Africans Amazed That I Know Their Language
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- Go to expressvpn.com... and find out how you can get 4 months of ExpressVPN free! Today I hung out in New York City, both Chinatown and Harlem, going around practicing different languages. I got Mandarin, Bengali, Urdu, Hindi, Wolof, and French all in!
0:00 Introduction
1:58 "May God bless you with peace"
2:28 He asks how much money I have in my pockets
4:08 "Where are you from?"
4:45 They were shocked when I spoke Wolof back to them
6:20 I was mistaken for a different TH-camr
7:00 "Your Wolof is great"
7:42 A hilarious misunderstanding
10:10 He was raised in The Gambia
10:55 "Have you ever been to Africa?"
12:48 "Are you Senegalese?"
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It's February 4th and I'm still writing year of the dragon on my checks....LOL
Aren’t you that guy who stole that helicopter?
Xiaoma's kids gotta have the craziest drip
For real
Better not be calling them culturally appropriating
Facts
😂😂😂
You should really come to Portugal. We have a 2nd language called "Mirandês", that's mostly spoken in the Miranda do Douro region, but mostly by old people, and it's disappearing rapidly. In a few years there won't be a single person who actually speaks it.
I'd be totally down to help you out here in Portugal to make it happen. Send me a message!
Sugiro o pessoal de lá começar a catalogar as palavras e guardar os dicionários e livros de gramática. Vai diminuir muito a chance de extinção desse dialeto.
i learned today that it is the 2nd most common language in portugal.(dont quote me on it not sure how large the spanish speaking population is)
@ O Mirandês é ensinado naquela zona de Portugal às crianças, mas poucas pessoas ou mesmo ninguém fala Mirandês hoje em dia.
Existem pessoas dedicadas a preservar a língua, mas já ninguém a fala no dia-a-dia.
Irish too but it’s already desd
@@justjamie5006 bro has a video saying otherwise but the video is to spread it too
Xiaoma has entered the boss level. He must go out and speak whatever language he encounters 😂
Laoshu levelling up (rip laoshu)
@@UmiNoOto Laoshu will always be remembered, one of the best to ever do this kind of content. Losing him was a tragedy that cost many millions of smiles yet to be.
@@IchorX ikr. He inspired so many polyglots/language learners to just pick up a new language and to start practicing with people
Bro really pulled out his wallet in front of a group of plastic bag vendors.
yeah i guess they noticed the camera
When he spoke Wolof they just loved him instantly.
White dude walking around speaking your language, you are both in awe, and afraid
Yeah if it was a normal person I guess it would have turned out differently.
Which is bad? In theyre native land?@@LnZ_Blu
money talks......
Love the fact that you added the exact location on the map for each country!
Now go get Rank 100 in Geoguesser
Funny to see that he speaks better wolof than french 😂
I'll be honest, that one surprised me too. French is the only language I have any deeper knowledge of other than English. Figured that would be one Xiaoma would have a strong knowledge of
@@radiodude1976 probably because theres not many french people in nyc due to migration and stuff compared to other countries like chinese, indian, african counties etc. You could probably find a few people or a tiny community but most french people speak english as well and its not worth learning for the off chance someone speaks it you cant really make a video on it unless he went to france.
@@radiodude1976 Didn't he spend like 24 hours studying French for one video? That was his sole interaction with the language as far as his channel goes, don't blame him tbh. The only languages Xiaoma knows well besides English are Chinese and Spanish.
Maybe he should come over to Belgium, 3 national languages here, Dutch but we say Flemish, spoken in the northern region of Belgium, French but we say Walloon, southern region of Belgium, German in some small parts in the east of Belgium.
Yeah I'm kinda shocked he speaks so little French, I guess he likes the relatively obscure languages more lol
Just wanna say thank for learning all these languages and showing the value of knowing another tounge to the world
Super refreshing to see comments like this after nothing but complaining and complaining like shut up already
6:25 definition of enjoying the moment and not pulling your phone out to brag on the internet. Just a chill guy.
Xiaoma is from another planet. He speaks Wolof but no or little French, speaks Sicillian but no Italian . And there are more on the list...
It is truly beautiful to witness strangers open up in smiles when you converse with them in their language. How they respect your effort to learn speaks a lot of how this world is beautiful when we take the time to just try and connect on some level...mahalo nui loa Xiaoma!
I just love how open he is to learn and understand other languages, it bring a smile to everyone's face. He seam's to be just a very nice person. I would love to meet him one day, but I only speak English and after 42 years I still have a hard time with it my self. I get confused a lot when speaking to other people, and my spelling is not very good even throw I was born and raised in Missouri!
I currently live in Senegal as a Peace Corps volunteer! Fun to hear you speak Wolof 🙂 I am also learning Pulaar here.
