Bad english?
- Thread starter moskus
- Start date
moskus said:Here's a sentence in english that is directly translated from Norwegian:
"Life is what you make of it!"
Does it make sence at all? Is it strange in away? Or would I really sound like a "foreigner" if I sang this?
Thanks!
Not only does that make perfect sense, but I've probably heard it said a thousand times.
More generally, people say "It's what you make of it," in regard to something that's not as good as it could be. One of the often-coined optimism phrases...
moskus said:Thanks! My english isn't steady enough to write lyrics (that's why I seldom do it), and it didn't sound "correct" in my ears. But that sentence would fit perfectly into a song I'm currently making...
Thanks, Turnip!
No problem.
But in truth, I'm not sure that speaking "fluent" English is all that much of an advantage in songwriting. Vocabulary would be helpful, but not grammar...I almost never see a properly structured sentence on a lyric sheet. You probably speak well enough that nobody would know the difference, and any mistakes that you made would probably be attributed to stylistic variation.
yiordanaki
New member
moskus.........
Are most of the popular songs in Norway songs sung in english??
mostly american artists??
just wondering
y
Are most of the popular songs in Norway songs sung in english??
mostly american artists??
just wondering
y
moskus
The Creator of Æ, Ø and Å
Turnip:
Yes, god bless the artistic freedom!
yiordanaki:
We have norwegian artists singning in norwegian, but the Top 40-list (which I never listen to anyway) is mainly UK and US artists. You don't make it that big if you sing in Norwegian, we're only 4.5 million. And what artists have we that you know about? Sissel Kyrkjebø? Motorpsycho? Big Bang? A-ha? I don't know...
I sing in english, because singing in norwegian is not fun at all. And my dialect make it sound straaaange!
Yes, god bless the artistic freedom!
yiordanaki:
We have norwegian artists singning in norwegian, but the Top 40-list (which I never listen to anyway) is mainly UK and US artists. You don't make it that big if you sing in Norwegian, we're only 4.5 million
. And what artists have we that you know about? Sissel Kyrkjebø? Motorpsycho? Big Bang? A-ha? I don't know...I sing in english, because singing in norwegian is not fun at all. And my dialect make it sound straaaange!
Funny you should mention songs not sounding right in Norwegian?
My Mrs. is german and she maintains that certain languages just sound better for singing than others. She thinks her own language is not good for pop and rock but thinks English is good and French better. I suppose its all about the sounds made in the language harsh sounds or smooth sounds? I'm no linguist, but I think I know what she means.
I used to think it was just my pro-English bias (being an English speaker) but she isn't, and you seem to agree that singing in Norwegian doesn't sound the same?
In the UK we're really lucky we share a language with the Yanks. If U.S. spoke mainly Spanish then most of the world's popular music would also be in Spanish.
My Mrs. is german and she maintains that certain languages just sound better for singing than others. She thinks her own language is not good for pop and rock but thinks English is good and French better. I suppose its all about the sounds made in the language harsh sounds or smooth sounds? I'm no linguist, but I think I know what she means.
I used to think it was just my pro-English bias (being an English speaker) but she isn't, and you seem to agree that singing in Norwegian doesn't sound the same?
In the UK we're really lucky we share a language with the Yanks. If U.S. spoke mainly Spanish then most of the world's popular music would also be in Spanish.
Synesthesia
New member
True, the only Norwegian bands I've heard of are Spiral Architect and Green Carnation, and both sing in English...
By the way, your lyric is perfectly correct. It's also a widely used idiom in the English language, so if you wanted it to be catchy and recognizable...you've got it! Just be aware that it's probably been used in many songs before, none of which I can currently recall.
Frequently fluency is not the most obvious giveaway of a "non-native" English singer, but accent. Most rock songs are heinously inaccurate in terms of standard grammar and vocab. If you have a strong Norwegian accent it might do more to give you away as a "foreigner," if you're trying to avoid that. But even if you do, the music is often sufficient to cover up accents. I, for one, couldn't care less about a singer's accent, so long as I can understand him or her! So I'd say don't worry too much about it...
