Elite US Government Diplomats Test My French, Arabic, and Dari
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- čas přidán 3. 06. 2024
- When the US State Department slid into my DMs, I'll admit I was a little nervous. But it turned out they had a fascinating video proposal: meet three elite diplomats fluent in French, Arabic, and Dari and let them grill me in their languages over lunch. And these weren't just any diplomats - they all serve as US government spokespeople on foreign language TV and social media. So we met up at restaurants around NYC, where little did the staff know they had genuine polyglots in their midst! And I was really put through my paces, responding to rapid-fire questions in three different tongues. It was an eye-opening look into the world of high-level diplomacy and a fun chance to flex my language skills. Here's a taste of our linguistic adventures across the city. And make sure to check out the excellent restaurants featured in this video:
Dar Yemma (Moroccan / Algerian)
25-21 Steinway St, Queens, NY 11103
Sami's Kabab House (Afghan)
35-57 Crescent St, Astoria, NY 11106
Voilà Afrique (West African)
844 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10017
0:00 Introduction
0:39 Meeting the diplomats
1:45 Ordering tea in Arabic
4:14 Mock interview in Dari
5:39 Speaking French at an African restaurant
6:31 Diplomat's son is my biggest fan
7:05 What is diplomatic immunity?
8:14 Diplomat tests my Arabic after testing my Dari
8:38 Waiter thinks diplomat is from Afghanistan!
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That was so cool of his Dad. What a lucky young man.
Really yeah! :D I actually got goosebumps there!
Yeah, that was super wholesome.
i missed that part what happened
His son is a huge fan of Xiaoma, and he greeted his son on the camera in this video. @@sexgamer666
@@sexgamer666 6:31
The man speaking Arabic was amazing. He really knows the culture including the hand gestures. His dialect was on point.
Officially a dialect, yes, but in reality, no. Dareeja is mostly amazigh languages as the basis, mixed together. The rest is a mix of Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, French and old roman. You wouldn't call English french, just because it has some french in it, right? The amazigh languages are 12000 years old, much older than Arabic, by a landslide :) It's disrespectful towards us Berbers to try to enforce the Arabic label upon our African nation.
Meh, ok.@@LeegallyBliindLOL
I know Levantine Arabic and have zero exposure to Amazigh: In the video they're definitely speaking a dialect of Arabic. @@LeegallyBliindLOL
@@ben2131 Yeah, duh, they were mostly speaking Arabic instead of dareeja in the video. And there is no way you understand labas, kidayr, etc. Especially from a levantine language. I should know, I speak Lebanese.
Thanks for explaining... I've heard the same thing about Lebanese dialect as well: to try to distance it from Arabic. @@LeegallyBliindLOL
I just wanna say, everyone watching should be very impressed with these diplomats. My friend is a US diplomat, he finally passed the test after 10 years. It's the hardest test the government has, like you have to know everything about everything
@@whyohwhy555🙄 grow up
After 10 years? Wow.
@@whatoh3407 non pascere troglodytam
@@whyohwhy555 politicians, not diplomats
I totally agree with you, I'm from Italy and here too it's the most difficult exam to pass, that of a diplomat is a very important job.
This is a great idea to explain to the public what the state department does. Such a typically underutilized and underappreciated part of our government.
Most intelligent and thoughtful comment I’ve read this week. I absolutely agree and the work of people like this is so much more important than people generally realise.
Underappreciated not underutilized lol
As they hand out papers to foreign leaders about how to build trans clinics for children... We literally did that in Afghanistan..
@@OGPatriot03 1. wtf are you talking about 2. What is a “trans clinic” it seems you are deeply confused about something 3. So… what… freedom of expression is literally the first amendment. It’s almost as if your profile photo is meant to be ironic
@@brianholloway6205agreed. They are so well used, all the time. I’m English but the skill and level of education of the diplomats of the US are awesome. It’s really a shame they’re not really respected more than they are.
If you are wondering Xiaomanyc's french is very very limited with a strong accent. The Diplomat who spoke french also had a VERY strong American accent but know his vocabulary
Yeah the diplomat sounded like he learned it in school or something but probably still almost fluent
Yes, I noticed that too. They should have had a Chinese diplomat too!
I speak very limited French, but was shocked at the diplomat’s accent. It almost sounded like he was reading French having never heard it spoken!
@@heythave I was thinking that the whole time lmao
je suis une omelette de fromage de pomme
Posture and body language are your next hurdles. We all suffer the same tendencies. Watching the diplomats and officials speak you can easily tell the formal/informal styles quick and watching them shift is intriguing. Keep up the fantastic content.
