"Not my mother tongue" play list

#1

What are some of your favourite songs in your target languages or just languages that aren’t your native languages? These are some of my favourite songs:

Persian
Behet Ghol Midam by Mohsen Yeganeh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDNDVtoJhik

Algerian Arabic
Zina by Babylone. I love the original as well but the cover by Ouidad is so beautiful, so I’ll give you the link for this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnNTYBsdpmc

Amharic
Darigne by Jano Band: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyHALnmGr5A

Greek
Koupes by Marina Satti: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l55LUEfnbX8

Tamazight
Sastanàqqàm by Tinariwen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vACZA9dGvV4

Kurdish
Kurdish Mashup by Yasin Yildiz & Hakim Lokman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEmnzJJqg5w

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#2

Not necessarily my absolute favourite but here’s my Eurovision edition:
German: Man gewöhnt sich so schnell an das Schöne by Nora Nova https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClMWl02cBVI
Swedish: Stad i ljus by Tommy Körberg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO9VUhn1TXk
French: Je n’ai que mon âme by Natasha St-Pier https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bK7Q-HsSA-4
Dutch: Soldiers of Love by Liliane Saint-Pierre https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84q4JUq2Z7E
Norwegian: Alle mine tankar by Silje Vige https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSO5zRXCsFQ
Greek: Ταιριάζουμε by Ευρυδίκη https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dM8osaJbIM

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#3

I have to say that I LOVE this thread. It is going to be one of my all time favourites! No more losing favourite songs on Facebook! Here are some of my favourites (and I will probably come back to add more).

Albanian - Alban Skenderaj - Nuk je vetem (Official Video 4K)
Macedonian - LOZANO - JAKO JAKO LYRIC 2018
Swedish - Lisa Ekdahl - Öppna upp ditt fönster
Icelandic - Mummi - Allt sem ég átti
Māori - WAIRUA - MAIMOA
Greenlandic - Nanook - Ingerlaliinnaleqaagut
Slovak - Adam Ďurica - Spolu
Polish - █▬█ █ ▀█▀ Sylwia Grzeszczak & Liber - Co z nami będzie
Welsh - Hen Ferchetan - Eden (geiriau / lyrics)

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#4

It’s interesting how some of the foreign music I listen to is hip-hop :sweat_smile:
What can I say?

Czech: Jednou To Budet Mít by Ektor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aal_FbRjycA
French: Lettre A Mon Public by Kery James https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWsilgLe1Q8
Serbo-Croatian: Ja Te Pjesmom Zovem by Hanka Paldum (the Slavica Ćukteraš version) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5esi5JdgOg
Slovak: Pancier by Separ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsgOVGiCDQE
Portuguese: Borbulhas De Amor by Fagner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BaEbiarmc8

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#5

I have a few favorites and then some bands that I really enjoy.

Almost anything from Daddy Yankee.
I also enjoy Nicky Jam quite a lot.
Nearly everything from Rammstein.
I also like Til Lindemann’s side project, aptly called Lindemann. I really like that this song can teach you German vocabulary: https://youtu.be/AVvjzQ5XHbo
And although it’s not necessarily a band, I like what the Creative Monkeyz from România come up with. For example:
https://youtu.be/KM7a6Ot9Qzk

I’ll think on this and add others as they come up.

-I would have added more links, but I currently can’t add more than two.

5 Likes
#6

Oooo! What a great topic.

I typically love darker and more obscure genres of metal, but find my taste varies widely in other languages. It’s bizarre and I love it.

Persian:
Homayoun Shajarian (Traditional) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2WtwKd5laU
Talangor Band (Fusion / Soundtrack) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1DMKdjf_RM&list=OLAK5uy_mMpbcAGd3QTSOA_vudDhFUMhL7r4lmRNA
Azadi (Persian Trap) https://open.spotify.com/user/1266177831/playlist/33jarDcib8ZITCGbxZJP9M

Ukranian:
Alyona (Hip Hop / Rap) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEOCYPrh3Xo

Albanian:
Saz’iso (Traditional / Folk?) https://saziso.bandcamp.com/album/at-least-wave-your-handkerchief-at-me-the-joys-and-sorrows-of-southern-albanian-song

French:
Throane (Post Black Metal) https://throane.bandcamp.com/

French/German/Dutch (song dependent - from Belgium):
Amenra (Post-Metal) https://churchofra.bandcamp.com/album/mass-vi

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#7

Yeah, I think this will be the most awesome multilingual playlist ever. So many great suggestions! I also love songs in Greenlandic and Inuktikut. For instance Imiqtaq by Riit (Inuktikut): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwMOytqRxGo.

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#8

Tried to post a few links but “new users are only allowed to post 2 links” :thinking:

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#9

Our friend Jared Gimbel knows Inuktitut!

