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A little tangent nugget from the original text: > Kurzgesagt — In a Nutshell recently became the number one channel in Germany by creating videos that help oth

A little tangent nugget from the original text: > Kurzgesagt — In a Nutshell recently became the number one channel in Germany by creating videos that help others fall in love with science. If the number one channel in Germany is in English, then maybe YouTube still has some more fundamental challenges to overcome in Europe.

whatshisface 8y ago
There are a lot more Germans that know English than there are Americans that know German. In fact I have never even talked to a German who did not know English. ;)
- DoreenMichele 8y ago
  Can confirm. As an American who lived in Germany decades ago, this was actually a substantial barrier to me improving my German. It was usually easier for them to converse in English than for me to converse in German, they jumped at the chance to practice their English with a native speaker and it made it difficult for me to find opportunities to practice my German.
  - mrep 8y ago
    God it is easy and convenient being American/english speaker. Cue old joke: "bilingual" is someone who speaks two languages, "trilingual" is someone who speaks three languages. What do you call someone who can only speak one language? An American.
    - DoreenMichele 8y ago
      Yeah, but that's usually presented as an ugly American characterization. I actually wanted to be multilingual. I failed in part because I'm American. I know a little German and a little French. I know a smattering of Spanish and Russian. I wanted to be fluent in all of those. I fell far short of fluency.
    - what_ever 8y ago
      US may have more bilinguals than UK.
  - wingerlang 8y ago
    > this was actually a substantial barrier to me improving my German I live in a foreign country and this rings true for me as well. It's just so much easier to use English. And this isn't even a country where 'English education' is something that is amazing (Thailand).
- what_ever 8y ago
  Hacker News has become full of "Hot Takes" lately.
Obi_Juan_Kenobi 8y ago
https://www.youtube.com/user/KurzgesagtDE https://www.youtube.com/user/KurzgesagtDE Though I wouldn't be surprised if more people watched the English version because so many people in Germany speak fine English.
- ronilan 8y ago
  Interesting. The original text linked to the English version with its 7M subscribers. The German one has 300k. Now I’ll wonder about YouTube analytics too, and what being “number one channel in Germany” really means...
roel_v 8y ago
The nr 1 Dutch channel is also im English (Nikki Tutorials). I think several of the top Dutch ones are.
- pbhjpbhj 8y ago
  I was reading recently of a Dutch university professor who was bemoaning uni courses being offered in The Netherlands in English. Similar to this article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46030112 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46030112.
quest88 8y ago
Speaking English means they'll have a larger audience, which is usually want creators on YouTube want.
jumelles 8y ago
This isn't anything new - it's why ABBA sang in English. It's why most Eurovision songs are in English. If you can speak it, why would you limit your audience with a smaller language?
- wingerlang 8y ago
  Perhaps there is less competition? While we (most Swedes) might be fluent, and actually really really good, I would also assume that it takes a lot to get over the last hump (the accent) which I honestly haven't heard many Swedes do. I think it is a fair argument on its own, but I would assume that the vast majority of Swedish singers actually sing in their native tongue (with the same going for any country). In addition, I also have the feeling that many don't actually care enough to become worldwide stars.
liftbigweights 8y ago
> If the number one channel in Germany is in English, then maybe YouTube still has some more fundamental challenges to overcome in Europe. You underestimate the amount of people who speak english in germany/europe. The #1 youtuber in the world is a swede after all. Also, it's not just youtube. Gaming is the same way. Lots of young gamers in europe can communicate in english. There is a reason why english is lingua franca.

whatshisface 8y ago

There are a lot more Germans that know English than there are Americans that know German. In fact I have never even talked to a German who did not know English. ;)

DoreenMichele 8y ago
Can confirm. As an American who lived in Germany decades ago, this was actually a substantial barrier to me improving my German. It was usually easier for them to converse in English than for me to converse in German, they jumped at the chance to practice their English with a native speaker and it made it difficult for me to find opportunities to practice my German.
- mrep 8y ago
  God it is easy and convenient being American/english speaker. Cue old joke: "bilingual" is someone who speaks two languages, "trilingual" is someone who speaks three languages. What do you call someone who can only speak one language? An American.
  - DoreenMichele 8y ago
    Yeah, but that's usually presented as an ugly American characterization. I actually wanted to be multilingual. I failed in part because I'm American. I know a little German and a little French. I know a smattering of Spanish and Russian. I wanted to be fluent in all of those. I fell far short of fluency.
  - what_ever 8y ago
    US may have more bilinguals than UK.
- wingerlang 8y ago
  > this was actually a substantial barrier to me improving my German I live in a foreign country and this rings true for me as well. It's just so much easier to use English. And this isn't even a country where 'English education' is something that is amazing (Thailand).
what_ever 8y ago
Hacker News has become full of "Hot Takes" lately.

Obi_Juan_Kenobi 8y ago

https://www.youtube.com/user/KurzgesagtDE https://www.youtube.com/user/KurzgesagtDE Though I wouldn't be surprised if more people watched the English version because so many people in Germany speak fine English.

ronilan 8y ago
Interesting. The original text linked to the English version with its 7M subscribers. The German one has 300k. Now I’ll wonder about YouTube analytics too, and what being “number one channel in Germany” really means...

roel_v 8y ago

The nr 1 Dutch channel is also im English (Nikki Tutorials). I think several of the top Dutch ones are.

pbhjpbhj 8y ago
I was reading recently of a Dutch university professor who was bemoaning uni courses being offered in The Netherlands in English. Similar to this article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46030112 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46030112.

quest88 8y ago

Speaking English means they'll have a larger audience, which is usually want creators on YouTube want.

jumelles 8y ago

This isn't anything new - it's why ABBA sang in English. It's why most Eurovision songs are in English. If you can speak it, why would you limit your audience with a smaller language?

wingerlang 8y ago
Perhaps there is less competition? While we (most Swedes) might be fluent, and actually really really good, I would also assume that it takes a lot to get over the last hump (the accent) which I honestly haven't heard many Swedes do. I think it is a fair argument on its own, but I would assume that the vast majority of Swedish singers actually sing in their native tongue (with the same going for any country). In addition, I also have the feeling that many don't actually care enough to become worldwide stars.

liftbigweights 8y ago

> If the number one channel in Germany is in English, then maybe YouTube still has some more fundamental challenges to overcome in Europe. You underestimate the amount of people who speak english in germany/europe. The #1 youtuber in the world is a swede after all. Also, it's not just youtube. Gaming is the same way. Lots of young gamers in europe can communicate in english. There is a reason why english is lingua franca.