "polyglots" where it's pretty obvious that they don't really speak those languages.
Someone who just took a few hours to google some basic sentences in a foreign language to have the same basic conversations with different people on Omegle, but has no real intentions of learning the language is not really a polyglot, but a fraud.
No, some of us are still normal and don’t go out of our way to protect feelings.
Many people just like to whine and complain. Ignore them.
First of all, Pearl great videos, you come across so genuine. For me, mostly Laoshu and Xiaoma inspired me to try to learn a language myself (Turkish), even though I have never enjoyed language in highschool and having dyslexia. It is fun to surprise native speakers but in the end I also learned to enjoy grammar and all those things I used to hate. Just saying, these type of vids DID inspire me to learn a new language that is not close to my native speach.
Lausho is such a legend I miss him on UA-cam. May he rest in peace.
I found your channel through Xiaoma and love you both as the main languages you speak are at a super high level and I love watching your genuine conversations with locals. It inspires me to keep going with Korean when it gets hard. I love seeing how people light up when they hear you speak their language. It's wholesome.
I don't watch the ones where people claim they learnt a language in 2 days or where they only know tiny bits of random languages but are claiming to be fluent. Those aren't interesting.
I like the one Wouter did with the free tea if he didn't speak their language. You can tell it was also helping him practise and I love seeing the process.
I feel if everyone got interested in other languages and cultures the world would become a better place.
I’m not a polyglot, but I work in an IT sector that deals with all kinds of protocols being exchanged across the internet. Strangely enough, this has inspired a striving within myself to become more familiar with more… human protocols (languages) to deepen my appreciation for other cultures and languages and reinforce my understanding of both networking and fellow humans! Nice video! 👍🏻
Honestly, I enjoy them so much! As a Chinese person who speaks English, it’s great to see people learn our language and it’s funny to see the reactions! Also my parents doesn’t speak English (only Chinese) so when I show them the videos we have a good laugh lmao 😭
Before Laoshu died nobody wanted to collab but, after he passed certain famous youtubers shead crocodile tears. Learning and spreading love isn't always accepted in today's goldfish memory mainstream media tripe.
Looks like it. And the fact he wasn't seeking fame makes it even sadder
Exactly, especially Xiaomanyc and his other friends
@@AM-mv6ro what did xiaoma do wrong tho?
You had that Irish guy collab with Laoshu. Xiaoma, Frankie and Steve all wanted to meet Laoshu. Aswell as the others I imagine. I'm a learner but not a UA-camr and I imagined meeting Laoshu and Xiaoma. And I cried when Laoshu passed and still get choked up.
You will always get those who choose to get upset but also many others who are genuinely interested and find value and entertainment from others sharing their experiences of different cultures and languages. It’s a nice way to connect the world
I enjoy watching these videos. It shows other cultures and the honest joy the people get when you speak to them in their language.
I speak Hindi, English and Spanish at native level. I'll learn Swedish, Japanese and German after high school ,not now as I have to crack JEE and I need to focus a lot on STEM for two years right now.
I was studying Japanese in high school for two years. I want to study French now
@@lovelyfluer that's great. Unfortunately in India it's impossible to continue multiple tracks like STEM and languages together because the system is rigorous and compartmentalised
Very interesting to hear the feeling of a polyglot. I speak two languages, Japanese and English, and a little French, but I usually say I'm bilingual not polyglot. People usually show favorable reactions when you speak other languages, but I have encountered situations when people showed dislike or resentment. When I met my old high school friend, he told me that he hated people who spoke English, I was really shocked. Since then, our friendship was not quite the same anymore. 😰
The thing is, sometimes people are surprised when someone speaks English. It all just depends on the audience and the context. For example, in the Korean entertainment world, fans often make a big deal out of a Korean celebrity speaking English when they weren't expected to. But if it's a celebrity who was born in and/or studied in an English-speaking country, it's not that big of a deal.
I've been a subscriber of Wouter's for years. He's like the perfect ambassador for polyglots, always very honest about his ability and fun too, not egotistical or cocky.
I was lucky to be exposed to many languages and cultures as a child, so always fantasized about being able to talk with anyone.
More of it
I studied French, German, and Latin when I was younger. I’ve always loved learning new languages. I think everyone should learn a different language as it also makes you learn more about your native one.
Wouter is misleading. He should only be promoting that he knows 6 languages. That's already impressive on its own. He shouldn't be claiming he learned 29 languages when he can only say hi how are you and maybe some other basic phrases with a very horrible pronunciation that sounds like gibberish. If that's what it means to know a language then there are tons of polyglots in the world then lol.
I think this is a good discussion topic.
Fact, I can say some things in Spanish and Arabic but I don't consider myself fluent
Agree DV
I AGREE! It's like saying you're a millionaire when you have 1,000,000 pennies.
What is misleading about saying "I speak 29 language" always IMMEDIATELY followed by "in different levels, I'm fluent in 6, and have different degrees of fluency in the other 23 [...]" ?
As soon as that guy mentioned colonialism he's revealed his deeply rooted self hatred, indoctrinated attitude and nihilism, all hidden and wrapped up tightly in a gloss of self righteousness and arrogance.
These videos are popular, friendly, fun and endearing to name a few things, regardless of whether or not some like it.
…he’s literally quoting criticism on polyglot youtubers when he said that
He's pissed off that I'm his wife's boyfriend.
He'll get over it.
Sharing is caring.
