I speak English and Korean fluently, but there are so many more languages that I want to learn. And for me, learning languages are easier if I do it through songs. This is a short compilation of songs that I've recorded in different languages: Japanese, French, and Gaelic.
I have to say, I don't really know any Japanese. I've never learned to write or read the characters, but I watched enough anime to pick up a few sentences here and there. But recording a whole song was on a whole new level.
Yet, I fell in love with this song when I first heard the original singer (Aimer)'s voice, and then the song just got better and better. I must have listened to this at least a few hundred times to get the pronunciation right. And the instrumental music I found on Youtube was amazing — it sounded just like the original song.
▲ from the animation FATE/STAY NIGHT (instrumental provided by Official Viewfit on Youtube)
This French song, for some reason, became very popular in Korea for a while, and as an IB French student, I just had to check it out. Since I already knew how to read and speak the language, it took much less time to learn the song. But the tempo was pretty fast, and I had to squeeze in many words, so I spent some time trying to figure out the rhythm.
(The reason why the cover page has the old spelling of my name is that I recorded this a while back in February. I postponed putting it on my blog because I thought I didn't do a good job. Now that I've listened to it again — and since I'm making this post — I decided to be brave.)
▲ instrumental provided by Motive Karaoke on Youtube
You might be slightly surprised by the third one because it's in Gaelic. It's a language used in Ireland, and ever since my dad introduced me to the amazing Celtic Woman, learning songs in Gaelic has played an active part in my life. It's such an interesting and beautiful language, which makes me want to learn it formally one day.
▲ from the Pixar movie Brave (instrumental provided by Squandered Cat on Youtube)
I sort of made changes to this one to fit a solo part instead of a duet with young Merida and Queen Elenor, but it's quite minor. And, as always, I designed all the cover photos for the videos using Canva's features and elements!
Now I'm wondering what languages I should try to learn a song in for next time :)