The Linguist

30 The Linguist Vol/62 No/3 thelinguist.uberflip.com OPINION & COMMENT A look at Lamese, the new language that is taking China by storm BILIN LIU In early 2021, a new language took the internet by storm. Immensely popular among young Chinese netizens, Lamese was invented by the content creator 五十岚上夏 (pinyin: wǔ- shí-lán-shàng-xià) and is also known as Lanyu (岚语, literally 'Lan-language'). In his videos on the video-sharing platforms Douyin and Bilibili, 五十岚上夏 expertly speaks Chinese (Mandarin) in an English-like manner, captivating audiences of all kinds. Even celebrities are learning the language. Lamese can be considered an English transliteration of Mandarin – a translation method typically adopted by translators when they fail to locate an English equivalent for a Chinese expression. A notable example is baozi, once transcribed as bāozi (the pinyin of 包子), a filled bun. So what sets Lamese apart as a cyber-linguistic sensation? Its origin may be traced back to the way English is used in contemporary China. Translation into English or Chinglish? In 2008, Beijing played host to the Olympic Games, an opportunity for the country to showcase its rich history and diverse culture on the world stage. Since then, tourists have flocked to China to explore its sights, sounds and flavours. Chinese people, particularly those in the service industry, have gone the extra mile to make foreign guests feel at home. This includes translating their 'working texts' – things like tourist brochures, restaurant menus and warning signs – into English, the current global lingua franca. While this gesture is commendable, some of the translations by those with limited English proficiency or automated online translators did not achieve the intended effect, leading to confusion, ridicule and even fear. In one case, a warning sign (小心地滑; 'Caution the floor is wet') became 'Slide carefully'. How could the translation deviate so much from the source text? The automatic translator misread 地 (dì; 'floor') as the pinyin de, which is an adverbial phrase indicator much like the '-ly' suffix in English. Another classic example is the translation of the Sichuan appetizer 夫妻肺片 (fū-qī-fèi-piàn) made with thinly sliced beef, beef offal and spices. While it was officially standardised as 'Sliced beef and ox tongue in chili sauce' in a menu produced by the Beijing government for the Olympics, it has been translated more frequently as 'Husband and Wife Lung Slice'. 1 Creepy, isn't it? This would undoubtedly put off foreign diners. Such attempts to translate Chinese into idiomatic English have often resulted in Chinglish – a word-for-word, mechanical translation. Although this has led to some humorous mistakes, Chinglish has become a unique form of English, analogous to Kongish and Singlish (variants spoken in Hong Kong and Singapore). It is not meant to be used for communicating with native English speakers, but rather to indicate how English has integrated into Chinese society and can be properly understood and spoken by Chinese people. In short, Chinglish is a reflection of China's linguistic and cultural landscape, and a testament to the country's ever-evolving identity. The rise of meme culture Despite advancements in automatic Chinese- English translators, Chinglish translations persist and have become a source of entertainment for Chinese speakers. A popular trend among younger generations is using memes in text messages which add Chinglish punchlines to funny pictures. When saying 'I'm gonna teach you a lesson' or 'I'm gonna give you a piece of my mind', for example, a meme with the phrase 'Give you some color (to) see see!' (给你点颜色瞧瞧) might be sent. In this context, 'color' is a metaphor for an angry expression and a Chinglish speaker would instantly understand the connotation. Such memes exemplify the development of English in China as it adapts to and blends with local culture. The rise of meme culture in China has led to an evolution of Chinglish with a shift toward incorporating more Chinese elements and fewer English ones. For instance, 你开心就可以 ('You are happy and then it is ok') is translated as You happy jiu okay. In this case, the adverb 就 ('then') is not translated into English but transliterated as jiu. The Chinglish version follows a paratactic structure similar to Chinese, omitting the 'are' between 'you' and 'happy' and the 'it' and 'is' from 'it is ok'. Chinglish evolution

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