A New Yorker Speaking Welsh, Mandarin Chinese and the Language of Friendship
WHAT happens when an American YouTube star who speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese decides to try his hand at Welsh? Quite a lot of laughter, some astonished faces and a wonderful reminder that language can bring people together across continents.
For millions of viewers around the world, Xiaomanyc has become one of YouTube’s most recognisable language enthusiasts, entertaining audiences by walking into restaurants, shops and communities and surprising people by speaking their native languages.
His adventures have taken him into Chinese restaurants in New York, conversations with people from cultures across the world and, perhaps most unexpectedly, the streets, pubs and markets of Wales.
Behind the online name is Arieh Smith, an American from New York whose fascination with languages began when he enrolled in a Mandarin Chinese course.
He subsequently spent time studying in Beijing, immersing himself in Chinese language and culture and developing the conversational skills that would eventually help establish his YouTube career.
His videos featuring encounters with Mandarin-speaking people have attracted enormous audiences. The format is often deceptively simple: an apparently ordinary American customer begins speaking Chinese, catching those around him by surprise before striking up a friendly conversation.
But there is more to Xiaomanyc’s appeal than the initial astonishment.
His videos demonstrate how even a brief exchange in someone’s native language can overcome barriers, encourage conversations and create moments of genuine warmth.
And that is where Wales enters the story.
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When Xiaomanyc Came to Cardiff
In November 2023, Xiaomanyc released a video documenting his visit to Cardiff, where he set out to discover how Welsh people would react to an American tourist speaking their language.
He had been learning Welsh partly because he had Welsh friends, and his visit provided an opportunity to put his studies into practice.
Armed with phrases and a willingness to start conversations, he explored Cardiff’s streets, visited Cardiff Central Market, sampled local food and called into pubs.
At the market, he tried his Welsh when buying traditional Welsh cakes. Elsewhere, he attempted to order drinks, ask questions and chat with people he encountered.
The results were entertaining, sometimes surprising and occasionally rather revealing.
Some people were delighted to discover that an American visitor had made the effort to learn Welsh. Others admitted that their own command of the language was rather limited.
There was even an encounter with a Welsh teacher who was able to put his linguistic abilities to the test.
Along the way, Xiaomanyc sampled bara brith, the traditional Welsh fruit loaf, and discovered some of the pleasures of Welsh hospitality.
He also found an opportunity to speak Mandarin during his Cardiff adventure – a brief moment that neatly brought his Chinese-language experience into his Welsh journey.
It was an enjoyable introduction to Wales, but it would not be his last.
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A Return to North Wales
In 2025, Xiaomanyc returned to Wales, this time travelling to Caernarfon, a town where the Welsh language remains an important part of everyday life.
For someone fascinated by minority languages and the communities that speak them, it was a natural destination.
During his visit, he met local people, explored the town and sought opportunities to practise Welsh in ordinary conversations.
His adventures included encounters with members of the local sporting community and a farmer who, appropriately enough for Ewegottalove, was accustomed to talking to sheep!
The video offered an affectionate glimpse of the humour, friendliness and cultural identity of a Welsh-speaking community.
It also demonstrated something important.
The Welsh language is not simply a historic curiosity preserved in books or museums. It is a living language, spoken in homes, workplaces, sports clubs, shops and communities across Wales.
For international viewers unfamiliar with Wales, seeing an American YouTuber successfully engage with people in Welsh can be both entertaining and educational.
And for Welsh viewers, there is something particularly encouraging about seeing someone from thousands of miles away make the effort to learn their language.
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From New York’s Chinatown to the Streets of Wales
Xiaomanyc’s ability to speak Mandarin has been central to his international popularity.
His language-learning journey began with Chinese, and he has since explored numerous other languages, including Spanish, French, Yiddish and several languages spoken by smaller communities around the world.
His videos frequently involve ordinary encounters in which the unexpected use of someone’s native language creates an immediate connection.
There is a lesson here that resonates particularly strongly with Wales.
Like Mandarin, Welsh possesses its own pronunciation, vocabulary, grammatical structures and cultural associations. Of course, the two languages are unrelated and occupy very different positions in terms of the number of speakers and their global influence.
But both illustrate how language is about much more than the words people use.
Language carries identity, humour, memories, history and a sense of belonging.
For Chinese people living overseas, hearing someone address them in Mandarin can be a welcome connection with home.
For Welsh speakers, hearing an American visitor make the effort to communicate in Cymraeg can create a similar moment of recognition.
That is what makes Xiaomanyc’s videos particularly appealing.
They show that curiosity about another language can become a starting point for friendship and cultural understanding.
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Another Connection Between Wales, China and America
For Ewegottalove, this story provides another interesting link between three very different parts of the world.
China is where Xiaomanyc developed much of his enthusiasm for language learning, particularly through his experience studying Mandarin.
America is where he built a YouTube career introducing millions of viewers to the languages and cultures of different communities.
And Wales became one of the countries he visited to explore how language shapes identity and everyday life.
It is an unusual combination, but one that illustrates how modern media can connect countries in ways that would have been difficult to imagine a generation ago.
Through Ewegottalove’s Wales and China, Wales and the USA and Wales Around the World features, we are exploring precisely these kinds of international connections.
From Welsh mythology appearing in Chinese video games to American YouTubers speaking Welsh and Mandarin, the possibilities for introducing Wales to new audiences are constantly expanding.
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The Wonderful World of YouTube
Xiaomanyc is also a reminder of how YouTube has changed the way people discover the world.
Independent creators can now introduce millions of viewers to places, people, languages and traditions that rarely feature in mainstream entertainment.
Travel vloggers, historians, language enthusiasts, food explorers and documentary makers can all contribute to a greater understanding of life beyond familiar borders.
Ewegottalove intends to explore some of these creators and their connections with Wales, highlighting entertaining and informative videos that deserve a wider audience.
And there can be few better places to begin than with an American whose love of Chinese led him on a linguistic adventure that eventually brought him to Wales.
You can explore more fascinating international connections in our Wales Around the World sections, or discover the history and culture of Cymraeg through our Welsh language features.
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Did Ewe Know?
The name Xiaomanyc incorporates Xiǎomǎ (小马), which means ‘little horse’ or ‘pony’ in Mandarin Chinese. The Chinese name of his YouTube channel, 小马在纽约, means ‘Little Horse in New York’ – a rather appropriate name for someone who has travelled so widely in pursuit of languages!