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#10

I love listening to music in different languages even if I don’t understand them haha. So I’m very eager to get to know new music in this thread.

My recommendations are:

Estonian: Urban Symphony (don’t know their genre) - Rändajad

I think it’s really a pity that not many participants of the ESC nowadays sing in their mother tongue. There are so many languages that sound beautiful but most people seem to think that English is the better language to sing in since more people understand it.

Dutch: Eefje de Visser (Synthpop I would say?) - Bitterzoet

Swedish: Opeth (Progressive Metal) - Den Ständiga Resan

That song actually helped me to decide whether to study Swedish or Finnish.

French: Alcest (Shoegaze/Metal) - L’Eveil des Muses

Hungarian: Leander Rising (Metal) - Szomorú Vasárnap

Icelandic: Árstíðir - Himinhvel

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#11

You could try breaking up your links into separate posts.

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#12

I’ll wait until I can post like everyone else, spamming the thread doesn’t sound like a good idea.

#13

What a great idea. I love this thread. I’ve only listened to a few so far. Really loved the first one by Mohsen Yeganeh. I’m sure I am going to like a lot more once I have more time and can listen to all of them.

Since I can only post two links at a time at the moment, I’ll start with these two.

Mandarin: 曲婉婷 - 我的歌声里 Qu Wanting - Wo de ge sheng li https://youtu.be/w0dMz8RBG7g (Pop)
Turkish: Mor ve Ötesi - Bir derdim var https://youtu.be/kyRXWArpl8Y (Alternative Rock/Pop)

They are both pretty mainstream and quite popular in their countries. I don’t know any other songs by Qu Wanting, I just found this one at some point and thought it was so catchy and easy to sing along, which also makes it great for learning Mandarin. Mor ve Ötesi, on the other hand, is one of my favorite groups in general, not even just from Turkey. I like almost all of their songs.

4 Likes
#14

I’m glad that you liked Mohsen Yeganeh. Thanks for the link Mor ve Ötesi. That’s right up my alley! I love Turkish Alternative Rock/Pop.

When I lived in China I listened to a lot of Chinese pop music and one of my all time favourites is 默 by 那英: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABvAbpusRbc.

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#15

I love this thread as well. I have an eclectic musical taste. Just about all the songs have a particular memory associated with them.

Swedish:
“Sommartider” by Gyllene Tider https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beFPoiNn0Bs

German:
“Deine Blaue Augen” by Blumchen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE4PZcUfiwE

Spanish:
“El Dia Que Me Quieras” by Carlos Gardel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzEvjExJ1WU

Japanese:
“Cosmic Love” by Aikawa Nanase https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx78DCwQzYQ

Romanian (I think):
“Tango to Evora” by Malina Olinescu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AkRS7pIK8c

Neapolitan:
“Ninna Nanna” by Pink Martini https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JabGg_RH03g

Russian:
“I Remember a Wonderful Moment” sung by Alek Pogudin (poem by Alexander Pushkin) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S2OUA8pwTk&list=PLqixGlVXL3naJjo4cimxW_IF5z52ih8_a&index=85&t=0s

Korean:
“Candy” by H.O.T. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMsc7wGghy8

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#16

I have just changed you from being a new user to allow you to add links (I hope). I think it’s an automatic setting to stop random people signing up and spamming. An inconvenience, I know. It does help save us some work in moderation. Looking forward to hearing your recommendations! :slight_smile:

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#17

Singing pop songs is my favorite way of learning languages. It’s so exciting!

English: Vapor by 5 Seconds Of Summer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2IeGEEDMvs

Spanish: Cuánto Me Duele by Morat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BERCMdeS7uw

French: Ton combat by Arcadian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duEXbpglqXg

Greek: Κλείσε Τα Μάτια by Onirama https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcePpqdl6GA

Finnish: Onnellinen by Robin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WriqtZAwewI

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#18

This is such a excellent idea! I’ve enjoyed all the varied songs shared thus far,
but I’m not sure how much of my personal music tastes will be shared so I took a little time to narrow down my huge favorites list. In many cases I included both a modern popular song (that might interest a wider range of people), and a traditional song (or two) that, for me at least, represents the soul of the culture behind the language, I guess a song that would only sound right sung in the language and no other. For me I feel more immersed in the “spirit” of a culture, and receive a nuanced sense of that culture and its people through their traditional music often largely based on their history, and that helps me enjoy the language learning more fully - by adding another dimension to my immersive language study! I would be curious if anyone else can relate to this? I really enjoy folk traditions and culture, the stuff outside of globalization that really made each language/culture so distinct, and that is how I really got into languages in the first place I guess. I’d like to hear other’s experience/opinions. Hopefully some of you will like some of the songs I picked, and they will inspire you in your journeys with these languages as they have me! Where possible I included links of songs showing the lyrics either directly in the video or near the top of the comments for sing-along ease.