5:32 thought you was about to get your pockets run hommie
The Senegalese and Gambian are muslim and do not take kindly on theft, so he was probably very safe from any pickpocket from them. They might look a bit intimidating in a group but they mean no harm.
I'm sure he would've if not for the camera. Probably thought they were on a live stream.
I can already tell you black just from that comment alone 💀
@@janswhatsupdoc that's me in the pic , I like to call myself american, but the brown people around me say I'm Mexican American .
As long as American is in it , I'm good 👍
“How much money do you have” put me on edge, ngl
Just trying to speak another's language is the best way to initiate friendship. It shows you value who they are.
Bro might be worldly in languages but not in street smarts. Never walk through a crowded place with your wallet in a jacket pocket. Always your jeans where you will have more chance of feeling it being pickpocketed.
I have an INSANE amount of respect for Xiaoma. The fact that he takes the time to go out of his way to learn other languages and appreciate other’s cultures just shows what a good person he is. Keep up the good work 👏👏👏
I know right!!
Agreed!!
I wonder how he learns the languages so fast!
I live in NY, there are lots of immigrants here who don’t have papers for a legit income, and they are trying to make enough money to feed their families. I appreciate you showing them respect and not treating them with fear. It makes a world of difference for them to feel welcome here
They should feel welcome here; there's no reason to be cruel, nor do any downsides remotely outweigh the upsides of having a diverse society. The United States and many first-world countries were and are built on immigrants looking for a better life, and that's why we even have such a thing to offer. It's a tragedy that in spite of clear-cut statistics, they are still labeled as violent criminals by brainwashed fools with stone-cold hearts, and even sadder that those bozos are getting their way lately.
@@IchorX no, the US was built on settler colonialism over a few hundred years. modern mass illegal migration is completely not comparable even in basic numbers of people alone.
Perhaps they should get papers to make a legit income then? We can achieve a diverse society through due process, not by allowing people to cheat the system and technically break the laws by doing so. There's a process to integrate people from foreign nations and to educate them on the country they wish to reside in to better help them assimilate and therefore see Americans as their own people. Every country has this process but somehow, it's only wrong for the USA to adopt the same policies.
As for "clear-cut statistics," the data isn't lying when it shows the criminality rates and disparities between which groups are committing the most crimes, especially violent crimes. Per capita is important to observe. We don't need to become the next Sweden or Germany and NYC re-releasing criminals multiples time until they finally murder an American citizen is not OK. That's why the pendulum has swung so far back into the opposite direction. You're brainwashed if you believe otherwise.
Deported
@@JoeMaamas Literally the largest migration of humans in the history of the world. These people can not think 2 steps ahead. Pure emotional reaction.
be careful accidentally saying you want a wife, they'll have you set up and arranged before you know it
:D
Your love for language has been contagious!! Ive been inspired to reconnect with my native language and learn korean as well :). Your urdu/hindi so cool to hear too omg.
Absolutely incredible video as always.
Wolof is an amazing language. Thank you, xiaoma
These videos on this channel always make me happy, it's great seeing people of different cultures getting on together, it's how it should be all over the world, but sadly never will be.
We’re known for hamburgers?! It’s from Hamburg….you know…Germany!
For some reason, the vibes in this video are so amazing, it made me physically anxious not to be there in person. I've never felt that much of a pull towards NYC and its subcultures as I did watching this video. Xiaoma always manages to show us things we'd otherwise never see or experience and I'm incredibly happy that I've found him all those years ago. The Laowhy86 reference was so funny, too :D
It's always fun to watch these. Even if it's just small conversations, people not born in the US love that you've taken time to recognize them enough to learn some of their language. It's one of the most wholesome interactions I see on the web. Thanks for positive vibes you're putting out there.
I admire this guy’s dedication to language and culture, and a great sense of humor!
Great to hear Wolof!
My sister is just back home after four years working for a UN agency in Dakar. I was surprised that she didn't learn to speak any Wolof apart from basic greetings.
About 19 years ago I brought Daara J, a Senegalese hip hop group, on tour in the UK and Ireland. Their concert in Dublin was one of the best live performances I've ever seen. Even though they rapped in Wolof they still brought the house down.
The plastic bag guys like you so much they didn’t even rob you 😅
They said come back again ❤
0:47 I see that casual flex of you in the posh seats on a plane lmao, you deserve it though dude you're a wonderful human x
I’m pretty sure he’s a millionaire at this point!! Proud after all these years he can surely afford it, god on him!
It's beautiful and inspirational to see the way you can spread love and connect with other fellow humans by indulging in their culture and customs. Love from Portugal ❤
The instant love for speaking to someone in their native language is genuinely a beautiful thing
Amazing to see Urdu just load up in his brain once the guy says he's from Pakistan
Loading... Loading... "Aap kaise hain?"