The natives are shocked and appreciative and respectful however the non natives get mad and ask to stop..... What a world to be living in 🤦♂️
Keep shocking natives and spread the love for languages ✌️.. Respect from Sudan
Sending love from Japan to Sudan.
I personally have a problem with channels like Wouter's because their videos go beyond just clickbait into actually lying. His most popular videos are all scripted and even then the quality of his language is very low in almost all languages he speaks in his videos, yet the title will be something like "Polyglot speaks over 20 languages fluently with natives". Clickbait channels like yours or xiaoma's whose videos are all "white people speaks fluent X" are perfectly fine in my opinion as your level is very high and it is impressive.
This is a fair comment. Many people share this opinion. In general I don’t like when other youtubers that are non-native say they speak “perfectly”.
> Clickbait channels like yours or xiaoma's whose videos are all "white people speaks fluent X" are perfectly fine in my opinion as your level is very high and it is impressive.
Not really clickbaiting then.
Actually, I've been following Wouter's channel since 2018/2019 and I've never seen a title like that "speaks X number of languages fluently with natives". To be honest, I'm also following xiaoma and I really enjoy his contents but -he- has a lot of vids saying things like "I learned blabla language in 7 days/15 days". Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're just pointing your finger at the wrong direction, dude.
It is entertainment after all, content creators have to go trough all means to get the statistics up and keep the channel alive.
@@felipecamargo4879 Exactly, and that is why I'm not whatching his videos anymore.
The polyglot videos have been extremely important to my experience learning language and practicing with people.
Being able to connect with people who I otherwise never would know existed is a lovely idea, and seeing how comfortable many polyglots like Wouter have become speaking with strangers in their language has played an integral role in my confidence and language learning
I’m glad that the videos gave you confidence.
I find most of them cringy, but I don't care if they exist.
It seems like waving a flag of ignorance to be shocked by someone speaking multiple languages or speaking one we might not expect based on appearances. In many places, multilingualism is common and normal. Even in America, it used to be the norm for college-educated people to have at least some study of ancient and modern languages (Greek, Latin, Hebrew, French, etc.). Learning languages takes time, dedication, hard work, and talent, and that should be encouraged and respected. It's a intellectual/academic discipline and a practical tool, not some magic trick to gawk at or to use to rack up UA-cam views.
People throw around the term "polyglot" way too readily, too. How do you define it? There are different levels of fluency or mastery. How do you judge that someone actually knows or speaks a foreign language? This guy's German and French pronunciation are pretty rough, for example, the German is rambling, and the French sounds partially canned and memorized. To his credit, he says he's not fluent in German.
Wouter has stated several times he can have deep conversations in both German and French. I doubt that.
@@PetraStaal Language-learning isn't a contest, but, yeah, I'd like to actually see him and some of the other so-called UA-cam polyglots engage in real, fluent, unscripted converations with total strangers, going beyond basic introductions, asking about the weather, etc. I learn languages for fun, and when people ask about it, I'm transparent about what I can and can't do in each one. But I'm not a UA-camr trying to rack up views and revenue :)
I think it's because people expect someone who speaks a foreign language to have a high level of fluency and not basic level or know a few words or greetings. I love languages ❤
I'm from germany and I love to see all these videos where people are able to speak different languages and try to talk to native speakers. For me it's not like "showing off" it's more like enjoying to watch the progress they made and I often can relate to the surprised reactions of the native speakers because german is not a language that many foreigners learn and if I see a refugee, a soldier, a tourist or whoever who tries to speak in German to me then I'm always happy to see people being interested in my culture. I personally think that making these videos of speaking to native speakers will actually help to motivate people to keep learning. I started to learn my girlfriends native language too a while ago and seeing a positive reaction of a native speakers is like a good feedback to me.
So keep up the good work 🤍
That’s wonderful! I’m sure many other Germans feel the same way when they meet foreigners studying their language.
Basically what these people on the internet are saying is “Learning a new language is fine but having a conversation with native speakers is cultural appropriation!” What?! Who the f*** spends years learning a skill just to “keep it to themselves” 😂. So what if I go to a Trade and learn to be a mechanic I’m not supposed to fix peoples cars? What if I get the opportunity to study abroad, I’m not supposed to learn the language to make my learning experience easier and to communicate with wonderful people? 🤦♂️
Never for a second did I think people would think learning other languages and polyglots are dumb and showing off, never even crossed my mind. We’ve reached a new low as humans😂😂
Had someone ask me last year to help him out a bit with italian (as I was planning on passing the C1 Celi4 so thought it might be good practise for myself. Even if he lied about his level which was much lower. He even asked himself)
So i explain to him what usually a C1 exam entails or in general language official exams because i would be mostly focusing on that (and using as an example my C1 cambridge exam from 2019)
I was called a show off (I'm fluent in spanish, catalan and french, studying a full degree in the UK/in english and was also taking german language classes)
I have never been able to shake off these words when i was just trying to be helpful (i was literally approached and asked for that too)
Reminded me when I was told it was dumb to read and buy books in different languages when I was younger...by my own direct family (well jokes on them I can even read novels in japanese now as well, and I'm pretty much the only one that was/is able to study abroad)
Not sure if it is jealousy or simply that they don't think before they open their mouth, but damn (and it's not like i actually show off as I say nothing about the languages i know until directly asked)
Needless to say i have no idea if he progressed or not with his italian, he was never serious when it came to actually studying it and i got tired of it real fast
After that i'm pretty much unwilling to help anyone ngl