During a crisp weekend in late January 2013, my videographer, Grant Hoeppner, and I hit the streets of Toronto to shoot some footage as a pilot project for the “Oh my God” concept.  It’s been a while since I had so much fun!  The stories we heard were riveting, hilarious and gut-wrenching.  We got a lot more than pilot footage.  Thanks to everyone who was willing to respond to our question, “When was the last time you said, ‘Oh my God’?  Enjoy the video.
-David Balzer

Our weekend of video taping in Toronto in January 2013, began with a visit to University of Toronto’s linguistics department.  During my academic reading about language variation I discovered Dr. Sali Tagliamonte and her fascinating investigation of words such as ‘like’ in everyday usage.  My research had me curious about the role of female pre-teens in language change in society.  A highlight for me was when I got the chance to test my hunch with Dr. Tagliamonte.  Her expertise in sociolinguistics had a lot to offer an understanding of Oh my God in everyday talk.  Here’s just a fraction of the interview with Dr. Tagliamonte.