-Derrick
By the way, your lyric is perfectly correct. It's also a widely used idiom in the English language, so if you wanted it to be catchy and recognizable...you've got it! Just be aware that it's probably been used in many songs before, none of which I can currently recall.
Frequently fluency is not the most obvious giveaway of a "non-native" English singer, but accent. Most rock songs are heinously inaccurate in terms of standard grammar and vocab. If you have a strong Norwegian accent it might do more to give you away as a "foreigner," if you're trying to avoid that. But even if you do, the music is often sufficient to cover up accents. I, for one, couldn't care less about a singer's accent, so long as I can understand him or her! So I'd say don't worry too much about it...
-Derrick
Speaking as someone from the UK, I'd say if you are aiming for 'the big time' it would do no harm to adopt an American accent. Even TV programs and films in UK English are not acceptable to US tastes and often have to be re-made for the American market. If the Americans who here your music hear an American accent on the vocal they are less likely to be put off.
I don't have a problem with this as they invented rock'n'roll music in the first place - then we just improved it for them!
I don't have a problem with this as they invented rock'n'roll music in the first place - then we just improved it for them!
Synesthesia
New member
Speaking as someone from the US, if you want to make it "big time" here you might as well abandon all artistic musical ambition. There are plenty of other musical markets in the world that are quite lucrative and more artistically accepting...I'd say there's no reason to compromise your vision to make it in one of the most misguided music markets on the planet (IMO). If you DO hit it big, great! But I implore you, don't conform to market trends just to hit it big or you'll only be contributing to the drivel driving the biz today...
Btw, one of my favorite bands is Porcupine Tree...and I love Steven Wilson's fairly noticeable London accent.
Though it's probably indicative of the larger problem that this particular band is immensely popular in the European, Australian and South American music markets (top 10 in many places) and barely on the radar in the US... 
-Derrick
Sadly, that reinforces what I said!Synesthesia said:
Btw, one of my favorite bands is Porcupine Tree...and I love Steven Wilson's fairly noticeable London accent.
-Derrick
Of course there is a minority market in the US for foreign sounding stuff, but the days of British acts dominating the charts are well gone.
The Europeans (not British) are the most open minded IMO, they tend to be more accepting of all kinds of music from various countries in a variety of languages.
I remember as a kid the Beatles being criticised for putting on american accents when they sang - but you have to bear in mind they were influenced by American music and tried to copy it, so from that point of view its quite understandable.
Paul881
Look Mom, I can play!
Moskus, no problem with that line at all, hear it all the time.
My friend is Italian and he says that Latin languages are difficult to write songs in because they need three words to decribe something simple, so it becomes cumbersome, lyrically. Imprecise, even. I don't know if this is true, but you don't get many European pop stars (thank god for that, we have enough rubbish of our own to contend with )
Oh for the old days when the music was so much better
Where is Vivaldi when you need him. Lol
My friend is Italian and he says that Latin languages are difficult to write songs in because they need three words to decribe something simple, so it becomes cumbersome, lyrically. Imprecise, even. I don't know if this is true, but you don't get many European pop stars (thank god for that, we have enough rubbish of our own to contend with
)Oh for the old days when the music was so much better
Where is Vivaldi when you need him. Lol
Aaron Cheney
Favorite Chord: C 6/9
Italian is one of the classic "singing languages" due to the fact that every single word ends with a vowel: an "o" or an "a". Makes everything sound like an opera. Amercian is best for rock and roll because it's loose sounding. But rock and roll with a UK accent is the best. It takes this raw music and puts just enough polish on it to pass through customs...
Beatles anyone?
Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com
Beatles anyone?
Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com
Huh?
Come on, most well known UK artists adopt an American accent and use US idioms and phrases - they may SOUND English to an genuine Yank, but to us English they are clearly singing 'in American' (check out Bono from U2 - yes I know he's Irish!).
Like I said, The Beatles were very early on crticised for singing like americans! Mick Jagger adopted American accent to sing.
UK acts who sing with a very clear English accent do not tend to have had as much success stateside (Squeeze & Jarvis Cocker spring to mind).