Yeah, the chick was right to correct you. You were slumped over and seemed a little nervous. She is also pretty and pretty females can have that effect. But good video, sir.
@@user-mu5hn7yo8q What got me was the elbow on the table! :D This is a big no-no in most countries.
Man, I was impressed with Xiaoma for so long, and then seeing the diplomats, I'm like 😮. All of you are so impressive.
the way they carry themselves was super next level. They have mastered the art of human socialization.
Xiaoma speaks like 50 languages, but doesnt master them. The diplomats focus on one or two and perfect them. Kinda unfair to compare the two.
@@wernerlindorfer3693 I wouldn't say it's unfair, and I'm not comparing them negatively. Both are incredibly impressive in what they do.
@@wernerlindorfer3693 he mostly remembers phrases, I wouldn't consider that "knowing" a language properly.
I am a US diplomat on my third language now. So so nice to read this and all the other kind comments. Thank you so much.
This video is a great example of the most important thing about speaking another language: putting away your fear and just doing it. It doesn't matter if you are very good or know very little, having no fear is worth a lot. Xiaoma is a great example of not letting his fear stop him from engaging anyone!
Indeed! The sentiment and effort is what counts. Language is the largest aspect of a culture, I believe, so it aides in understanding of each other, as well as a great way to get even better at your native tongue, by learning others, at least in my opinion. Cheers!
@@danymalsound Well said! Yes!
So I'm a U.S. diplomat currently in French training and I'll say that while our guy's French accent here is VERY american, I guarantee he has a strong grasp on grammar and advanced vocabulary. We study 8 hours a day 5 days a week for 7-8 months (longer for harder languages) with very skilled tutors in small groups of very dedicated (and I'd like to think smart) people, with learning specialists available for fine tuning to get us ready to do our jobs overseas. It would be very cool for Xiaoma to visit FSI where we learn languages and tradecraft.
Can you tell me more about this program? How do you get trained for it and what did you persue to get to this position?
@@Fabio-bu9bppursue*
Frenchman here, your comment reminded me how difficult our beautiful language is.
I wish you to succeed, and i hope that our language will bring you the best.
PS : Next time i'm coming to the US, i try the "Omelette du fromage" thing to locals 👀
@Fabio-bu9bp you can Google US Department of State Foreign Service Officer. That's the job title for the main diplomatic corps, though there are thousands of supporting specialists and folks from other departments like agriculture and commerce who also work at our embassies as diplomats.
Frenchman here too, yeah the official's accent is heavily American but his grammar is good indeed.
But did you really use the word "tradecraft"? I mean I first came across it in the film Zero Dark Thirty & then youtubes by Jonna Mendez...
Wife and I are diplomats, and I gotta say it’s a pretty fun life style for those who like traveling every 2-3 years, being thrown into a new country that you don’t get to just choose, and dive into the culture. Our first tour was in Central Asia, learned Russian and absolutely loved it. Doing our second tour now back in a first world country and it’s not nearly as fun.
As a diplomat I’m surprised you didn’t say “global south” 😆
How long did it take you to learn Russian? I spent six months in CA recently but didn't go out of my way to learn Russian beyond basic phrases.
US Diplomats had you cornered bro but you held your own!
They wanted to know if he was an agent of China 😂
He should have started speaking Jamaican. That would've impressed them.
@@wm6549lmaooo
xiaoma use to work for the CIA in china. google it.
The Frankster !!!
The biggest thing I've noticed in this and in the other vid w/ the Navy is that Ari knows enough conversational languages but when you start going deeper into things, he's totally lost - not that its a bad or and not that he claims to know everything but just something i noticed
I got his course for spanish and that is basically what he does for most of his language learning. Simple conversational stuff like talking about food or greetings and things of that nature. The next step is immersion which you can only really get when your first language isn't an option. The navy language academy enforces it and the diplomats here in this video live it hence why they excel at their languages. Ari is really good about learning those initial steps but true immersion is hard to do even for a life long language learner in your home country and is definitely why he is way better in chinese than all his other languages because he actually lived in China.
@@jackcarver1629 Yup, immersion is where it's at. My brother went to France, study French there over 20 years ago in the 90's. He still hasn't forgotten it. While I self taught myself French, travelled around Europe for 1 month, pretty much forgot all my French & Spanish.
to be fair, these 3 languages are not his main ones that he studied for years. He studied french for like 12 hours thats it. But of course we could tell he could not get in to deep convo. Just shows how long someone has to really study a language to be fluent
Which makes sense. Ari tries out so many languages (which is what makes him so fun to watch). its gonna be hard to really be deep into all of them
Ari just learn basics. How are you , thx you. I love tour food, great food , how are your family, you are awesome ... 80% rest is just smilling , laighing and using his body
80body /20 talking. Thats how everybody should learn langage. Meeting poeple
It does not matter in which restaurants he goes, from which nation or area the food is, Xiaoma loves it every time.
