USC professor suspended for using a Chinese word that sounds like a racial slur - Nega

racists are dumb wrote:

Meanwhile, while people are getting bent out of shape about pronunciation, cops continue to kill black people with little to no repercussions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhKeHLe8j1E

Well, that happened in March, so I'm not sure the second half of your statement is accurate

Anyone else notice that a lot of Chinese names sound like slang words for part of the male anatomy? I’m surprised he never got in trouble before.

propaganda machine wrote:

If he butchered the pronunciation then he should be forced to retake Mandarin classes. It sounds phonetically like NAYga but I've heard many non native Chinese absolutely mangle the pronunciation. I took Mandarin 1 and 2 in the states and HK. However it would take a concerted effort or to be linguistically challenged for someone to butcher it to the point of sounding like the N word.

I am married to a native Mandarin speaker and work with native Mandarin speakers and when Yao Ming played for the Rockets his teammates were told that he (and his translator, a white dude) wasn't actually saying THAT.

Regional accents vary, but it sounds a lot like the n-word.

please offend me wrote:

We’ve raised an entire generation of people who are itching to be “offended” so that they can bask in their righteousness. Disgusting.

I'm so glad that we've raised a generation that is 100% virtuous and completely aware of all human failings. They are completely able to avoid all the evils that have haunted us since the dawn of man. Surely 100's of years from now future generations will look back on this as the moment when we completely shed the sins of our past.

I could not be prouder typing this on my keyboard assembled by children in a factory in China where they have nets outside the windows because so many of the "staff" have treid to commit suicide. Wonder if these kids ever realize their own hypocripsy as they post their wokeness on twitterverse on a device assembled by what ammounts to slave labor so we can pay 50% less for it.

Or maybe it was the PCP he was on? Just a thought...

The Unkle wrote:

Ignorance is bliss. wrote:

Reminds me of the DC city councilor who used the word "niggardly".

How many people use the word niggardly?

That guy either knew what he was doing or is just a dummy.

He did retain his job however.

He wasn't a "DC city councilor," and he didn't retain his job, although Mayor Tony Williams (a good man who acknowledged that he made a mistake and acted hastily in "allowing" the guy to resign) later offered to rehire him.

Yes, the guy knew "what he was doing," insofar as he was using an entirely appropriate word to describe what was going to be required to manage a tight budget, although he apparently didn't realize that he was talking to an illiterate at the time.. And no, he was not "a dummy."

As for your question, "How many people use the word niggardly?" -- not many, at least in the U.S. That incident occurred over twenty years ago and got a lot of attention; educated people immediately understood that it had become a dangerous word that wasn't worth losing one's. job over.

What do you expect? It's California. Great place to visit but no place to live. Starting to take over the whole west coast.

Can the San Andreas fault just go off and dump California into the pacific already? Lol. We'd be much better off.

huh what wrote:

"... the Chinese often use a word that is pronounced like nega.

Those poor children. I hope they can somehow recover from this terrible trauma.

Idiots. The professor, and the LRCers defending him.

The word in Chinese is 那个 (Nage NOT Nega). It is pronounced Nah (as in know) Goo. It means "that one".

Americans ,like the professor, chose, on their own, to hear foreign words other than the way they are actually pronounced.

VroomVroom wrote:

Can the San Andreas fault just go off and dump California into the pacific already? Lol. We'd be much better off.

Wait for Yellowstone to blow up and create a 100 mile wide caldron erasing the midwest. All those Trump voters .... poof!

So that's what it means?

I remember being in a study group with 5 chinese people years ago and they were constantly saying that. I was like ummm wtf was that? but didn't want to bring it to a head so just ignored it.

Been wondering for a decade+. Didn't think they were being racists in the slightest. I've heard it over and over when people are speaking chinese. It's like nani??? in japanese to me.

You can also say in mixed company, I pricked my finger. But you shouldn't say, I fingered my prick.

VroomVroom wrote:

What do you expect? It's California. Great place to visit but no place to live. Starting to take over the whole west coast.

Can the San Andreas fault just go off and dump California into the pacific already? Lol. We'd be much better off.

Yeah nothing like losing the most innovative state in the nation. There is a reason why facebook, google, apple, nvidia, and the rest all develop in liberal states while conservative states give us walmart....

that one wrote:

huh what wrote:

"... the Chinese often use a word that is pronounced like nega.

Those poor children. I hope they can somehow recover from this terrible trauma.

Idiots. The professor, and the LRCers defending him.

The word in Chinese is 那个 (Nage NOT Nega). It is pronounced Nah (as in know) Goo. It means "that one".

Americans ,like the professor, chose, on their own, to hear foreign words other than the way they are actually pronounced.

You are the idiot. I lived in China and the Prof. got it right.

Neta wrote:

that one wrote:

Idiots. The professor, and the LRCers defending him.

The word in Chinese is 那个 (Nage NOT Nega). It is pronounced Nah (as in know) Goo. It means "that one".

Americans ,like the professor, chose, on their own, to hear foreign words other than the way they are actually pronounced.

You are the idiot. I lived in China and the Prof. got it right.

十个零 (Shí gè líng). 0/10

老外 (Leeway)! 白痴 (Baichi)! You hear it 错误 (Cuòwù, WRONG). You and duh Prof hear it 错误.

haha YOYO wrote:

huh what wrote:

It's probably pretty relevant if you're doing business in China.

It's very relevant if the guy is teaching Chinese language, if that was the case I would fully agree with this being a complete overreaction. He's not though...

You seem unaware of the large Chinese population at USC, and that all students will likely hear this word at some point. They should be prepared for it and know what it means. If people believe in understanding people with different cultures and backgrounds, then they should accept the usage of this word.

badboysbadboys wrote:

Or maybe it was the PCP he was on? Just a thought...

He was naked and in handcuffs on the ground. Here's a thought, If you 're scared of someone who is naked and in handcuffs, maybe you should be a kindergarten teacher or something.

White guy kills 2 people shoots a third an waltzes past cops with a rifle slung over his shoulder. How come he did not get a bag over his head or shot in the back - not once, let along 7 times.?

White guys goes into a church and kills 9 black people. Police escort him out and buy him Burger King on the way home. How come he didn't get a bullet in the back or a bag over his head?

pupil3142 wrote:

i lived in China for 6 yrs. Nega is an important word to know and to filter out in order to understand chinese.

It isnt pronounced anything like that. It is always pronounced NAY geh.

And when you are talking in normal conversational pace you don't think that it sounds close enough to cause issues? Given the context you wouldn't think so but we live in strange times. Say Happy Holidays and some people think you are antichristian.

This same stuff happens all the time where word in one language sound like obscene words in other languages. But no word has been weaponized the way the N word has over the past 30 years.

A pretty funny bit from College Humor from a few years ago. Just a reminder that there are plenty of words you can technically say but better be very careful when talking to a hyper-sensitive group (eg college students). In my opinion, the problem with political correctness is that it goes after all offences equally. Obviously, some things should not be said, but there are words and phrases that may or may not offend some. Context matters. The language police treat all sins as equal, and that is very dangerous to a free society.