Non of this bothers me, i sing with a slight Amercian accent myself, and I'm from the North of England - some of the artists I most admire are U.S. Dylan, Springsteen, Lou Reed so it's bound to have an influence.
Come on, most well known UK artists adopt an American accent and use US idioms and phrases - they may SOUND English to an genuine Yank, but to us English they are clearly singing 'in American' (check out Bono from U2 - yes I know he's Irish!).
Like I said, The Beatles were very early on crticised for singing like americans! Mick Jagger adopted American accent to sing.
UK acts who sing with a very clear English accent do not tend to have had as much success stateside (Squeeze & Jarvis Cocker spring to mind).
Non of this bothers me, i sing with a slight Amercian accent myself, and I'm from the North of England - some of the artists I most admire are U.S. Dylan, Springsteen, Lou Reed so it's bound to have an influence.
Aaron Cheney
Favorite Chord: C 6/9
Yeah, I understand what your saying....
I think you're right about us Yanks being able to detect the Brit accent even when they're singing in "American".
Speaking of the Irish...The Coors spring to mind. They've had some great success on the American charts lately, but to us (or to me at least) they sound very Irish.
I think proper singing diction kind of blurs the line between English and Amercian anyway. Both would turn "r" into "ah", for example. "Foreverrrrr" becomes "forevahhh". Of course, we still like to pronounce our "h" here in the States.
Now that I'm thinking about it.... I guess there is just a kind of universal "rock and roll language". Within America there are all kinds of dialects or accents, and Americans mimic them all the time: the Boston accent, the Southern drawl, the mid-western or Wisconson accent, the California surfer accent, etc. I'm sure the UK is the same way. But when it comes to singing rock, we all kind of use the "rock accent".
INteresting....
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I swear I hear the British Royalty speak with a different accent than the "working class". I've heard the term "Cockney slang" as well, though I don't know what it means. Clue me in.
Bob's yer uncle!
Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com
I think you're right about us Yanks being able to detect the Brit accent even when they're singing in "American".
Speaking of the Irish...The Coors spring to mind. They've had some great success on the American charts lately, but to us (or to me at least) they sound very Irish.
I think proper singing diction kind of blurs the line between English and Amercian anyway. Both would turn "r" into "ah", for example. "Foreverrrrr" becomes "forevahhh". Of course, we still like to pronounce our "h" here in the States.
Now that I'm thinking about it.... I guess there is just a kind of universal "rock and roll language". Within America there are all kinds of dialects or accents, and Americans mimic them all the time: the Boston accent, the Southern drawl, the mid-western or Wisconson accent, the California surfer accent, etc. I'm sure the UK is the same way. But when it comes to singing rock, we all kind of use the "rock accent".
INteresting....
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I swear I hear the British Royalty speak with a different accent than the "working class". I've heard the term "Cockney slang" as well, though I don't know what it means. Clue me in.
Bob's yer uncle!
Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com
Synesthesia
New member
Interesting discussion...I guess a singer's accent also depends a lot on the style of music he or she is singing. I'm assuming that "Traveling Riverside Blues" might not have sounded as good had Robert Plant sung with his normal accent. At the same time, I couldn't really imagine "Supper's Ready" without Peter Gabriel's decidedly English way of singing (Phil Collins on "Seconds Out" even sings the song with a British accent, for the one time I can recall)...
True about British singers who sing with an American accent but still sound English...I often can't tell whether or not Chris Martin of Coldplay is trying to hide his accent. Not that it matters, I'd think their music is great either way. I wonder if there are any American singers who emulate British accents? This is a common thing in movies, but in that scenario British actors imitating American accents are often much more convincing than the other way around, I find.
-Derrick
True about British singers who sing with an American accent but still sound English...I often can't tell whether or not Chris Martin of Coldplay is trying to hide his accent. Not that it matters, I'd think their music is great either way. I wonder if there are any American singers who emulate British accents? This is a common thing in movies, but in that scenario British actors imitating American accents are often much more convincing than the other way around, I find.
-Derrick
Aaron Cheney
Favorite Chord: C 6/9
Synesthesia said:
hmmm.... I don't know about that! Kevin Costner was pretty good in Robin Hood.
Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com