Can you sing in foreign languages?

[Plume 922]

Hey! So, this is just a random question that just popped into my head, but can you sing in a language which is not your native tongue/which you do not speak often?

 

As an Australian with Chinese descent, I can sing comfortably in English and Mandarin (but I am told I have a slight accent, which is bound to happen). I can also easily sing Japanese with no problem, and my friend thinks that's insanely cool because she can't do anything even remotely Japanese sounding, or any language other than English at that.

[Fender 1,283]

I hate Spanish *as* a language, however, I can sing David Bisbal's part in Waving Flag perfectly.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXUr4rh2LRE

[DubWolf 17,263]

Ehh I could try to sing some Spanish tunes, preferably something that requires a lower-pitch voice .

[Fender 1,283]

Oh, and I can sing Rammstein songs pretty well. My German is decent.

[Wyzecat 350]

Note that 'sing' does not mean 'speak fluently'.

 

That being said, I can sing in Japanese and Latin (Yeah. Latin.) decently.

[DaReaper 1,944]

I dunno other languages but thanks to David Bowie and Apoctayptica I can sing Helden a bit

[Zygen 6,066]

Not really honestly, I mean I took Spanish this past semester in highschool(2nd spanish class) and I guess I could try to sing something in Spanish, but it would be fairly difficult.

 

I'm sure there are other languages that with enough studying of the lyrics I could maybe get, I wouldn't know what I was saying.

 

I think I'll probably just stick to improving my normal English singing though ;p, although it would be cool to sing something in another language, maybe I'll actually try it sometime.

[SparklingSquirrels 21,341]

Yeah, I'm always listening to music in other languages, so sometimes the songs get stuck in my head and I start singing parts of them... in my head. I don't really like to sing out loud.

 

 

Some languages have really easy pronunciation, often due to a "shallow orthographic depth" (notably Finnish ) but that doesn't mean I understand what I'm singing all the time, although I do look up the lyrics to songs I listen to.

 

I've had the Danish song "Endeløst" stuck in my head for days now D:

 

(if this thread is talking about making up my own songs in another language; then I could probably do it in French, but that's the only other language I have a good grasp on)

Edited January 21, 2015 by Wolfie's #1 fan

[Flamestreak1990 1,172]

 French, Italian, and Spanish  

[Golurk 468]

 

I can't even sing to begin with...   

 

 

If I spend some time listening to Rammstein, I can parrot off the sounds. Does that count?

 

Aside from that, it only amounts to "Adeste Fideles" Not even the whole song, either. Just those two words.

Edited January 21, 2015 by Yerserf

[Passion 3,484]

I've been singing in Polish, English, French, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and Swedish. Also a bit Arabic with Lebanese demonym, but it's too little to really count.

As long as I can get clear text, I can probably nail down most of the intonations.

 

The last two (J & S) are definitely the hardest ones for me, because pronunciation...

 

Other than that, I never touched German. This language is not suited for songs which tones could be suited for my voice...

[Lisa 5,553]

I can sing in French.

 

....

 

*I can try to sing in French.

 

I can't help but sing Hémisphère or Garde Le Pour Toi when listening to them. 

[DrReprise 172]

I like to think I can sing all of the opening songs from Bleach. Like this - https://youtube.com/watch?v=5t6ugKgE-IA

[Samurai Equine 51,481]

I guess the better question is "How good can you imitate a song in a foreign language?" 

 

Personally, with a little practice, I think I can do a pretty good job of imitating any Japanese song I've heard. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna post it on Youtube or anything, because you KNOW a real Japanese speaker will come around and say something like "Wow, your pronunciation sucks! Have you ever taken a single class in Japanese?" 

[King Sejong 859]

   I can sing in French, A La Claire Fontaine is my favourite song to sing, but I can sing in Swedish quite well, and Russian, especially Song of the Volga Boatmen, and finally I can sing in Hebrew. 

[Kurael 43]

Yep I can sing English and a bit of Japanese

[Mand'alor Dash 2,224]

I can sing the Italian parts of a few Dean Martin songs decently, with sufficient rehearsal.

[Invincible 2,091]

Well, i think i can sing in decent English.

[JonasDarkmane 19,785]

I can sing a few German songs.

[Sunny Fox 5,950]

I can sing some German and more Japanese. Mostly Christmas carols.

[PROJECT: Simon 3,954]

I can sing Korean and American songs, especially songs from Equestria Girl.

Edited January 21, 2015 by Assassin/Simon

[LordSwinton 759]

I can sing in Chinese and Malay.

[Mesme Rize 15,683]

Well, since i am german, i guess singing in english kind of counts.

 

I am also able to sing this song in Japanese:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L5lOh1CJIQ

[Shadowking58 1,137]

Yes, actually. But it's thanks to all the anime I watch, I learn the opening songs even though they're in Japanese, so I usually end up singing those songs, without knowing what the words mean!

[caramba2654 602]

Yes, I can sing in English.

 

...

 

What? As a Portuguese speaker, English is a foreign language to me! :v

 

And yes, I can also sing in Portuguese too.

 

I wish I could sing in Japanese, though. It sounds so cool! But I would need to know all the syllables and be used to saying all that really fast, because everybody knows Japanese songs fit as many syllables as they can in just one beat of the song to make the lyrics fit. =D