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[–]plutus9 511 points512 points  (51 children)

I love seeing stuff like this

[–]conradical30 133 points134 points  (46 children)

This is like a young Laoshu. If you want an entire channel of this, check it out. RIP (he died a few months ago). He had a lot of videos and knew more languages than anyone I’ve ever seen before.


Edit- sorry for being unclear. Laoshu aka Moses passed away, not the guy in OP’s video. But apparently they were friends.

[–]DontBeMeanToRobots 38 points39 points  (1 child)

This is the dude in video talking about Laoshu


[–]-Venser- 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Fuck, I was subbed to the guy and he was a big inspiration.

[–]BRBean 15 points16 points  (1 child)

The dude in the video is similar, and was good friends with laoshu. His youtube is xiaomannyc

[–]Apostastrophe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I noticed that. I think some people are misunderstanding and thing that Xiaomanny died 🥴

[–]Chrspls 7 points8 points  (11 children)

How did he die

[–]Cainedbutable 19 points20 points  (3 children)

Heart attack. The world lost a good guy that day!

[–]Inanimate-Sensation 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Oh damn. Remember seeing him on /r/videos years ago.

He was really good. His social confidence was great too.

[–]Cainedbutable 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes he just came across as a really nice guy that was really excited to share his knowledge of languages. My favourite video of his is the South African guy he chats to at the bank. The bank tellers face when Laoshu busts out Zulu is incredible!

[–]olivier_wmv 8 points9 points  (6 children)

People are trying to say that it was a heart attack, but he was murdered


[–]ShingleKnot 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This guy seems mentally ill from the comments or at least in denial about his brothers death, almost all of the people closest to him refuted this

[–]CaptainAmerica1170 7 points8 points  (3 children)

He’s dead?! Wtf I loved watching his videos :(

[–]Huge_staringtomhanks 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Isn’t the dude in the video the same guy who goes around Chinese restaurants or markets speaking mandarin?

[–]Laughorgtfo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wait what. He died? What the fuck. I watch his videos all the time.

Edit: oooh ok. It's Laoshu that has passed away, not Xiaomanyc (the guy speaking Yoruba above).

[–]cmantheriault 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The last lady: “wait, he knows more than you and he’s black…”

[–]elkandmoth 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’d never heard of this guy before and I just watched that whole video - he seems so cool and relaxed. Everyone gets so much joy from hearing him speak their language, but it’s also super weird how taken aback they are hearing it coming from a black guy.

[–]mt379 6 points7 points  (0 children)

"That's so crazy you can speak our language! Huh, You want a discount on that shirt? Get outta here with that! " Lol

[–]FlamesOfAnzer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

YouTuber is Xiaoma I think, really fun videos like this

[–]Scoob204 267 points268 points  (44 children)

The full clip here. He has many other videos surprising people with different languages.

[–]heyimatworkman 122 points123 points  (35 children)

yeah the guy is like a savant with different languages and i love seeing the shocked look on people's faces, particularly older folks who tend to smile the biggest

[–]IWantAnAffliction 40 points41 points  (20 children)

The term is polyglot I think.

[–]docfunbags 66 points67 points  (19 children)

used to be called a language slut until the world went PC!

[–]GuardianSlayer 3 points4 points  (17 children)

Does he go to France and speak French? As a Canadian they do not like our French and Quebecians don’t like them. I’d love to see him try this with a French.

[–]LordStigness007 10 points11 points  (2 children)

It’s because Québécois French is about 200 years behind Metropolitan French. A whole ocean between the two places does that.

[–]MEANINGLESS_NUMBERS 4 points5 points  (11 children)

This has never been my experience in France. If I am polite and make an effort they always respond well.

[–]ReggieDunlop07 2 points3 points  (0 children)

"As a Canadian they do not like our French and Quebecians don’t like them"

Svp, parle juste pour toi. C'est totalement faux.

[–]rohrohrohroh 10 points11 points  (12 children)

Definitely called polyglot. Savant is a yesterday word at best 🤡

[–]drunkwasabeherder 12 points13 points  (5 children)

If I had a choice between being called a savant or polyglot, I'm gonna be choosing the savant with all it's savantness!

[–]nickfree 17 points18 points  (4 children)

Well you can't always get what you savant. Sometimes you gotta be happy with what you polyglot.

