Can you identify song lyrics by listening to them?

[anonymous278347457]

Im a fan of metal and rock, but even in songs that "sing properly" I can never understand all of the lyrics. I understand some of it, but the rest just sound like well...just sounds really.

Though I am chinese, I am basically a native english speaker(Came here when I was 4)

I think its because of the fact that singers often stretch and shorten certain syllabuls to make it fit the music. So words sound different.



Am I the only person to experience this?

TB, please reassure me

[anonymous278347457]

yes, I can speak mandarin, and I can read and write to a lesser extent. I speak it at home with my parents.

Inflections seem to be the main thing that makes Chinese harder for people learning it.
I was at a chinese resteraunt with some friends, and one of them said(or tried to say) "a table for four please." in Mandarin, however there is a very subtle difference between the word "four" and the word "die".

but because he didnt know the difference what he said sounded more like "die". It was quite funny when I told him what he had actually said.


Usually though, even if you are not careful with inflections, people can tell which word you mean from the context.

[smperry]

Originally Posted by mb1

I struggled for a long time trying to understand the words to the Australian "Land Down Under" by Men at Work (this was pre-Internet). Even once I had most of it down, it still didn't make sense: "A fried out combie"??? ***? "Vegamite"??? "Where beer does flow and men chunder" Chunder??? ("Head full of zombie" translated pretty well though )

LMAO! I had the same problem with Men at Work back in the day (listening to the cassette on my boom box). Luckily I had an Australian friend named Trent Van Arkel who clued me in a bit.

Marshall

[Bob Clayton]

i usually don't have a problem picking up lyirics.