Learn Languages From Songs With Subtitles: Hebrew to English, Arabic and Aramaic

Problem
What do songs in foreign languages mean?
Can I learn words the easy, fun way from songs?

Answer
Yes, just go onto YouTube and type in the title of a song and the words 'translate into EnglishP or "subtitles in English' or 'lyrics in English', or just the language you are learning.

Story
I've been trying to learn languages from songs for years. Nursery rhymes and songs. At kindergarten (that's a German word from the German word kindergarten) and in primary school (for Americans, this means elementary school) I was taught Frere Jacques which I have remembered life long.

Now, today, I've discovered something else. I was sent a link to an Israeli song. I'm started learning Hebrew on Duolingo (I wanted to learn the alphabet, and I also started Russian and Greek). I have been to Russia, Greece and Israel a couple of times or more. However, from the Israeli song I recognised only two words, erev for evening - looks almost the same, and beseder, which I thought was enough (or in context OK?).

Urgh! I then went searching for the lyrics, and instead of finding the English in a column alongside the Hebrew, which is what you tend to get if you type in the words of a classical song such as something from an Italian opera, I found a link to another version of the song by some other singers with subtitles along the front.

Songs are excellent for learning languages. They are memorable, so you want to sing along with the chorus, then you keep repeating the tune and the words in your head. So now I am on a quest to find a song in each language I am learning, preferably one with helpful vocabulary.

The Hebrew song, when you stop to think about it, is quite humorous. I like the line about everybody giving you advice!

Hebrew, Arabic and Aramaic
Incidentally, Hebrew and Arabic are similar with a base in Aramaic, which is the language which would have been spoken in the streets of Jerusalem two thousand years ago in the era of Jesus and the Romans (along with lots of other notable figures from world history). I think Aramaic is still used for weddings and funerals worldwide at Jewish events, as well as being spoken in villages by several groups today, alongside Hebrew and Arabic, by Moslems, Jews and Christians in Aramaic speaking areas. (See my previous posts on Hebrew, Arabic and Aramaic words and names of people. Ben is son in Hebrew, as in Benjamin and Ben Hur, whilst Bar, another word beginning with B, is Aramaic for son, as in Barmitzvah (son of the law or good deed) and Bar Kochba.

Google translate would not translate Rak b/Yisrael but I then found the translation is on the Youtube website at the start of the song and throughout.

Words from the song
adam - man/person
b' in
Bar - son in Aramaic
ben - son in Hebrew (Benjamin - biblical name meaning son of my right hand)
chinam - advice
ha - the
kol - whole, all
Rak - only
shalom - peace in Hebrew, salaam, peace in Arabic, Jerusalem - city of peace
shel - of (as in the song Jerusalem shel b a h a v - 0ops trouble with autocorrect - Jerusalem of Gold
simcha - celebration
yam - sea
yishun - sleep
yom - day (as in Yom Kippur, the Jewish religion fasting holy day)
If you can recognise the words Adam (man), ben (son) shalom (peace), you already know three words of Hebrew and if you know salaam you know one word of Arabic. Build, build, build on your languages. Habonim - (ha-bonim) the builders - a name for a youth group.

Im is the Hebrew plural for a noun, such as cherubim - lots of cherubs, bonim - lots builders.

Uni (pronounced Uh - knee (+I in Hebrew)
rot-ze (want)
bonim (builders).

Tips
I'll repeat:
Go onto YouTube and type in the title of a song and the words 'translate into EnglishP or "subtitles in English' or 'lyrics in English', or just the language you are learning.

Here's the song which started my quest today for translations of songs with subtitles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvabkdetO1s

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, teacher of English and other languages.
Also correction and translation of websites and other material such as CVs, instruction books and sales materials.
Pleas look at my other posts on this blog and my other blogs on language and spelling in blogger.com . You can see more Angela Lansbury author, poet, speaker, Toastmaster, profiles and posts on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, on my web pages and my books on Amazon.com and Lulu.com Please like my pages, follow and share.