There is little argument that the Internet has led to great advances in communication.

But it also has helped exploit the comedic value of miscommunication.

Song lyrics are among the latest items to get skewered on YouTube and its ilk, resulting in phonetic interpretations of lyrics that are otherwise indecipherable. Simply put, a music video is altered by adding subtitles of someone else’s best guess at what is actually being sung.

One of the most amusing in this sub-genre is posted under the not-particularly-sensitive title “Crazy Indian Music Video.” The entry represents a shining example of the Bollywood school of corny overproduction.

To most Americans, these movies come across like they were filmed in a different era on another planet. In this case, a misty forest setting is the canvas for which to gather a sunglasses-wearing stud and his babelicious paramour. Amid the colorful costume changes and random use of slow motion, the pair join an army of dancers in lip-synching to a bouncy techno groove.

As the lovers sing in Hindi, a faux interpretation scrolls underneath:

My loony bun is fine Benny Lava
You need a bun to bite Benny Lava
Have you been high today?
I see the nuns are gay.

What’s scary is the vocals sound EXACTLY like that translation.

And when the gorgeous leading lady (whose voice eclipses Alvin and his fellow Chipmunks’ register) belts out a verse, you can’t help but believe she is actually uttering, “Whatever, my sadist / All baked and cooked alive.”

But if you think this tactic is limited to condescending Westerners chuckling at other cultures, think again.

One of the Web’s most popular lyric busters targets Seattle grunge kingpin Pearl Jam and its confounding song “Yellow Ledbetter.”

A viewer-made video seeks to explore the ruminations of marble-mouthed vocalist Eddie Vedder. The opening lines are subtitled to read:

On the ceiling
On a Porsche, glitter, fairy
Landfill, I wanna leave Bennigan’s

A quick check from one of the dozens of Pearl Jam lyrics sites reveals the actual verse states:

Unsealed
On a porch a letter sat
Then you said I wanna leave it again

What makes this video even funnier is the images that accompany the music. “On the ceiling” is matched with a still from Lionel Richie’s “Dancing on the Ceiling” album. The word “glitter” is punctuated by a poster from the ill-fated Mariah Carey movie of the same name.

Later, “And they don’t wave” translated as “Potato wave” shows a smiling Mr. Potato Head gesturing hello. Or goodbye.

I guess it depends on your interpretation.