[–]Goolajones 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Nice one

[–]katsnam3ddawg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hope more people see this comment and groan as loud as I did. Well done!

[–]quetejodas 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Holy shit

[–]fluffstravels 9 points10 points  (3 children)

my understanding with polyglots is it actually gets easier to learn subsequent languages because there’s a methodology you start to figure out with how to learn them. like the first second language you learn is really hard but the third is easier and so on from there.

[–]Barabasbanana 5 points6 points  (0 children)

an Iranian American I worked with in Germany learnt the whole language in under 6 months, she was a lawyer and was preparing documents in under a year, she said it was easy because Iranian and English are so far apart linguistically, German was like a code in the middle. she was truly astounding ( a total babe as well lol)

[–]Peregrinebullet 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A lot of languages overlap. I grew up speaking French and English, so when I took a couple semesters of Russian in college, it was way easier because 2/3rds of Russian vocab is either English loan words (for modern stuff) or French words (it was considered classy by Russian nobility to speak French for about three centuries, so many words transferred over). Russian grammar is still a headache though and I almost always drop the ends of words because I can't remember the proper cases.

I also took mandarin in high school and a lot of the rules (and, of course, the written characters) carried over to Japanese. So I had a head start on what a lot of western people consider the hardest part of learning Japanese, which is learning the kanji. I can't really read Japanese text, but I understand a good chunk of signage as a result. The difference was the pronunciations were always completely different tho.

[–]chuckle_puss 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Hey, thanks for sharing! I really enjoyed that.

The top comment on one of the videos was "This is like the nerd version of going to the beach and flexing your muscles," and that is just hilarious.

[–]Feynization 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Imagine being this guy and trying to respond to emails on the subway. I feel so fortunate to only have to tune out one language

[–]Vuffy_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Literally spent a couple of hours watching his videos.

[–]NathanJMc 1 point2 points  (4 children)

I thought I recognized this dude! I watched a lot of his Chinese language content last year. I didn't realize he was extending into other languages...

[–]Awkward_and_Itchy 3 points4 points  (3 children)

He has a ton of videos like this. He just loves learning languages. He has a few where he learns as much of a language as he can in as little time as possible.

[–]im_batgirl14 80 points81 points  (11 children)

As a Linguist, I love seeing this

[–]conbizzle 73 points74 points  (9 children)

Are you a cunning linguist?

[–]Dolt-Dragoman 77 points78 points  (5 children)

No, he just licks pussy.

[–]WhoAmIToday451 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Low effort

[–]39thversion 12 points13 points  (0 children)

No, he gives it his all every time.

[–]Quelcris_Falconer13 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I chuckled, take my updoot

[–]mb242630 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not a linguist, but a master debater.

[–]SusieQRST 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They have the gift of tongues

[–]i_love_all 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I miss laoshu dearly

[–]sweetBrisket 66 points67 points  (1 child)

My heart. It swells.

[–]tpistols 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Take. Some. Aspirin. Now

[–]EL_PENETRADORRRRR 52 points53 points  (29 children)

Man, they completely wrote him off and wouldn’t give him the time of day, and then LIT UP when they heard him speak their native tongue.

[–]atl1057 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Happens a lot especially if English isn’t your first language in America

[–]serdnaderf 8 points9 points  (26 children)

Americans walk into their country every day and disrespect the local culture. One surprised them with respect.

[–]Red-Jaguars 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This is in NYC.

[–]Shervico 7 points8 points  (6 children)

Honestly, I'm Italian so I see a lot of tourists when I go into the big towns, Ive met a loooot of Americans, and in 27 years of life I never met the American tourist stereotype I see around reddit, only genuinely nice and people just happy to be there exploring and enjoying the places, always happy to receive advices from locals, the only time I've met loud Americans was late at night in Florence, but at that point everyone was drunk and loud having fun

[–]broohaha[🍰] 1 point2 points  (4 children)

Unfortunately, I have. They were actually military guys on break, touring a site in Seoul. They were loud, obnoxious, and embarrassing the rest of us tourists. I was just a teenager with my dad, and we just pretended to not be American (we're of Asian descent so we blended in well) to distance ourselves from them as much as possible.

