| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4] > | Poll: Do you understand songs and films in your source language(s)? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Samuel Murray wrote: Philip Lees wrote:
I really envy those people who answered that they understand songs and films "completely" in their source language. I suppose we mean different things by "completely". I, for one, assumed that the question relates only to content that is audible. I did not count speech or songtext that is inaudible.
I wasn't talking about things that are inaudible or poorly articulated.
Many years ago, when I was teaching English, I had a student who asked me to explain the meaning of Bob Dylan's lyrics.
I told him he wasn't paying me enough for that. 
I interpreted "completely" in the question to mean "just as well as a native speaker".
I interpreted "completely" to mean "completely", but that's just me.
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Tom in London wrote:
I don't care what "several of 'you'" have already said. Are you an organised cult?
PS
I'm beginning to think that previous warnings may need to be reiterated
On the grappa again?! I have no idea what you are talking about.
If several people have explained why they don’t, and you then insist that everyone should, I would have thought there was something there worth exploring.
| | | | Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 02:03
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Philip Lees wrote:
Many years ago, when I was teaching English, I had a student who asked me to explain the meaning of Bob Dylan's lyrics.
You raise a very good point: some songs are poems, and the meaning of poetry can be hard to understand or to explain, even if you understand all of the words and sentences.
Philip Lees wrote: Samuel Murray wrote:
I interpreted "completely" in the question to mean "just as well as a native speaker". I interpreted "completely" to mean "completely", but that's just me.
Aaah, so, "just as well as a native speaker who is an expert in the genre". Got it.
[Edited at 2024-01-10 09:29 GMT]
| | | | | English is a peculiar language in the context of the poll question | Jan 10 |
Once, in my teenage years, I wanted to write a list of song names on the cover of a tape mostly filled with songs by Creedence (CCR). I had no access to the internets, so I just listened to the songs and tried to write down what the chorus of each song said, and I got most of them (actually all of them except for Who'll Stop the Rain) wrong, not even close to what they actually sang. If today I were to listen to, say, Playing with a Travelling Band, in the same quality, I bet I wou... See more Once, in my teenage years, I wanted to write a list of song names on the cover of a tape mostly filled with songs by Creedence (CCR). I had no access to the internets, so I just listened to the songs and tried to write down what the chorus of each song said, and I got most of them (actually all of them except for Who'll Stop the Rain) wrong, not even close to what they actually sang. If today I were to listen to, say, Playing with a Travelling Band, in the same quality, I bet I woundn't understand anything either. Many British and American singers have incomprehensible accents. In fact, it's both the accent and the specific manner of singing that make the output incomprehensible, at least for me. There are many songs I understand quite well, but I don't think I'll ever be able to understand all of them. And I have no problems with a great variety of accents, both British and American, because of my prior work and life experience. I don't get to watch many films in English, but when I do watch one, I can understand everything if it's not one of those old films where all speech is muffled and everyone seems to be talking with a cigar in their mouth. Pronunciation-wise, English is a language that's supposed to be spoken just as easily if you have a cigar in your mouth
[Edited at 2024-01-10 10:52 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Samuel Murray wrote: Philip Lees wrote:
Many years ago, when I was teaching English, I had a student who asked me to explain the meaning of Bob Dylan's lyrics. You raise a very good point: some songs are poems, and the meaning of poetry can be hard to understand or to explain, even if you understand all of the words and sentences.
Apart from that, I bet Dylan himself would have a hard time explaining what some of his songs mean, if he'd been spending too much time with Mary Jane while he was writing them.
Samuel Murray wrote:
Aaah, so, "just as well as a native speaker who is an expert in the genre".
If the native speaker is your criterion, then the "correct" answer is "Most, but not all" (or whatever the wording was). Realistically, nobody completely understands all the songs or films they may listen to.
In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think this was a trick question, a trap to see who would answer honestly.
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 02:03
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
I performed in theater in my source language, does this count? Improv acting was easy, but when I tried to write stand-up comedy scripts (as a group exercise), that was quite difficult, and I can’t do it even in my native language - the craft/technique is quite complex and it takes time to master. When we had to write songs and poems with rhymes, that was kind of easy.
The songs I listen to are mostly instrumentals.
Not sure why people have doubts about someone under... See more I performed in theater in my source language, does this count? Improv acting was easy, but when I tried to write stand-up comedy scripts (as a group exercise), that was quite difficult, and I can’t do it even in my native language - the craft/technique is quite complex and it takes time to master. When we had to write songs and poems with rhymes, that was kind of easy.
The songs I listen to are mostly instrumentals.
Not sure why people have doubts about someone understanding songs and movies, why? Because there may be some culturally driven phrases here and there, that does not mean the movie is not understood overall/as a whole, same with a song. It’s not nuclear physics, short lines, daily language, low number of words. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Alex Lichanow
Germany
Local time: 02:03
Member (2020)
English to German
+ ...
| Understanding songs | Jan 11 |
Lingua 5B wrote:
Not sure why people have doubts about someone understanding songs and movies, why? Because there may be some culturally driven phrases here and there, that does not mean the movie is not understood overall/as a whole, same with a song. It’s not nuclear physics, short lines, daily language, low number of words.
I think the question was more about listening comprehension, not about reading and understanding the lyrics. And as several participants have pointed out, listening comprehension can be difficult even for native speakers for a number of reasons (pronunciation/enunciation, kind of vocals used, recording quality, you name it).
And by the way, some artists tend to become quite verbose and sesquipedalian (love that word) in their lyrics.
| | | | Quentin NEVEN
Belgium
Local time: 02:03
Member (Jan 2024)
English to French
+ ...