I love that they were correcting you .
Bro, you go to parts of NY I never been to. These neighborhoods are probably close to where I have been to, maybe a block away and it’s a whole other culture, country. amazing. That’s why I love NY
Polyglot on a stroll!
It was great to meet you man!
I love how learning and speaking someone else's language immediately changes the dynamic of the encounter. They go from complete stranger to He might be one of us. 0_0
There need to be a blogger with balls to call out these scamming Afrikaans. “How much do you have” is NOT ENOUGH.
It’s not scamming, it opens doors for bargaining. You’ve never bargained before?
Dakar is an amazing place. I was deployed there when I was in the marine corps. Learned some Wolof haha
Xiaoma always impresses me. Super cool
Bro's french is worse than his obscure languages haha
Man these 360 videos make my vertigo act up
GoPro like Superman trailer distortion
Oh nah😭
360 cam
Ari would love to see you travel to more African countries. Love the content mate, thank you as always
Xiaoma, thank you for what you do.
love seeing new vids from you
As a visual learner, thank you for showing maps of each location 💛
Amazing dude.
Can we please have a video of a sentence or two in every language you can remember off the top of your head - then the ones you briefly touched up on to remember - maybe patreon bonus or whatever, the languages you straight up forgot how to.
I'm not sure if it's more fun to say anything or the same(ish) sentence in each language. (My go-to when asking people is 'i took my dog for a walk in the park, but some people have had difficulty because wtf is a park or walking the dog, so maybe not that one).
It would be really fun to hear e.g. Latin based languages similarities vs others, while also highlighting emphasis & tone for languages.
I think all age groups would find this really neat♡ if not, you're still awesome & I am grateful for you, your efforts IRL & this channel🌻
Love how africans give him respect 👍❤️
You should do a video on the New Mexico Spanish dialect spoken in New Mexico and Colorado. It’s a fading dialect, especially in Colorado, and it is also an old dialect with many loan words from local native languages as well as English and Nahuatl.
I can't stop smiling when I watch these! :D
Most of West Africa was colonized by the French. The big exceptions were the Ghana, Nigeria, and Sierra-Leone which were mostly UK, and Cameroon which was German. Eastern Africa was mostly claimed by the UK, with the major exception of the Congo which was Belgian. Unfortunately It was just the way things were from the 15th century up until the mid-20th. The major powers just literally drew arbitrary lines on maps and claimed everything inside as their domain without much regard to the people or cultures.
Glad to see you actually still learn those other languages. I was worried that you just learned some of them for the video then moved on since you make so many different videos with other languages.
Americas famous dish “Hamburger” hahahahah
you'll never cease to impress me !
It's my experience that most people LOVE when a foreigner wants to learn their language. I definitely don't travel as much as this guy, but most languages are fun to learn. I say that because I haven't tried Mandarin or Russian yet.
Hamburger isn't even american its german from the city of Hamburg...
Bless you bro for continuing to bring love, respect and cultural enlightenment to your followers.
That fisheye lens is nuts!!
I like your travel vlogs but this NYC tour goes back to your roots. Love it.❤
Once again amazing ability.
Me encanta tu canal
Always love these videos man
Some of these situations were pretty sketch. Knowing the language and being confident kept you from being a target and turned you into a friend. That was pretty wild to see.
By sketch you mean being around a bunch of Senegalese dudes?
@@newwave3366come on dude the situation was sketchy as hell
It's great watching you bounce around from language to language. It's funny; I studied (not very well) French in high school but I have never been to France. I tried it in Montreal but I got the feeling they prefer I didn't. My pronunciation is awful but I do remember a fair bit of vocabulary. German always came easier and I have been there a few times. Often when I can't remember the word in French, I know it in German and vice versa. Well done, Ari.
Don't read too much about the response you got to using your French in Montreal. Quebec has its own unique dialect, and people up there can get very sensitive on matters related to language. I can tell you several stories of personal experiences related to this (I went to college in Plattsburgh NY, just south of the border near Montreal).
@@radiodude1976 Ahh thanks. I always wondered. I've heard stories about the "ugly American" in France insisting on English, and that it's always a form of respect to learn at least some of the language and make an attempt at it. I've always applied that as it seems universal. Plus, I like languages. Anyway, i made the attempt in Montreal. I know my pronunciation is awful but I didn't think it was THAT bad. Aside from that, I really liked Montreal. I had gone there for the summer jazz festival so maybe they were a tad fatigued with tourists.
gonna have to level up that Wolof, but great stuff man. Never let the journey stop!
Dude is single handedly breaking down cultural barriers.
Loved this❤
Don't put your wallet in your jacket pocket. Put it in your front pants pocket.
many beautiful countrys in africa and people.
