Oh my Lady Gaga!: Chinese go gaga

[tooironic]

I thought this article was interesting and kind of hilarious.

Young people in China are fixed on ‘Oh My Lady Gaga!’ for the newest and coolest expression.

Gone is the fascination among hip young internet users with the popular English expression ‘Oh My God!’ to express surprise.

The phrase has become all the rage in text messages and in chatrooms, where scattering conversations with fashionable and widely understood English slang or acronyms is the height of coolness.

It is a trend that is causing anxiety among the academics that monitor the integrity of Mandarin. It has also come to the attention of professional translators because phrases such as this have been growing. If you are a professional interpreter then absorbing the changes that are taking place with language is essential.

Huang Youyi, the editor-in-chief of the China International Publishing Group, said in the China Daily,’If we don’t pay attention and don’t take measures to stop mixing Chinese with English, the Chinese language won’t remain pure in a couple of years.’

Read more: http://todaytranslations.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/oh-my-lady-gaga-chinese-web-surfers-go-gaga-for-english-buzz-phrases

Shall we start a debate on language "purity" then?

[aristotle1990]

Yup, hear this a lot. Sounds really stupid to my ears, but hey, whatever floats your boat...

[skylee]

’If we don’t pay attention and don’t take measures to stop mixing Chinese with English, the Chinese language won’t remain pure in a couple of years.’

Why is it necessary to maintain the purity of a language? What is the definition of "pure"?

[Don_Horhe]

I thought this was common amongst kids - I heard it all the time while teaching, but never expected it to become THAT popular. I find it quite moronic, too.

[roddy]

Has there been a point in modern history where the middle-aged speakers of any language haven't despaired of what the young are doing to it? I know i like, totally, do, and I'm like not even all that old yet. Innit.

[jbradfor]

What is the definition of "pure"?

Whatever one learned growing up.

Since that is what one learned, it therefore THE TRUTH and should not be changed.

[roddy]

Since that is what one learned, it therefore THE TRUTH and should not be changed.

Was there an 'is' shortage when you went to school then?

[doraemon]

Well, it's extremely difficult to keep any language 'pure' in this age of globalisation, but I do believe in protecting the integrity of a language as long as it doesn't get too overboard and drastic, e.g. inventing new words in order to replace foreign ones is unnecessary, but using English words to express oneself when being perfectly capable of using a Chinese one in its place should be discouraged.

[Ahoy_thar]

I always thought the idea of trying to keep a language "pure" was a ridiculous concept, though I am a bit sad Americans don't all speak with Shakespeare-ian tongues. Languages naturally evolve with culture, people, and the necessary application. No living language is that same as it was 500 years ago. People probably don't like the change because suddenly, without their knowing, their own native language has become foreign. I think it's a sort of paranoia.

Just my own opinion though.

[zening]

Sentences like this are really hot among young people, sometime I really can't understand the fun in them.

[skylee]

You can't understand them probably because you are not as young as they are - generation gap.

[Meng Lelan]

Why is it necessary to maintain the purity of a language? What is the definition of "pure"?

This would be an interesting topic to put into the Chinese Corner...

When I was majoring in French two decades ago, the French felt that keeping their language pure was a very important issue.

[SiMaKe]

Was there an 'is' shortage when you went to school then?

Actually, yes. During the Bill Clinton years, a lot of them got used up so the supply is a bit low right now. We're still in the process of back filling orders.

[jbradfor]

@roddy, I don't want to use a word whose definition I do not know....

[@SiMaKe, I owe you one ]

[SiMaKe]

@jbradfor

No worries. I still owed you one from before so we're good.

And roddy left me with such a perfect setup that I couldn't resist.

[GaHanna]

I mean, when I were a lad, I used to drink a cup of cha!

Anyway, it is all fun and quite logical, as I ask my Chinese friends, why is it Oh My Lady Gaga? Because God is a Girl.

[Kenny同志]

Very popular? I haven't heard this, but have seen it written in posts on some websites. Sounds childish.

Well, it's extremely difficult to keep any language 'pure' in this age of globalisation, but I do believe in protecting the integrity of a language as long as it doesn't get too overboard and drastic, e.g. inventing new words in order to replace foreign ones is unnecessary, but using English words to express oneself when being perfectly capable of using a Chinese one in its place should be discouraged.

Totally agreed!

Such people who opt for “My Lady Gaga” over the corresponding Chinese expression might be motivated by the belief that this is funny, cool, and fashionable and by doing so, they appear different.