Learning a second language is difficult for a lot of people, but one fact many of us take for granted is how difficult it is to learn the language that we were born into. While we were surrounded by it and learned it somewhat naturally, it may not be such a natural experience for a person learning a subsequent language.
Among those more difficult languages, undoubtedly, is English.
The Language Simp on TikTok, who is a genuine polyglot with a unique sense of humor, frequently posts videos that parody the language-learning process, from how difficult it is to learn some languages over others, to the most important languages to know in the future.
And while the Language Simp is clearly joking, there is truth to some of his jokes, including English being a tough language to learn. But his methods of explaining why are more hilarious than resourceful.
In the following video, the Language Simp states that he will demonstrate how American English sounds to non-English speaking listeners, and he proceeds to speak in what can only be described as "gibberish" or "the language of Sims."
You can watch the video here:
Viewers of the video were left in a hilarious mix of laughter, confusion, and nostalgia for their beloved "Sims."
The video has garnered serious attention, with more than 450 thousand views and 42 thousand likes.
Some were laughing over the similarity to the "Sims."
@languagesimp/TikTok
@languagesimp/TikTok
@languagesimp/TikTok
@languagesimp/TikTok
@languagesimp/TikTok
But others more seriously were impressed by how much sense the video made.
@languagesimp/TikTok
@languagesimp/TikTok
@languagesimp/TikTok
@languagesimp/TikTok
@languagesimp/TikTok
There are people everywhere who impersonate people from other countries and languages, whether they're trying to impart information or to make a racist comment. But most Americans probably don't think about how they sound to other countries.
But even if this isn't a totally spot-on interpretation of what American English sounds like to non-native English speakers, it's still a reminder of how nonsensical a language will sound to a person who's only begun to learn the language or who has never been exposed to it before.
And of course, we should also take from this that part of every positive learning experience is laughter.
