The locals had no idea the surprise in store when the American man entered the store.
Whenever locals find out that tourists and foreigners have made efforts to learn their regional dialect and language, they are always delighted. However, this is easier said than done and requires consistent practice to master speaking in a completely different language. A Caucasian man named Arieh Smith, who goes by Xiaoma (@xiaomanyc) on TikTok, left people from Nigeria stunned after speaking in Yoruba, one of the three prominent languages spoken in the country. The man was shopping for a few clothing items in a store. He asked the shopkeeper in English, “Where are these clothes from?” The woman answered, “Nigeria.” As soon as Xiaoma heard this, he immediately switched to speaking in Yoruba, leaving the vendors baffled.
In Yoruba, he asked, “Do you speak Yoruba?” As soon as the woman heard him, she turned towards him with a jaw-dropping reaction and stared at him. Impressed by his fluency and chuckling to herself, she responded in the local language, “Yes, I do.” Soon, another black man at the store heard him speaking and was equally stunned in smiles listening to him. He immediately went over to Xiaoma to shake hands with him. “Yeah, I do speak some Yoruba,” he repeated. The whole conversation continued in Yoruba. “Good, good,” the woman exclaimed, extremely delighted on hearing him.
The other man even pulled out his phone and excitedly asked if he could record Xiaoma speaking. The Caucasian obliged gladly and even shared a traditional Yoruba greeting as he spoke. The woman continued to engage in a light-hearted conversation with him. He revealed that he was an American. The black man was overjoyed at hearing Xiaoma and said in English, “I’ve never seen anything like this. You make me so proud.” As the trio continued to speak, Xiaoma even shopped and tried on clothes and bargained with the woman, all in Yoruba.
On his website, the man revealed that his extensive knowledge of the language comes from his passion for learning new languages. He shared how his journey of learning new languages began and mentioned that he wasn’t always a language expert. He was quite a “language idiot.” He started by learning Chinese. “Growing up in NYC, I only spoke English. But my dad would take me to Chinatown when I was little and man, it was the coolest thing! The lights, smells, tastes — it was just wild. I dreamed about someday being able to speak this amazing, intricate, seemingly exotic language, but I never actually thought it was possible to really get fluent,” he recalled.
Several people were amazed at the man’s confidence as he spoke and the locals’ warmth and acceptance towards him. @nellykush said, “It’s amazing how language brings people together.” @ttenjanuary added, “This is why you should speak a little of the language wherever you go, see how easy it is to make people happy!” @thattregangirl commented on the black man’s reaction saying, “I love how the man said he was proud. That’s the kind of energy we need, good on you sir!” @kevcutty remarked, “A little connection and effort and boom, friends.”
You can follow Xiaoma (@xiaomanyc) on TikTok for more wholesome content on language and lifestyle.
Share on Facebook