Swedish (this year): Victor Leksell - Svag
Swedish (60’s oldies): Hep Stars - I natt jag drömde något som
Norwegian (fun about being norsk!): Katastrofe - Typisk Norsk
Norwegian (beautiful old folksong in some west dialect): Bukkene Bruse - Målfrid mi fruve
Finnish (pop): Lauri Tähkä - Palavaa vettä
Finnish (folk/pop, polyphonic harmonies ~“Scandinavia meets Bulgaria”): Värttinä - Kylä Vuotti Uutta Kuuta
Finnish (fun, trad. accordion song): Säkkijärven Polkka (orig. Viljo Vesterinen)
German: Andreas Bourani - Auf Uns
German: Sportfreunde Stiller - Applaus, applaus
Dutch (hiphop): Gers Pardoel - Bagagedrager
Dutch (hiphop): Diggy Dex ft. JW Roy - Treur Niet (Ode Aan Het Leven)
Dutch (180 degrees now :slight_smile: ): Herman Emmink - Tulpen Uit Amsterdam
Swiss German (yodeling from heaven): Jodlerklub Wiesenberg - Land ob de Wolke
Ulster Irish + Scottish Gaelic (folksong from Rathlin Island): Altan - Dónal agus Mórag
Welsh (pop): Bryn Fon - Y Gan Gymraeg
Welsh (male choir trad.): Myfanwy
Welsh (deserves a 3rd, because it is the Land of Song!): Katherine Jenkins - Calon Lan
Hungarian (folksong, stirring rhythm): Sebestyén Márta & Muzsikás - Hidegen Fújnak a Szelek
Bulgarian (pop with kaval): МИРО - Печат от моята душа
Bulgarian (folksong): Bre, Petrunko (Koutev Bulgarian National Ensemble)
Greek (old song): Γιάννης Κατέβας - Τα Γιασεμάκια σου
Greek (another, such a classic Greek sound and voice): Γιάννης Κατέβας - Φεύγουνε τα χρόνια
Turkish (Turk pop): Gülşen - Bangır Bangır
Turkish (one of my fav folksongs, from Manisa): Hey Buğdayım Buğdayım
Georgian (1 of many great songs by this folk-pop group): Mgzavrebi - Zurgchanta
Georgian (famous folksong): Suliko (სულიკო)
Chechen: лорса лида-лоам
Circassian (for a real challenge): Айдамир Эльдаров - Си дахэцӏыкӏу

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#19

Songs have been my major source of inspiration in language learning. To the extent that my first summer job was an assistant manager in a CD store selling world music. Then I started collecting locally released CDs and occasionally cassettes of rare recordings. Once in a while I go through playlists to keep myself updated on modern artists around the world, so thanks everyone for your suggestions! Thanks to Richard for the excellent management of the forum and the conference! Here’s a sample selection of videos I enjoyed in the past few years.

Language: Song title (Artist name) - Country, Year

Arabic: Ya Rabb (Marwan Khoury & Carole Samaha) - Lebanon, 2008

Danish: Lysår (Bjørnskov) - Denmark, 2013


Venner For Evigt /Friends forever/ (Bjørnskov) 2014

Tamil: Tamizhi (Hiphop Tamizha) - India, 2019


Sarvam Thaala Mayam /Rhythm is everywhere/ (Haricharan, Arjun Chandy) - India, 2019

Somberi (Havoc Brothers) - Malaysia, 2018

Amharic: Tikur Sew (Teddy Afro) - Ethiopia, 2012

Kinyarwanda: Yves na Yvette (Here4Luv, Belgian humanitarian project “Musicians without borders”) - Rwanda, 2017

Croatian: Djeca Ljubavi (Novi Fosili) - Yugoslavia, 1990

Malagasy: Lasany Vazah (Elidiot feat. Mijah) - Madagascar, 2019

Ukrainian: Balada pro princessu (Ruslana) - Ukraine, 1998

Breton: Gortoz a ran (Denez Prigent/Lisa Gerrard) - France, 2002

Italian: Ciao Amore (Nino D’Angelo) - Italy, 1986

Russian: Prodavets kukol (Velvet) - Russia, 2010

Mongolian: Durvun Uliral (Bold) - Mongolia, 2011

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#20

Neapolitan: Jazz version of 120 yr old classic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8U0Ge5FoQRA
Massimo Ranieri: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9cUUpbC4BA&list=PLK64pCfs9DJE9GNpoXOtCymGa4JYpBMl9
Italian: Avion Travel
Hungarian: Mari Nótár (Roma pop/dance music)
Portuguese: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTl1EjDxgDU

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