A language learners’ forum

Whenever I listen to one of my favorite albums called Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana by Japanese Artist Sheena Ringo, there is this song called "やっつけ仕事" (yattsuke shigoto - translating to quick and dirty job/work - or rush job). In the intro of the song a television channel is swapped, and each channel is in a different language, talking presumably about said song of the artist being performed at a theater:

After listening to this song for more than 15 years, I still haven't figured out the languages, and I always wonder. I thought it could be fun if we maybe could figure them out together.
What makes it a bit tricky is that it is not guaranteed that the languages spoken are spoken correctly, at least the German-part is not, and spoken by a Japanese native.

Unfortunately I couldn't find the song on youtube, only a Karaoke version, not so important, but if you wonder what the song sounds like.

Now, for the language part: I found this guy making a bass cover, and the first 30 seconds of the video feature the language parts. The television channel switches 7 times so:

Language 1 - ??? - sounds like he says Bonjour, but then teatro? - it doesn't sound like neither Italian nor French to me, I don't know.
Language 2 - ??? Asian sounding language
Language 3 - German: "Der Theater 'Kao geki chou"" (should be "das Theather - the theater - and maybe this is Kabukicho or just the name of the Theater)
Language 4 - ???
Language 5 - English: "the theater in 1921"
Language 6 - Spanish, but I'm not sure exactly what is said expect I hear some "lo" and "docientos" - also the ending word sounds weird
Language 7 - ???
Language 8 - German:"..machen. Und heute Abend (werden) wir noch mehr Geschichte machen. Der Konzert (Das Konzert) fängt schon an, das (es) heißt "Yattsuke Shigoto". - I put the corrected German in parenthesis, in English this translates to: " - ..make. And tonight we will create even more history, the concert is already starting. It is called 'Yattsuke Shigoto'."

alaart wrote:Language 1 - ??? - sounds like he says Bonjour, but then teatro? - it doesn't sound like neither Italian nor French to me, I don't know.

Very clearly Italian, it starts with "buongiorno e benvenuti..."

alaart wrote:Language 2 - ??? Asian sounding language

Mandarin. The English-like "er" is a giveaway.

alaart wrote:Language 4 - ???

alaart wrote:Language 7 - ???

At first I thought that 4 was also Mandarin, because of the retroflex "sh", while 7 almost immediately jumped out at me as Russian "претерпел немало м..." ("has suffered/undergone a great deal of [a word starting with "m"]"). Listening to 4 a second time made me notice that it sounds like Russian too, but I didn't manage to make out any specific words. Then I got curious about the last word of 7, since I suspected that it's "мук" ("torments" or "ordeals") but wasn't sure if I was hearing it right due to how abruptly it cuts off and also because "претерпел немало мук" didn't strike me as a particularly natural-sounding Russian phrase. My professional habit of constantly questioning my own native speaker sensibilities forced me to google the phrase, leading me to not only discover its source but also identify the words in passage 4 - "ты душой моей владела" ("you were possessing my soul"). Both of those phrases are from what's supposed to be a Russian translation of a poem by Lord Byron (it might be this one, based on some similar imagery and phrasing, although the verse is structured completely differently so I'm not sure).

vonPeterhof, you were just a little bit faster than me
The original poem is "There Was A Time, I Need Not Name".

Oh, wow. That were the shortest and most difficult part to figure out.

I have thought of Mandarin before too, since it has tones, but I dismissed it. What you identified as "er" I thought was something like an al (which doesn't exist in Chinese I think), but now it makes more sense.

Now that I listen again and again, maybe I can here something like "[...] 吗(ma)? [...] 现在的(xiànzàide) shi. Oh dear

It's Mandarin probably from Taiwan, according to my Taiwanese friend:

積極而充滿活力的……現代女性 (jījí ér chōngmán huólì de xiàndài nǚ​xìng) - probably translating to: A modern woman, proactive and full of energy

Wow, I had no idea, and I just had a Chinese university exam yesterday

alaart wrote:It's Mandarin probably from Taiwan, according to my Taiwanese friend:

積極而充滿活力的……現代女性 (jījí ér chōngmán huólì de xiàndài nǚ​xìng) - probably translating to: A modern woman, proactive and full of energy

Wow, I had no idea, and I just had a Chinese university exam yesterday

That's 100% Chinese and I agree that it's probably Guoyu (i.e. Taiwan mandarin) because Sheena Ringo has always been a hit in Taiwan. Her first international show was also held in Taiwan. Taiwan's guoyu to me always sound "cleaner" than Mandarin in China and there's no "er" sound.

I think 積極而充滿活力的XXX的現代故事 a positive and full of energy x x x modern story

alaart wrote:Language 1 - ??? - sounds like he says Bonjour, but then teatro? - it doesn't sound like neither Italian nor French to me, I don't know.

"Buongiorno e benvenuti, sono Maurizio Robert(?) e siamo qui, a teatro Con-"

'Good morning / Hello, and welcome, I am Maurizio Robert, and we're here at the Con[...] theatre...'

Main reason why I doubt I am correctly hearing "Robert" is because I don't hear a final vowel, and yet a surname "Roberte" seems weird to me (although maybe it isn't). It is well probably "Robert".

Language 6 - Spanish, but I'm not sure exactly what is said expect I hear some "lo" and "docientos" - also the ending word sounds weird

"En 1821 [mil ochocientos veintiuno], Quigo Bolo-"

I can't identify the word following the number. It's probably a proper name?

Very cool song, btw.

Very interesting! This is what it sounds like to me. I am certain about 1,2, 5, 6, and 10 (and, happily, can understand them).

1) Italian
2) Mandarin
3) Korean - Only 90% certain because of the short sample
4) Japanese? - sample too short and unclear
5) English
6) Spanish
7) Japanese? - also a very short snippet, possible Japanese word being read by the Spanish announcer
8) Vietnamese? - only 3 syllables
9) unknown - also only 3 syllables
10) German -