- A FEW MONTHS AGO,
I BECAME THE FIRST AMERICAN TALK SHOW TO AIR IN CHINA,
AND I WANTED TO WELCOME MY NEW CHINESE VIEWERS,
SO I ASKED THE PEOPLE OF CHINA TO WRITE TO ME
WITH A LITTLE, TEENY, TINY REQUEST.
AND HERE'S WHAT I ASKED OF THEM.
I REALLY WANT TO LEARN MORE CHINESE NOW.
THAT'S MY GOAL.
AND I WANT TO PERSONALLY WELCOME MY NEW CHINESE AUDIENCE
BY READING ALL OF YOUR NAMES ON THE AIR.
SO ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS WRITE YOUR NAME
ON A PIECE OF PAPER THAT LOOKS LIKE THIS...
[laughter]
AND YOU CAN SEND IT TO THIS ADDRESS.
WELL, OUT OF A BILLION PEOPLE,
12 OF YOU ACTUALLY FOLLOWED THE INSTRUCTIONS.
SO I WANT TO READ YOUR NAMES ON THE AIR.
I WANT TO KEEP MY PROMISE.
BUT IF YOU WATCH MY SHOW,
I HAVE A HARD ENOUGH TIME PRONOUNCING AMERICAN NAMES,
SO LUCKILY WE HAVE AN OFFICIAL "ELLEN SHOW"
CHINESE TRANSLATOR STANDING BY AT ALL TIMES.
SHE'S BEEN WAITING IN A CUBICLE FOR 11 SEASONS,
AND NOW IT'S FINALLY HER TIME TO SHINE.
DO YOU MIND HELPING ME OUT?
WOULD YOU COME ON OVER HERE?
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
[cheers and applause]
HI. HOW ARE YOU?
HAVE A SEAT.
I WOULD HAVE PRONOUNCED YOUR NAME, BUT I DON'T--
WHAT IS YOUR NAME?
- WELL, MY AMERICAN NAME IS SUNNY.
MY CHINESE NAME IS YUONG JA.
- YUONG JA. - YUONG JA, YES.
- OKAY, GREAT. BUT I CAN CALL YOU SUNNY.
- YES. - OKAY, SUNNY.
AND WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
- I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN BEIJING, CHINA.
- OKAY, WONDERFUL. OKAY.
SO YOU'RE GOING TO HELP ME OUT.
AND THIS IS CALLED YUAN? IS THAT WHAT THAT--
- YUAN, YES.
- YUAN? - YEAH.
- ONE. - YUAN.
- YUAN. OKAY.
SO I'M GONNA START, AND THEN YOU'LL HELP ME OUT.
THIS ONE HAS A LONG NOTE,
SO I'M GOING TO START WITH THIS PERSON HERE.
"HELLO, ELLEN.
"I AM YOUR BIG, BIG, BIG FANS.
"SO, SO, SO LOVE WATCH YOUR 'ELLEN SHOW.'
I KNOW IT'S KIDDING WRITE POSTCARD ON RMB."
IS THAT WHAT THIS IS?
- RMB, YES, THE CURRENCY.
- "BUT SERIOUSLY I LIKE YOU IDEA.
"NEXT WEEK IS OUR SPRING FESTIVAL.
"I WISH IT'S YOUR COME SEE MY POSTCARD.
"AND ALL THE BEST WISHES TO YOU, THE PRESENT TO YOU.
"YOU CAN BUY THREE CUPS OF STARBUCKS
"WHEN YOU COME TO CHINA.
BIGGEST FANS."
JIAO MINGY?
- [pronouncing name]
- [repeating name]
- YES.
[both saying name]
- AND THIS IS 100 YUAN, AND SO THAT IS $16 AMERICAN?
- ABOUT $15, $16.
- $15 OR $16? THANK YOU SO MUCH.
ALL RIGHT, AND NOW WE HAVE-- I WON'T READ ALL THE--
THIS IS, UM...
- [reading name]
- [repeating name]
THIS ONE, THEY DIDN'T EVEN TRY TO DO AMERICAN.
THIS IS JUST CHINESE, SO WHO IS THAT?
- [reading name]
[repeats name]
- WELL, YOU-- - IS THE NAME.
YEAH, THAT'S A NAME.
- I KNOW, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE YOU WANT TO SAY MORE.
- NO. - 'CAUSE YOU STOP--
[reading name] - YEAH.
- ALL RIGHT.
[reading name]
- [repeating name]
[reading name]
- [reading name]
- YEAH. [laughter]
[reading name]
- [reading name in reverse order]
- [repeating name]
- [reading name]
- BUT THEY DID IT BACKWARDS, SO--
THEY PUT THEIR LIKE THEY WERE-- - THEY'RE AMERICAN.
- FILLING OUT A FORM OR SOMETHING.
[reading name]
- LET ME SEE. [reading name]
- [repeating name]
- [reading name]
- [repeating name]
[both repeating last name]
AND HERE THEY TRIED TO HELP ME PHONETICALLY
SO I COULD LEARN THIS.
WU SHI AI LUN?
- ACTUALLY, IT SAYS, "I AM ELLEN."
SO THAT'S HER NAME, EI LUN, EI LUN.
"I AM ELLEN."
- OH! ELLEN.
[reading name]
- [reading name in reverse order]
- OH, THEY'RE DOING THE LAST NAME FIRST
FOR SOME REASON.
IS THAT A NORMAL THING?
- THAT'S CHINESE TRADITION.
WE ALWAYS SAY THE LAST NAME FIRST.
- OH, OKAY.
THEY'RE WATCHING "THE DEGENERES ELLEN SHOW"
OVER THERE, THEN.
[laughter]
[reading name]
- YEAH, I'M PROBABLY GONNA PUT--
- SO I'M GONNA REVERSE EVERY ONE OF THEM.
[reading name]
- [reading name]
- [repeating last name]
"LIE JUNE WE."
- LI JUN WEI.
- JUN WEHHHHH.
- LI JUN WEI.
- LI JUN WEHHHHH.
- "WAY."
- THIS ONE IS GOOD, 'CAUSE IT'S NOT ONLY THE HUNDRED,
BUT THEN THEY PUT IN, LIKE, A COIN AND SOME ONES IN THE BACK
TO KIND OF ROUND IT OUT TO PROBABLY 20 OR SOMETHING.
WHAT'S THAT COIN WORTH?
- UH, THIS? LET ME SEE?
- IS THAT REAL, OR IS THAT JUST, LIKE,
A GROMMET OR SOMETHING?
- THE DENOM--IT'S RIGHT HERE.
- DON'T TOUCH MY MONEY.
- [laughs] I CAN'T SEE IT FROM THAT SIDE.
- ALL RIGHT, AND THIS IS DU YEN JI.
- [reading name]
- [repeating name]
- [reading name]
- "WEEE"?
[laughter]
AND THIS IS JUST A 50, SO WE WON'T READ THAT.
ALL RIGHT, SO-- NO, WE WILL.
WHO IS THIS ON THE 50 THAT--
- [reading name]
- OKAY.
WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SENDING THOSE IN.
AND TO THE OTHER 999 MILLION PEOPLE IN CHINA,
I'M STILL WAITING.
AND THE OTHER 7 BILLION PEOPLE ON EARTH,
I ACCEPT ALL DENOMINATIONS.
AND, SUNNY, THANK YOU SO MUCH.