# What Language Is This? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 25, 2013, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/661865 "2013-06-25T12:56:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/661865/1 "2013-06-25T12:56:35Z")
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIcdSKDQ_3g) And if you know what she’s saying, that’s even better! The vocals start at 1:04 Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/661865/2 "2013-06-25T13:10:15Z")
Sounds like Arabic to me, could be wrong. Maybe Farsi? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/661865/3 "2013-06-25T13:18:29Z")
According to [this](http://web.archive.org/web/20040203100736/http://www.newearthrecords.com/Catalog_/waterbone/orion.htm) the album uses Egyptian singers, who would be singing in Arabic. [this](http://www.lyricszoo.com/waterbone/king-of-cups/) is the only source of the lyrics I could find. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/661865/4 "2013-06-25T13:22:33Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIcdSKDQ\_3g](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIcdSKDQ_3g) > > And if you know what she’s saying, that’s even better! > > The vocals start at 1:04 > > Thanks! [http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=5592711&style=music&fulldesc=T](http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=5592711&style=music&fulldesc=T) says its from Egypt. waterbone sample and produce albums from different countries, Their album called Tibet has Tibet artists recorded. > **[All Topics - DailyOM](https://www.dailyom.com/courses/all/)** > > All Topics - DailyOM also says Orion Prophecy is from Egypt. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/661865/5 "2013-06-25T18:51:58Z")
It’s Persian (Farsi). [Here are the lyrics](http://www.uppercutmusic.com/artist_w/waterbone_lyrics/king_of_cups_lyrics.html): ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/661865/6 "2013-06-25T20:12:11Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > It’s Persian (Farsi). [Here are the lyrics](http://www.uppercutmusic.com/artist_w/waterbone_lyrics/king_of_cups_lyrics.html): Swish! ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/661865/7 "2013-06-26T02:17:35Z")
I’m familiar with Farsi somewhat, but not enough to be able to discern it from Arabic whilst it’s being sung. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kiyoshi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@Kiyoshi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiyoshi)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/661865/8 "2013-06-26T17:27:43Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > I’m familiar with Farsi somewhat, but not enough to be able to discern it from Arabic whilst it’s being sung. 🙂 That’s odd… I don’t know either language, but don’t think they sound anything like each other! To me, Arabic has lots of guttural sounds and long vowels, and some syllables are stressed and others aren’t. Using some nonsense syllables, it sounds like: _wa’akh a helAAAB i SAL-lahh el madRUUUQ a SHEM._ Farsi, however, seems more “European” sounding: it’s like a long string of rapid-fire unstressed syllables. Something like: _mohavarashem toruzakte nafarimaza galinashavu rukhta._ ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/661865/9 "2013-06-26T17:42:59Z")
> [@Kiyoshi](#): > > That’s odd… I don’t know either language, but don’t think they sound anything like each other! > > To me, Arabic has lots of guttural sounds and long vowels, and some syllables are stressed and others aren’t. Using some nonsense syllables, it sounds like: _wa’akh a helAAAB i SAL-lahh el madRUUUQ a SHEM._ > > Farsi, however, seems more “European” sounding: it’s like a long string of rapid-fire unstressed syllables. Something like: _mohavarashem toruzakte nafarimaza galinashavu rukhta._ Farsi is an Indo-European langauge. Arabic is an Afro-Asiatic language. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/661865/10 "2013-06-26T18:59:40Z")
> [@Kiyoshi](#): > > That’s odd… I don’t know either language, but don’t think they sound anything like each other! > > To me, Arabic has lots of guttural sounds and long vowels, and some syllables are stressed and others aren’t. Using some nonsense syllables, it sounds like: _wa’akh a helAAAB i SAL-lahh el madRUUUQ a SHEM._ > > Farsi, however, seems more “European” sounding: it’s like a long string of rapid-fire unstressed syllables. Something like: _mohavarashem toruzakte nafarimaza galinashavu rukhta._ My familiarity with Farsi extends only to two classes and hearing it spoken around me, so I’m certain it’s my shortcoming. With Arabic it really depends on where the speaker is from, how closely it sounds like Farsi (I would presume Farsi doesn’t have nearly the amount of accents Arabic does), the African Arabic sounds a lot more like what you are talking about than some of the middle eastern accented Arabic I have heard. But a lot of that gets lost when the languages are sung, right?