Prisencolinensinainciusol

The gibberish is intentional.

In the 1970s, Italian pop star Adriano Celentano (In Italy, he’s the big leagues, think of him as Italian Elvis or better yet, the love child of Jim Carrey, Bill Maher and Tom Jones) released his song “Prisencolinensinainciusol” with a title and lyrics that perfectly capture what American English sounds like to Italians. 

Listen to a little bit of it and watch Celentano perform it below. This famously bizarre music video has been described as “What English Sounds Like to Foreigners.” 

So it’s not Italian. It’s not English. It’s not any language at all. If this doesn’t blow your phonetics teacher in grade school’s socks off, I don’t know what will. 

This English-y song went on to hit No. 1 in Italy then France, Germany and Belgium, and is even considered by some to be the world’s first rap song. Celentano, now thriving in his 80s and chilling in Milan, explained his creation to NPR in an interview a couple of years back; he intended to pay homage to American music and slang which heavily influenced his own work.

The man’s got skills. Listening to the song, Celentano captured the stereotypical American sounds from movies and rock songs of that time in America perfectly. But there is something else to uncover from this nonsensical tune: Celentano’s intention to break down language barriers and inspire people to communicate more. 

Maybe I’m biased. When I’m not saving the world as Black Sheep’s remote intern this summer, I’m studying Communication and Italian at UT Austin as a senior. Celentano would be proud, I can do the Italian, and with the global pandemic still doing its thing, it feels like I can do the nonsensical English too because let’s face it — communication is weird during this time.

Think of communication in a strategic sense. Spending 24/7 with whoever your quarantine buddy(ies) is/are requires tactfully coordinating WFH routines and communicating boundaries. Think of communication in a virtual sense. Experiencing an entirely digital onboarding process and meeting all your brilliant colleagues who work at an impact-driven agency, all without getting up from your chair. Think of communication in a nonverbal sense. Making that extra enthusiastic eye contact with the Starbucks barista because you really are excited to get some non-contact S'mores Frappuccino lovin’ but your eye crinkles and muffled thanks still don’t really hit the mark.

Yeah, it’s weird. But we’re figuring it out along the way, and we’re honestly doing a good job. We’re finding ways to communicate and inventing ways to connect. The pandemic has pushed us to break down barriers and has inspired us to communicate more. 2020 has been a lot of nonsense, but there can be interesting stories behind nonsensical things, Italian songs and pandemic alike.