I start to believe he just loves food in general. 🙂
I don't speak a lick of foreign language, somewhat to my dismay, though mostly that I would never be able to use it in practical application. That said, no matter the language, I have yet to find a food culture I don't like.
For the diplomatic core to recognise the hand of friendship you extend to different cultures & people by speaking their mother tongues is massive. If there's an equivalent to the Medal of Honor for peaceful intentions, you definitely deserve it.
Xiaomanyc: I think the US Government is trying to figure out how to use your talents best! and we'd all be thankful to you & your skills! My best from AZ. You should feel very proud. I am for you!
US government is just showing you how they waste tax payers dollars
I believe that they want to employ him because he speaks fluent Chinese.
It could be that they're looking to hire him as a cultural ambassador, or something similar. Adam Neely (music CZcamsr) did this a few years back - he ended up touring Mongolia, of all places, as part of a US cultural exchange for jazz.
Or, alternately, the State Department is just getting hip with the kids - ie, talking to moderately-popular CZcamsrs, in order to showcase part of what the US government actually does.
Oh I love how he did a shout out to his kid❤❤ To have a dad and kid team of language enthusiasts is awesome 💜
10 years ago I met a US diplomat of 25 years and had a long and amazing chat with him. To this day I wont ever forget his impact on me, fueling my love of learning languages. He even told me he would be a referral if I ever decided on going into the Foreign Services. You don't get to meet diplomats and Ambassadors too often, so it was an encounter ill never forget.
Interesting. There's no point in the application/testing process at which having a referral comes into play, so I wonder what he meant. Maybe he meant a *resource* if you had any questions.
*effect
What i really take away from this video, is that you don't need to be perfect in a language for it to be a valuable asset to you. I mean, all these diplomats are three levels above xiaoma when it comes to the language they speak. But we're regular people, we're not on CNN when we use a foreign language, and even though we're not perfect, being able to speak the basics of a language will get you so much appreciation, open so many doors and introduce you to so many fascinating cultures.
Don't try to be perfect, just be good enough to connect to people, that's all you'll need (unless you're going to be a diplomat :) ).
Yes! This.
The french speaking guy spoke with an American accent
It's true, he would obviously fit better in China, I guarantee he beats all of them in Mandarin.
@@Emb175So? 100% of English-speaking French people I have ever met speak English with a French accent.
@@ejd5261 Doesn't matter the accent matters in this language because it sounded like he said Beau cul
The charisma in this video is off the charts
Peace is accomplished through communication. Understanding each other’s language is the original and perpetual olive branch.
Person be like: Olive branch? Why is this guy talking about olive branches.
@@kieranhudson4938 "doesn't he know I'm not Greek?"
I’ve been watching Ari’s videos for a few years. To me what makes them all great is the genuine Joy that you see when regular people meet & communicate. The waiters & the owner that converse with Ari & the diplomats are so genuinely Happy just meeting, you can see it in their eyes, their faces & you can hear it in their speech….even in a language I don’t understand…..keep learning Ari keep sharing!!
Your channel is a game changer for people in the world willing to be open minded and embrace different cultures, languages, and traditions. I love how you help bring people together. Truly an art and a positive influence.
Bro, diplomacy is my favorite subject. I find that profession, those people so adaptive and that's very inspiring. My cup of tea! 👏
Of course it is.... couldn't see that coming
You by far are still one of my favorite channel. Keeps me pushing myself to get better with my Spanish and French 🤓
Goverment said "this moth won't come to the flame... bring the flame to the moth" lol
"Come join the dark side, we have cookies!"
That was getting straight bodied by professionals. I got a kick out of their diplomatic ways of saying ‘That’s cute. My children like you.’ 😂
So cool to see how much Ari has grown. I still remember when Lashou (another CZcamsr) passed. Xioma made it a point to learn new languages and he has stuck with it. Love it.
Thank you for posting this video Xiaoma. It's always inspiring and motivating to see your ability to pick up languages quickly and the confidence you hold because of it.
thank you! And know that we can all learn just a BIT, as even a BIT makes people smile and be so much more friendly. Also you are doing a great job getting people interesting in different jobs!
Very cool. Xiaoma keeps it up and he might be a diplomat... one man to cover the entire world, lol.
The American James Bond
No he couldnt
OMG@!...you look so young to be doing these kind of interviews at such an elite level...I never tire of what you are coming up with next!!!...thanx...!
