Professor Greg Patton of USC is taking a “short term pause” after he was criticized for using a Chinese word during an online lecture. Students argued that the common Chinese word sounds like a racial slur, resulting in Patton’s removal from the course pending a university investigation.
According to a report by Campus Reform, USC Professor George Patton was placed on leave for using a Chinese word during a lecture that sounds like an English racial slur.
Patton was discussing the use of “filler words” in speech during the lecture. “If you have a lot of ‘ums and errs,’ this is culturally specific so based on your native language. Like in China, the common word is ‘that, that, that.’ So in China it might be ‘nèi ge, nèi ge, nèi ge,'” Patton says in the recorded lecture.
A Chinese language instruction website notes that the Chinese word “nèi ge “functions in the same way that “um” or “uh” functions in the English language.
One of the most common filler words that Chinese people use all the time is “nèi ge” (那个), which as you know just means “that one.”
This is one of the most liberally used Chinese filler words. You can place it just about anywhere in a sentence, similar to an “um” or “uh” in English.
A small clip of the lecture was posted to YouTube:
In a statement, the university apologized to students for Patton’s remarks. “Recently, a USC faculty member during class used a Chinese word that sounds similar to a racial slur in English. We acknowledge the historical, cultural and harmful impact of racist language,” the university wrote.
The university claims that Patton may face sanctions over his use of the Chinese word. According to the university, Patton “agreed to take a short term pause while we are reviewing to better understand the situation and to take any appropriate next steps.”
Stay tuned to Breitbart News for more updates on this story.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.