[–]Shervico 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well shiet then, I guess it comes down to luck on what kind of people you meet


Military folks are just straight up assholes though. Source: was in the military.

[–]ArseLiquor 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I implore you to find one article about American tourists in Kenya being disrespectful.

[–]BrightonTownCrier 2 points3 points  (10 children)

Not knowing Yoruba is not disrespectful.

[–]Fenix_Volatilis 1 point2 points  (9 children)

No but learning someone else's native tongue is a sign of respect when you're visiting, whether it's their business or their country. Not saying you have to, they certainly don't expect you to, and that's WHY is a sign of respect

[–]pigflion 26 points27 points  (0 children)

this guy has some great content on YouTube

[–]Smokabi 25 points26 points  (2 children)

I don't care what anyone says, Xiaoma's the bomb, and you can tell he really loves learning languages and impressing natives with his attempts. He makes people happy, and that's all there is to it. Language is about connecting and communication, not competition.

[–]NathanJMc 12 points13 points  (0 children)

It's reddit; if it's not in the approved circlejerk category, the trolls are going to find a weakness and shit on that, and only that. This guy's content is cool and he's out there in the world having great life experiences with people and making a great living on Youtube. His Chinese is excellent and is the primary reason his channel is so big. Great to see some actual positive content.

[–]FlimsyArmadillo707 18 points19 points  (21 children)

I love this guy. He can speak so many languages and learns them incredibly well and so quickly. Awesome!

[–]AlexFeels 14 points15 points  (5 children)

You don't know how well he speaks a language unless you speak it yourself

A lot of "polyglots" on youtube just learn basic phrases in a language and say them with shitty, half assed pronunciation

[–]PinguRambo 7 points8 points  (4 children)

And that's exactly what he does.

[–]StarsDreamsAndMore 7 points8 points  (2 children)

I mean it'd be impossible to actually learn a complex language that fast. But you'd be lying if you said his ability to get a basic conservational grasp of a language wasn't high since he tries so hard compared to other people. Rather his understanding is rudimentary or not, he clearly gives his all to learning the languages when he's doing it.

[–]NegotiationSalt 11 points12 points  (1 child)

He uploaded about my language, while it was not perfect, he able to create full sentence and improvised. You know when children try to speak but have not enough vocabularies? He was like that. But he able to deliver his message.

[–]Xalbana 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Lol exactly, people expect polyglots to know the entire vocabulary of a language in a short time.

[–]Moal 7 points8 points  (0 children)

There’s a longer video of him going to other Nigerian-owned shops, and he holds conversations with them about what kinds of foods to eat (like smoked fish, cassava, etc), what restaurants to try, what kind of shirt he prefers to purchase, etc. He’s quite a bit more advanced than just basic phrases.

[–]marsianerTertiary 🏛 8 points9 points  (0 children)

No. He didn't. That's untrue.

[–]lamb2cosmicslaughter 5 points6 points  (5 children)

He learned Navajo in a month. Yes the impossible to learn because it's almost a dead language and no written books.

[–]nenenene 9 points10 points  (1 child)

It has written books? Navajo speakership is growing again. It’s on Duolingo even.

[–]NegotiationSalt 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Is it when he went to Mexico? I think he learned local language, not remember which one.

[–]aspbergerinparadise 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Navajo people are not from Mexico. Are you maybe thinking of Nahuatl?

[–]PinguRambo -2 points-1 points  (7 children)

He can speak so many languages

No he doesn't :)

He just learned a couple of key sentences but would never be able to have a real conversation.

[–]andyaustinphoto 7 points8 points  (2 children)

Man I’d love to see you do that. You just sound bitter af.

[–]Moal 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Watch the full video and you will probably change your mind. He definitely speaks more than just basic phrases there.

[–]oneoftheryans 2 points3 points  (0 children)

How much of the Yoruba language do you need to speak before you're allowed to say that you speak "Just a bit."? Seems like an odd thing to try and gate keep.

I don't think the people in the video are even aware that they weren't having a REAL conversation.

[–]blue_arr0w 15 points16 points  (6 children)

As a Nigerian (Igbo) born American who doesn't speak the language unfortunately... No one show my mom this video 😭😭😭

[–]TrillLogic_ 11 points12 points  (3 children)

Too late, she'll be getting in on WhatsApp in a week.

