christophertin
<a href="http://www.christophertin.com"><span styl
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2007
- Messages
- 77
I've tried to find another video that can be seen in the US of the song of the Greek band Daemonia Nymphe. I hope this time you can enjoy de music:
So the Swahili in it contains some errors? I knew it! Anyway, if some of your friends have checked it and native speakers are cool about it means that it's not that terrible, which is good news. I hope you encourage your native-speaking friends to upload a video singing it so we finally know how should it sound
As for your Chinese name, that's weird. I mean, I would have expected having you not using your Chinese name in the US but I don't get why does your label use an hybrid of your both names in Asia. Wouldn't it be easier to use the Chinese name in the whole of East Asia?
Pretty cool stuff!
So yes, the Swahili does contain one major grammatical error... and I'll set the record straight once and for all about the lyrics, and how the error came to be. 'Baba Yetu' means 'Our Father'. I took one look at that phrase and I thought to myself "Okay, 'yetu' means Father," so since I need a rhythmic repetition of a word, I figured it would be okay to say 'Our Father, Father who art in heaven'.
Why did I think that 'yetu' meant 'Father'? Because the Zulu word 'Yesu' means Jesus, and the words were just so similar, that I didn't think twice about it. So that's where my big mistake took place.
Turns out 'Baba' means Father (go figure), and 'yetu' means 'our'. So as it turns out, what they're saying is "Our father, our, who art in heaven."
Terribly embarrassing mistake, and one that I'm forced to live with forever and ever. That's why every time I meet a Swahili speaker, I'm quick to apologize for screwing up the grammar! They've all been perfectly fine with it, though, but still, I'm embarrassed.
And as for my Chinese name, it's actually quite common for Chinese American artists to be referred to by both of their names in Chinese press... especially if they're better known by their English name.