Patrick Cox

Patrick Cox

Patrick Cox runs The World's language desk. He reports and edits stories about the globalization of English, the bilingual brain, translation technology and more. He also hosts The World's podcast on language, The World in Words.

Oh My Lady Gaga, and Other Linguistic Exchanges

November 15, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment
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Why are young Chinese so enamored of the phrase Oh My Lady Gaga? It’s been in been in use for a couple of years now, as an embellishment of OMG! According to this China Daily column, it didn’t originate in China, despite Chinese claims. It apparently came from where all good things come from: American TV. In an episode of Ugly Betty, camp character Marc says “Oh my Lady Gaga! Mandy, you’re brilliant.”

There are, though, some English-ish expressions that do originate in China: outman, hengeilivable, and antizen among others. More here. Authorities have tried to ban these hybrid words, which has only made them more popular.

Which bring us to OMG! Meiyu.

OMG! Meiyu is a daily three minute video produced by Voice of America. It’s aimed at helping Chinese speakers learn American English. Meiyu (美语) means American English. According to host Jessica Beinecke– who we hear from in the pod– the title is a nod to the phrase Oh My Lady Gaga. In both cases, there’s English, there’s Chinese (sort of) but most of all, there’s a playfulness around the language.

Beinecke’s videos have become wildly popular in China, not least because of her slangy approach to English teaching. Why teach an English learner bottom or rear end when there’s a more memorable word to pass on like badonkadonk. Here are the payoff sentences from her lesson on physical fitness:

“She stopped working out and she got a little jiggly. I hear she has a muffin top, and a big badonkadonk!”

Another lessson:

There are three other items in this week’s pod:

Did San Francisco’s Chinese language newspapers help elect a Chinese-American mayor?

Did a religious linguist who created an alphabet for one of Zambia’s 73 languages do those people a favor? (I’ve done more, and more in-depth, on the subject of Christians bringing writing systems to oral languages for the purpose of translating the Bible. For that, go here and here.)

And how much is our everyday language colored by unconscious emotions?

Discussion

4 comments for “Oh My Lady Gaga, and Other Linguistic Exchanges”

  • Anonymous

    I am a student
    studying intercultural communication at Northern Virginia Community College.
    The class is taught by Professor Philip Tirpak. He suggested  we listen to the PRI’s podcast during
    this semester and share our opinions.

     

    OMG! Meiyu is a
    fantastic and educational video for people who want to learn Chinese or
    English. However, I, who is a native Chinese, am going to talk about how this
    video benefits the Chinese. This has brought me back to the stage when I was
    struggling with American English. It was a long and dark journey. For instance,
    I would spend days trying to remember all the new vocabulary, then scratch my
    head trying to understand what on earth those words meant in reading. Once it
    was close to test, I would do tons of exercises. However, the result was not
    optimistic.

     

    On account of lacking
    American culture competence, most Chinese students are lost on what they were
    studying. Students cannot reach the high level of comprehension of English when
    they only rely on remembering literal meaning. Yet, the OMG! Meiyu can be an
    entertainment while students learn English and its culture. It is fun and
    relaxing to watch in 7 minutes. Many students agree that it is easier for
    students to learn when they are relaxed and entertained. In addition, because
    the host is originally from America, students will feel confident to use the
    slang and new sentences they learned from the video. Plus, they will learn
    native American culture to prove their comprehension.

  • Anonymous

    I am a studentstudying intercultural communication at Northern Virginia Community College.The class is taught by Professor Philip.
    I think OMG Meiyu is a good learning program, if the chinese want to learn English or chinese. Its a fun show and not boring so it catches their attention and its not like another class. The problem is that the host using slang words is not a good idea when somebody is learning a brand new language. I think that its ok for some slang but not for learning at first. If they were to come to America how would they actually use this slang, and they couldnt so its not very helpful. I also think using Oh my Lady Gaga is ok but it could get confusing and the same thing with the slang words so maybe it might be better to not use slang so much since these people are just learning a new language. 

    • Sarah Martin

      I also am in the communication class at NVCC.

      On the other hand, slang words would be common in the other country, and might be confusing if they weren’t explained otherwise. I think that teaching slang helps start to introduce the culture of the other country as well as the language.

  • Frank N. Blunt

    Those are really good. Surprised me too; about as much as the time when I was in Hong Kong.  I met a visibly Chinese girl that was born in Scotland and spoke with a strong accent. Yet she also knew Chinese language, being the tour guide, but likely knew others as well.  Another good thing about The World.