[–]TheMysteryMan_iii 5 points6 points  (2 children)

A week? Why so late? Expect your parents to show you this video at the dinner table tonight!

[–]TrillLogic_ 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Viral videos don’t get spread as fast to them. It’s like seeing a joke on Twitter then somebody else posts it a month later on Facebook.

[–]TheMysteryMan_iii 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ik, I was just joking lol

[–]skatejet1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m the same sorta. I’ve got both East and West African Parents who are multilingual but I only know English. I hope they never see this video 💀

[–]MikeTheAmalgamator 8 points9 points  (2 children)

Shout out to Moses the OG of this stuff. RIP my dude. Check out Laoshu505000 on YouTube for some amazing interactions like this one.

[–]G_skins31 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I was just thinking the other day I hadn’t seen a new video from laoshu for a while and then a I googled him… made me sad

[–]Cainedbutable 1 point2 points  (0 children)

His death was such a big loss to YouTube as a whole. So many videos on there nowadays feed off anger and confrontation, but Moses only ever put positivity out there with his videos.

I hope his new partner and his family are doing OK!

[–]Twirlingbarbie 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Aw I love this. Sharing cultures and having a laugh together. I also love those fabrics the sell

[–]Signature-Relevant 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This guy is a legend.

[–]Withoutthe1 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I read this as “YouTube” instead of “Yoruba.”

Utter confusion begins

[–]dude-O-rama 3 points4 points  (1 child)

I don't know who that kid is, but some people here have commented he's an uncanny polyglot. I bet that kid has eaten both the best and worst food and drink currently being made by human kind.

[–]GreenGemsOmally 2 points3 points  (0 children)

He goes by Xiaomanyc on YouTube. He's got a ton of videos where he goes around and speaks to people in cantonese and mandorin where he is most fluent. But he's a polyglot so he learns a lot of other languages as well and does surprise videos like this. They're all so wholesome and people react so positively.


[–]Banner-Man 3 points4 points  (9 children)

This is what America is about. People from incredibly different cultures bonding over a mutual respect for each other.

[–]FewBevitos 8 points9 points  (7 children)

That is definitely not how I would describe modern day America

[–]Banner-Man 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Neither would I which is actually why I bothered saying anything. I should clarify this is what it should be about. Imo

[–]FewBevitos 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Fair enough

[–]Qwahzi 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I get your point, but there actually is a strong correlation between experiencing diversity in cities and recognizing racial inequality. Interacting with people who are different from you (which happens more often in cities) seems to make it easier for people to see different perspectives:


[–]PearlyDrops 0 points1 point  (2 children)

this literally is a video of modern day america. so why wouldn't you?

[–]Daniel-Mentxaka 1 point2 points  (3 children)

Where can I learn it?

[–]Horambe 2 points3 points  (1 child)

The language? I think there was a subreddit either for Yoruba exclusively or native African languages in general

Edit: r/nigerianfluency

[–]Estarossa86 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Shout out to the brother love to see it

[–]RadAddict 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was a Mormon missionary in the 90’s (not Mormon any more) but I learned Tongan fluently. Almost every door I knocked on, I would get reactions like this. I was constantly getting invited in - not to talk religion - but they wanted to feed me and hear me speak their beautiful language. If kids answered the door, I would tell them I was Tongan, just white, and it would blow their minds.

[–]luisl1994 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Super feel good

[–]informationtiger 1 point2 points  (5 children)

He "speaks" Yoruba like a lot of other "polyglots" smh

[–]chapterpt 8 points9 points  (2 children)

You should respect someone speaking with a heavy accent as they likely speak at least 1 more language than you do.

[–]Yosemitelsd -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It seems like he's just saying a couple phrases or words over and over again

[–]GiannisToTheWariors 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Aw I love it

[–]Mrstrawberry209 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Language connects!

[–]36Vigilantes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They are genuinely happy to see him speak the language that’s very tight.

[–]nmahajan142 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This guy is amazing with various languages and making people feel good by indulging in their cultures. We need more people like him in the world.

[–]cafesaigon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This guy is the best!! He’s fluent in mandarin and knows some Cantonese and learns a ton of languages—all of his videos are kind of like this, I highly recommend checking out his stuff.

