Until Silvia tagged me for this multilingual iPod meme, I never really realized just how international my little red iPod nano really is! For those interested in participating, here are the rules:
The question is “What languages are on your iPod?
- List the languages that are represented in music, video or podcasts in a post on your blog.
- Add your favorite song and artist of each language. (Maybe someone else will use your suggestion)
- See how diverse your list is.
- Reflect on how global you are.
- Check out some World songs in a language that you normally don’t listen to by following someone’s suggestion from step 2.
- Tag as many people as you wish
After a quick scroll-through, I have songs in:
- Yiddish: The Klezmatics
- Spanish: Shakira
- German: Mozart
- French: Stereolab
- Japanese: Pizzacato Five
- Italian: Carmen Consoli
- Bahasa Malaysia: Traditional music by various artists
- Yoruba (a local dialect in Nigeria): Babatunde Olatunji
- Icelandic: Sigur Ros
- Gaelic: Sinead O’Connor
It’s hard to pick a favorite song because, honestly, all of the albums I have by these artists are great, and these are my top choices in each language I’ve listed. I really had no idea how international my playlist was until Silvia asked. I guess I tend to pick up music from the countries I live in or visit and the songs become part of my memory of that place. Every time I listen to my tracks in Italian I am thrown right back into my semester abroad in Florence and The Klezmatics always reminds me of Germany.
As I think about it, I’m an auditory learner, so I love listening to music and language just adds another complexity to capture my attention. When I first discovered Pizzacato Five in college, it just blew my mind – Japanese pop! I feel like even the pop music of a country can really provide a glimpse into local culture. Alex and I have started to listen to Thai music too… I guess I need to add some to iTunes now!
This meme actually brings to mind a novel I read last year called Tokyo Cancelled. The story is about a group of airline passengers that get trapped overnight in a desolate airport so they tell stories reflective of their individual culture to pass the time. Although it was quite fantastical, each story really captured the stereotypical essence of the storyteller’s culture. It seems that my iPod is like my very own, portable, airport departure lounge!
If you’re interested, please play along! I’m ready to add a few more new languages to my iPod’s repertoire!