Hi everybody,
I do understand almost everything when I watch a movie in English, but for some reason, it takes me a long time to make sense of a song, whether in metal where they use growls and the likes or in "normal" songs. Maybe someone can relate to this!
When it comes to movies, Monthy Python can prove challenging, mostly because it is absurd; therefore the context does not always help.
However, there is still room for improvement in Spanish. I do n... See more Hi everybody,
I do understand almost everything when I watch a movie in English, but for some reason, it takes me a long time to make sense of a song, whether in metal where they use growls and the likes or in "normal" songs. Maybe someone can relate to this!
When it comes to movies, Monthy Python can prove challenging, mostly because it is absurd; therefore the context does not always help.
However, there is still room for improvement in Spanish. I do not struggle with "academic" movies such as documentaries because this is typically the kind of vocabulary you learn in academia, but "vulgar" Spanish (as in "day-to-day Spanish) can be difficult for me, particularly when spoken by a young native. They are so fast! They also use words that you are not taught at university... My first time in Madrid, I could not understand my taxi driver, so the conversation eventually dried up, awkward !
All in all, I believe it really helps learning a language. ▲ Collapse
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[quote]Tom in London wrote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxIS1T8NQ6s
[Strofa 1]
Senza fine
Tu trascini la nostra vita
Senza un attimo di respiro
Per sognare
Per potere ricordare
Quel che abbiamo già vissuto
[Ritornello]
Senza fine
Tu sei un attimo senza fine
Non hai ieri
Non hai domani
Tutto è ormai nelle tue mani
Mani grandi
Mani senza fine
[Strofa 2]
Non m'importa della luna
Non m'importa delle stelle
Tu per me sei luna e stelle
Tu per me sei sole e cielo
Tu per me sei tutto quanto
Tutto quanto voglio avere
ello]
Senza fine
Tu sei un attimo senza fine
Non hai ieri
Non hai domani
Tutto è ormai nelle tue mani
Mani grandi
Mani senza fine
[Strofa 2]
Non m'importa della luna
Non m'importa delle stelle
Tu per me sei luna e stelle
Tu per me sei sole e cielo
Tu per me sei tutto quanto
Tutto quanto voglio avere
[Outro]
Senza fine
La la la la la la, la la la...
This was long time ago, nowadays Italian songs suck. (inascoltabili)
[Edited at 2024-01-11 12:07 GMT]
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 02:03
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Alex Lichanow wrote: Lingua 5B wrote:
Not sure why people have doubts about someone understanding songs and movies, why? Because there may be some culturally driven phrases here and there, that does not mean the movie is not understood overall/as a whole, same with a song. It’s not nuclear physics, short lines, daily language, low number of words. I think the question was more about listening comprehension, not about reading and understanding the lyrics. And as several participants have pointed out, listening comprehension can be difficult even for native speakers for a number of reasons (pronunciation/enunciation, kind of vocals used, recording quality, you name it). And by the way, some artists tend to become quite verbose and sesquipedalian (love that word) in their lyrics.
But most popular music has simple lyrics. Conversely, understanding deep poetry would be something else. The genre was not specified for this poll.
| | | | Alex Lichanow
Germany
Local time: 02:03
Member (2020)
English to German
+ ...
Lingua 5B wrote:
But most popular music has simple lyrics. Conversely, understanding deep poetry would be something else. The genre was not specified for this poll.
Hands down, no idea. By far the most "popular" bands I can listen to and enjoy would be Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath (who, by the way, vary wildly in the complexity of their lyrics). I am almost physically unable to listen to actual pop, but yes, I do suppose its lyrics would rather stay on the simple side of things.
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 02:03
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Alex Lichanow wrote: Lingua 5B wrote:
But most popular music has simple lyrics. Conversely, understanding deep poetry would be something else. The genre was not specified for this poll. Hands down, no idea. By far the most "popular" bands I can listen to and enjoy would be Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath (who, by the way, vary wildly in the complexity of their lyrics). I am almost physically unable to listen to actual pop, but yes, I do suppose its lyrics would rather stay on the simple side of things.
What would happen to you if I played pop in your proximity?
I went skiing once with a group of friend. Our lead/organizer told me “now you’ll be with us in an isolated mountain hut, and you’ll have the privildge to listen to my non-conformist/alternative playlist in the evenings”. I just told him: are you aware of how much trash music I have in my phone? It made him twitch a little. He assumes his music is interesting to everyone just because it is to him, it’s called projection.
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Alex Lichanow
Germany
Local time: 02:03
Member (2020)
English to German
+ ...
| All pop and no guitar make Alex an angry boy | Jan 12 |
Lingua 5B wrote:
What would happen to you if I played pop in your proximity?
I went skiing once with a group of friend. Our lead/organizer told me “now you’ll be with us in an isolated mountain hut, and you’ll have the privildge to listen to my non-conformist/alternative playlist in the evenings”. I just told him: are you aware of how much trash music I have in my phone? It made him twitch a little. He assumes his music is interesting to everyone just because it is to him, it’s called projection.
Going by my weekly grocery ordeal, I would get angry and (try to) get out of Dodge as quickly as possible.
Oh, by the way, I am absolutely aware that my taste in music is absolutely not for everybody. I do listen to some weird and downright scary stuff. I just absolutely disagree with the retail industry's assumption that everybody loves "mass-pleasing" music.
[Edited at 2024-01-12 06:42 GMT]
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Alex Lichanow wrote:
By far the most "popular" bands I can listen to and enjoy would be Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath
Ah, you're a traditionalist.
| | | | Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:03
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Philip Lees wrote: Alex Lichanow wrote:
By far the most "popular" bands I can listen to and enjoy would be Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath Ah, you're a traditionalist.
Considered "classical music" by the youth of today, apparently.
Dan
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