It is amazing what you do and how easily you learn different languages. Genius with languages. I watch all your video's and the expressions you receive from those who are surprised you speak their language always cracks me up. I was surprised to see US Diplomats wanting to interview you. Wonder if they have a position in mind for you since you speak so many different languages so fluently.
Did no one else notice that the food at those restaurants looked like it could taste absolutely amazing?
Diplomacy and/or translation stuff is kind of the best way to put such skills to work aside from CZcams. So it makes totally sense to have a video like this. Every country needs people like that
more than anything they - we - need his VIBE.
Would love to see another episode or two with these guys. Fascinating.
Love all the smiles (and flexes)! Bravo
Elizabeth , oh my
Greetings from the Grand Canyon State! Very interesting episode. Impresses with the humbleness of US representatives. Good to learn and see. Great job holding your own. The happiness of the native speakers is illuminating.
What a great episode. Nicely done to you all.
This was such an awesome video! So awesome, I would love to be a bit more longer.
I have true respect for you. A lot of the time I see people getting unmerited success, but you deserve all the views in the world
HEY WE ALL LOVE HIM! you are in your element and your gift can open many many doors :) you are inspiring so many :)
Would love to see more of this! So interesting!
Amazing, just an amazing experience. Your guests were just so fantastic and we are very grateful the US State Department reached out.
Proud to be an American.
You are an amazing person, not only with your multi language skills, but also willingness to fight a sumo wrestler and go to the African jungle. I hope you earn enough from you tube to support your family. I love watching you because I never know what to expect from you. I wish you many more great experiences. I am retired now but came from Long Island and have been to Flushing many times. Regards, RLV.
I love the different personalities of them. Very interesting and also cool expirence
Your accent in French is much better than his. 🙂
(Dutchie here who studied French in highschool, mais Français est trop difficille pour moi!)
@9:00 You look soooooo confused! :D
I agree. Xiaoma's accent is better, but Johann pronounces words correctly.
@@MarkRose1337 they both have terrible American accents 😅 hello from France
@@sunsun2757 Oh I'm not saying either accent is good. Bonjour de Canada
Ah, I'm also Dutch, and that was my first thought as well! Ari's French pronunciation was a heck of a lot better than the diplomat's Frenglish... even though he also needs to work on his French.
Wow! the USD that is a whole new level of getting noticed. Love your work it has inspired me and my kids to trying a new language each.
I’m a former diplomat and speak Russian, Turkish, and am learning Turkmen. Your videos are great entertainment and now learning lessons, bravo. Those of us who have learned languages for our jobs overseas are very proud to be able to serve the US in this special way and you are a great ambassador for us! Can’t wait to see what you do next.
My dad made friends with a former diplomat and his wife who worked as a translator. I was pretty young, but I was so impressed that he spoke five languages...I was also impressed that his wife taught their macaw to roller skate 😂. My dad loved meeting all sorts of interesting people.
This was so interesting and fun. More like this! 😄
One of the best episodes I've seen you do, so interesting on so many levels, do carry on and best wishes from your fans in BC Canada!
The people who work at these restaurants are always so nice!
Right there at the end, that nails it. Yes, we get to see funny takes when people are shocked, but you've taken, at least for me, on some pretty cool trips and explained many different cultures that most people have no clue about, I know I didn't at times.
It's also a great way to get true opinions and thoughts from people as you always take down their walls the moment you start talking to them. Very interesting conversations. It ended up being more than I expected :D
Xiaoma always says he learns languages because he likes the food 😂
You so deserve the recognition you received from the State Dept.! I LOVE YOU, too!
Nice job! It appears to be very humbling experience.
Pas mal du tout ! Tu te débrouilles bien !
French is one of those languages that even the french natives have trouble grasping at times, so don't worry about slipping up a few times !
Wow.. this is the best segment ive seen on this channel. Kudos!
Eli, dang. What an interview. I bet you never thought this would happen. Congrats!
I really enjoyed this video. Thank you.
You are so sick man! Collabs going crazy, congrats!
You're so LUCKY to travel and taste authentic food!
Wow looking back at this video and see the body transformation is crazy congratulations dude!
This is EVERYTHING!!!! Love this!
my uncle worked for the state department for decades, taught a-100 for a long time. really cool crossover with one of the goat youtubers
Awsome ! You deserve this recognition and more!
So awesome Arie!
Shana tova! 🎉✨
Hope your wife & kids are well 🙏
He should post his Son watching his Dad on your channel. Good stuff 👏
More of this! Very cool to see the Government getting involved in this way.
You need to do Round 2 with these diplomats, this is a perfect way for the government to explain what they do and inspire young folk
Best video yet! Keep connecting the world!