Been watching you for years and I’m excited to say I’m learning Chinese now. ❤️✨
Dude you are an inspiration...Al the blessings sir
Hey Xiaomanyc! Please do a video on Lithuanian!!
I love your channel. Could you do Afrikaans ?
You might need to gain more fame. Your message of reaching peoples peace thru words is important...if you are ready for that leap 👍🏻
I don't like the cats eye lens. It makes me dizzy. 😢 Haven't been able to watch much since you switched to it. But still love what you do !! You are amazing.
Its a 360 lens
That's a skill issue, not all of us feel that way
I disagree, a 360 lens means better content because he can film everything even if his camera isn't awkwardly pointed at someone. He might be able to adjust the lens distortion a bit in post, but I'm sure you could get used it, I didn't even notice it because I'm not really looking at the edge of the screen much.
@@DonovanHaumpy no way you said that unironically, I agree with the sentiment but, a "skill issue" really?
damn I need to learn more about African culture especially the food.
Thieboudienne (Ceebu Jën) - Senegal’s National Dish
A flavorful fish and rice dish cooked with tomatoes, vegetables (carrots, cabbage, eggplant, cassava), and spices.
The name "Ceebu Jën" comes from the Wolof language, meaning "rice with fish."
Often served with bissap (hibiscus) juice or tamarind sauce.
They got some dishes that just straight slap! A chicken Maffe is my favorite.
10:00 it's funny to see how he knows little French, probably too boring. At least half of my country learns it at school and it's very common around the world. That being said, I don't recall Xiaoman speak Spanish either.
He never seizes to amaze me.
It would be really interesting if you made a video talking more about what your time learning mandarin was like and especially during your study abroad in bejing. Just curious
No shot! Chris Lewis was introduced to me because I was watching xiaoma’s Vietnamese video and I wanted to see if here were other viet speaking whites
Never thought he would ever bring up in his video
Sadly all I speak is google translate lol.
To be fair...I really want a 99.9% accuracy universal translator in this world, and while I have alot of distaste towards many uses of AI...I still have hope for how all of the nerds you never hear about are actually doing something cool and useful.
The framework exists, the AI is almost ready. Time to sprint?
@@py_a_thon And you’re a bot run along now peasant🤫
@@py_a_thon Chatgpt alone can already translate far better and more reliably than google translate, but you'll have trouble ever making an AI that can do "universal" translation, languages can be extremely abstract and varied, so training a neural network on all of them is something there almost definitely isn't enough data for on the internet.
That's not to say AI won't revolutionize cross-language communication though, on top of being far more fluent with translating bigger languages than any other technology, the coolest use of AI translators by far is the ones being developed for other animals. We've made a few big steps thanks to AI, and it seems like AI has already somewhat figured out how to talk to whales specifically, we just can't currently understand the conversations it's having with them.
AI is villainized because it's a big unknown and definitely going to disrupt our way of life significantly and cause a lot of strife along with that, but so did agriculture, so did the printing press, etc. The benefits, especially in medical advancements, will eventually be far greater than the downsides. (Either that or it will kill us all, but...probably not)
@@py_a_thonI’m not reading all that see ya 👋
@@janswhatsupdoc That is your prerogative. You don't need to tell people you are ignoring them tho. You can just ignore them lol.
Aw so good.
They weren’t as shocked as disappointed you had a camera on them as they were plotting to rob you.
He looks so much healthier now
I am chinese, I am flying to senegal on saturday. I am trying to learn Wolof as well!
"Oh, Xiaoma"
"ni hao"
Lmao the instant he heard him pronounce his name with the right tone he knew they were chinese.
May recommend the Wood Quarter (Waldviertel) in Austria. Its almost German...
Another day with Xiomanyc
I am very very very impressive on how can you learn so many languages wow
It's time to LEVEL-UP!!!
laoshu would be proud of u man
When you were buying the meal, he asked about America's meal. Hot dogs, for sure. That's where the saying, Baseball, Hot Dogs, and Apple Pie came from.
Its funny how he said "Hamburger" which is German, same as hotdogs! :D
You become laoshu50500 more and more =) damn I miss him :S
gone too soon bro 😢. RIP Laoshu
😢
shout out for shouting out Laowhy86
The sanctuary city 👍
1. That woman in the thumbnail is gorgeous
2. I went to Chinatown in Vegas for the first time and everyone understood my Mandarin!! 😊
Brother burgers are from Hamburg, Germany
This is a common myth.
@@TheMrgreenleaf which part exactly?
@ a hamburger patty may have originated in Germany, though this is debated… The US was the first to put it on bread and add condiments.
his french just evolved and grow in a 3minute conversation and you realice how his brain starting to snap in filling out the blancs whit french words he maybe know from other roman languages.
I just got the notification for this