[–]Deface_the_currency 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The best part about this was how the second he started speaking their language, either a handshake or a fist bump was the first response. That immediate connection to a stranger through something most people over here wouldn't even think about enough to devote hate towards is powerful. Referring to the original, since this is just a clip

[–]Groovy66 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is utterly charming. Thanks for sharing

[–]SoupieLC 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He and Laoshu are my favourite polyglot YouTubers, an I just checked I was writing his name right and Laoshu passed away 😕😑 fuck, that hit me hard 😔

[–]-PinkPower- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He speaks multiple languages like that. He is amazing, I love that guy!

[–]_flauschige_katze 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yesss I love this guy’s videos

[–]ilikebeeeef 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love this kid. He speaks all kinds of languages and it’s really nice to see people’s reactions. It’s like, wow this kid really invests the time to learn MY language. He seems to really enjoy meeting different people and I love that.

[–]PoliteCanadian2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why did Will Smith shave his head?

[–]Letmetellyouabtlyfe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is why i love languages n culture <3

[–]PrincePryda 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel like many non-americans (especially asians) absolutely love it when non-nationals can speak their language.

I went to an international school abroad and so many of my friends were foreigners (ie. either from the states of Europe/Australia). While many only stayed for a year or two, an american classmate who ended up becoming my best friend stayed for 8 years.

We both just so happened to move back to the states to attend the same college, and now that he’s working in HVAC, he tells all his customers who are from my country that he’s lived there. The expressions on their faces priceless, and he says they open up to him so much more differently after he starts naming streets and malls back home.

The world is a big place, but we can make it small.

[–]Sugarlips_Habasi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Funny. I (white American) know Nigerian's from a church I went to and they would react the same way after I say 'o dabo' (goodbye). It's the only word I remember.

[–]KarringtonMcBear 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"you make me so proud" the guy says. The love we share when we share our cultures is so beautiful. Embrace each other.

[–]DepressedKylar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Isn’t this the same guy who speaks fluent Mandarin in Chinese restaurants?

[–]hamadryus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is there a langage this guy won't learn

[–]dottywine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Now I feel ashamed 😭 everytime they look at me and I can’t speak it (I’m nigerian)

[–]Evan_TEE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is so wholesome

[–]sturmblast 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One of the most inspiring and influential people I've met in my life was a refugee man from Nigera.. he taught me a lot as a young man. I don't recall much of the language as I only learned a few words, but this video basically sums up my wholesome experiences with Nigerian's in general.

I miss those folks.

[–]elister 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I assume he was given an option to learn a foreign language in high school. Usually its French or Spanish, not wanting to learn either, he picked a language out of a hat and actually learned it.

Love their surprised look on their faces.

[–]jenntones 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This gives me chills

[–]MyCrazyBanana42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This shit made me smile so much

[–]MyCrazyBanana42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This reminds me of another white American guy talking excellent mandarin (Chinese? Forgive my ignorance) and surprising people

[–]norsemedic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This video proves if we put down the sword and pick up the souls of our fellow man we can be so much happier.

[–]BleuetsSun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love videos like this. Always makes me so happy! I wish I could learn all the languages around the world

[–]nfolsen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

White "boy".

Lmao always

[–]inessa_k 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Of course it's xiaoma. Who else but him. XD


r/mademesmile this is awesome

[–]dukesoflonghorns 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is so wholesome. It brought a smile to my face. Thank you for sharing!

[–]Forward-Promise-5696 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love this guy!

[–]DeathByUnicornnn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can someone tell me what this store is called? I’m going to need to grab that shirt.

[–]lodbryce 0 points1 point  (0 children)

RIP Laoshu 💔 true OG.. his work will never die tho. It’ll keep inspiring the youth and i love it

[–]Spnstanaf73 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is this the same guy than can speak perfect mandarin or Chinese or something like that? He looks familiar.

[–]boywonder5691 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a nice shirt

[–]EvolvingBoner 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He has my respect, this guy spends time learning phrases from different countries. Watching people’s faces light up is the best part.

[–]nebuchadrezzar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's really fun to watch how happy people are to have a connection like that. When I speak the local language people usually just repeat what I say and laugh. Not many are impressed:)

[–]dajediknight 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is beautiful. We need more of this. The internet will be a better place!