May 1, 2020

This TikTok Shows What American English Sounds Like To Non-English Speakers, And My Mind Is Blown

Well, that settles it!

by Daniella Emanuel

BuzzFeed Staff

One time, a French kid at summer camp told me that Americans sound like ducks when they speak English.

I took this tragic news in stride and carried on with the rest of my life.

But deep down inside, I couldn't help but wonder if non-English speakers heard loud, obnoxious quacks coming out of our mouths whenever we spoke.

Years later (aka this morning), I came across a TikTok by 24-year-old Diego Rivas that finally answered my question!

@diego.j.rivas
What Americans sounds like to non-English speakers #tiktok #fyp #funny #moreyouknow #ThisIsQuitting #quarantine #bored #viral #comedy #happy #video
♬ original sound - diegorivas345

In the video, Rivas speaks gibberish in an American accent, and he does not sound like a duck — thus proving that Pierre was wrong all along!

Rivas was born in Venezuela, but has lived in Texas for most of his life. "I speak Spanish, Portuguese, French and, of course, English," he told BuzzFeed. "I love languages in general and I would love to learn German, Arabic, and Vietnamese."

He's done versions of the gibberish video for Japanese, Russian, Zulu, Spanish, and many other languages.

@diego.j.rivas
What Spanish sounds like to non-Spanish speakers #spanish #español #venezuela #mexico #colombia #latino #foryou #fyp #ThisIsQuitting #viral #gibberish
♬ original sound - diegorivas345

"I’ve always been pretty good at impressions and for some languages, it comes naturally," Rivas said. "But for others, I would look up YouTube videos of people speaking in different languages and I would try to imitate what they sounded like to me."

@diego.j.rivas
What Russian sounds like to non-Russian speakers #russia #gibberish #fyp #languages #foryou #funnny #russian #viral #moreyouknow #comedy #tiktok
♬ original sound - diego.j.rivas

Rivas said he's been receiving a lot of positive feedback on his TikToks. "It’s awesome when people tell me the videos made them smile or laugh," he said. "I never expected these videos to blow up like they did, so I feel very lucky!"

@diego.j.rivas
What Dutch sounds like to non-Dutch speakers #gibberish #dutch #netherlands #fyp #foryou #funny #holland #nederland #tiktoknederland
♬ original sound - diego.j.rivas

This TikTok Shows What American English Sounds Like To Non-English Speakers, And My Mind Is Blown

One time, a French kid at summer camp told me that Americans sound like ducks when they speak English.

I took this tragic news in stride and carried on with the rest of my life.

But deep down inside, I couldn't help but wonder if non-English speakers heard loud, obnoxious quacks coming out of our mouths whenever we spoke.

Years later (aka this morning), I came across a TikTok by 24-year-old Diego Rivas that finally answered my question!

In the video, Rivas speaks gibberish in an American accent, and he does not sound like a duck — thus proving that Pierre was wrong all along!

Rivas was born in Venezuela, but has lived in Texas for most of his life. "I speak Spanish, Portuguese, French and, of course, English," he told BuzzFeed. "I love languages in general and I would love to learn German, Arabic, and Vietnamese."

He's done versions of the gibberish video for Japanese, Russian, Zulu, Spanish, and many other languages.

"I’ve always been pretty good at impressions and for some languages, it comes naturally," Rivas said. "But for others, I would look up YouTube videos of people speaking in different languages and I would try to imitate what they sounded like to me."

Rivas said he's been receiving a lot of positive feedback on his TikToks. "It’s awesome when people tell me the videos made them smile or laugh," he said. "I never expected these videos to blow up like they did, so I feel very lucky!"

Did you think the American one sounded like something specific? Let us know in the comments!

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