It's just awesome the amount of exposure you've gotten recently.
You are one of the few creators that I smash the like button before the video even loads fully LOL - LOVE YOUR CONTENT
Such a SWEET channel... I always feel a little spiritualy cleansed after watching these
Man can speak a bazillion language but French still defeat him 🤣🤣
Oui, français est trop difficille pour notre Xiaoma. Je détèste cette langue pour ça aussi! :P
Greetings from The Netherlands! :P And I hope I didn't butcher that line.
I was learning French for a while and the only hard parts where how fast native speakers are and how the words, especially ones ending in es sounds merge together.
I'm Belgian, and of course I only speak French and English, and when I see how people struggle to speak our language, it's so damn difficult! That's why I keep going and I want to learn more about my favorite language, Japanese, I think French is wayyyy more difficult but not sure...
Yupyup, that exactly! But that goes for more languages.
I had a girlfriend from Tanzania once. Swahili actually is a very simple language but getting these people to tell you what "I am" and "you are" is in their language brings a LOT of misunderstandings, especially when you switch to other verbs; it all get mixed up, and then you really rapidly get a load of other words and examples fired at you.
I am glad Xiaoma learned that language but for me it was hard to find a decent way to learn it, back then. @@Ionizedwater1
@@sheppardpat47 at least with French, there are overlapping words or words that the English got from the French. With Japanese there's far less words that overlap.
I really love to see him struggle in this video! He makes it look so effortless some times I like the reminder that this is hard work! Those diplomats are good at their job haha
This channel is so fun to watch! 🤩
Very cool! Congratulations - and in a way, you too are an ambassador for your Country as your good will reaches around the world and even gained attention from the US State Department. Thanks for sharing your passion and talents.
The diplomat woman is so sweet. What a kind girl
Hello from Morocco Sending love to all the people around the world. Language is the perfect tool to truly understand the culture and get to know people at personal level.
Nice video! Looking forward to your next collaboration. 🎉
you are amazing xiaoma! keep up the good work
This was a sweet video. Especially with the moment with the guy's son. :)
Imagine not only having to navigate the intricacies of politics and policy-making but doing so in another language. This was so incredible to watch!
now throw in idioms in 4 languages... fuck.
That guys moroccan arabic was amazing my goodness
I loved this video! It was really interesting to get some insight into what US representative have to do.
To use your mastery of languages to eventually have an interview with the Secretary of State if the United States is simply amazing.
Thoroughly love all your videos….
Well done!
Orlando, Florida 🏝️😎
Thanks for the video it was interesting
A very good video.
The truth is, in all the interactions, you make people feel happy / comfortable / respected just through your efforts, and, even with errors in nuance, you can come to an understanding with another person - both of which are the ultimate aims of language.
I love how hard you were working to find solutions to answer the interview questions in Dari. Well done.
"J'ai étudié la langue... pourquoi?... J'aime la nourriture francophone" = "I studied the language... why?... I love french-speaking food."
You got your point across. A french-speaking person would have understood your intention and come to your meaning, especially with the pauses. "Nourriture" and "francophone" are slight errors, but you would have been understood - which is the ultimate aim.
But, who's doing your subtitling?
La nourriture "francophone" = French-speaking food
La nourriture française = French food
But it's probably better to say "cuisine française"
"Nourriture' has a group meaning that you would use to describe shopping for ingredients as "food" or making "food" without any specificity, not necessarily the skill put into cooking the food in a French style. It's a very generalised word for "food."
Your subtitler put 'because' instead of 'why' for "pourquoi" and removed the pauses that would have conveyed how you were speaking. In conversation, your pauses put a construction that gave a structure elliciting a more correct response, which would not have shown up in a direct translation. I'm guessing the subtitles were different to make an easier reading of the subtitles without the pauses for your audience.
This doesn't detract from the overall tone of your video, but it could have been more openly presented so that the viewer can understand how hard, as a polyglot, you are working. You are definitely working hard. It's not just some inborn talent. I hope that is something the viewers appreciate.
Wonderful! More please!
What an awesome video
I love how there were no politics injected here. Just some high ranking people demonstrating how a love for languages can bring people together.
Very Very Impressive! You all have the gift. When I taught English at schools in China, I had some students who could speak 5 or 6 languages well . But I never got my Mandarin that fluent. Nor my Thai!
Need an extended version!
I am so glad you did this. I consider you an unofficial ambassador to the world.
Excellent video. Nice job.
This was really cool!
Nice content. Thanks for sharing.
Once again confirmed. Food brings everyone together.
By far, your best video bro. I've loved your videos for awhile but this is on another level.