In any case, I was warned about the Chinese N-word by a friend before I got here, but I have to admit it's taken some real mental training to squelch the urge to jump up in a fit of fury and yell "What'd you just call me?!" And there are those instances of Chinglish, when the Chinese students, and sometimes even the Chinese teachers at our school, struggle to find an English word and unintentionally slip a "nigga" in instead, so you get sentences like: "I want to go to the nigga school," or "I will visit my nigga friend at her nigga house." And then there are those awkward moments when I'm with the other American teachers (none of whom are black), and either they or someone nearby utters a clearly audible "nigga" (in the Chinese way, of course)... Oftentimes, this is followed by a quick side-eye glance to see if I've taken any notice and if it's apparent that I have, the situation usually culminates in some degree of nervous laughter. But I'm starting to get to the point where I don't take much notice anymore. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely HATE that word in its truest, ugliest, racially derogatory and historically oppressive form. It's a word that has plagued the psyche of my people for centuries...But the majority of Chinese people here don't have the slightest clue that the word "nigga" has any negative connotations, they only know it as "that" and just that. To be honest, if you really think about it, getting offended by the Chinese' use of a legitimate Chinese word used in China just seems kind of silly. That would be like a Japanese person getting offended by the American use of the word "like" in America because it sounds like some type of Japanese slur. Of course, I did warn some of the Chinese teachers that if they value their lives, they better never EVER use that word if they make it to America.
...Oh and fyi, if you're ever among the Chinese and and you hear the words "lao hei" or "hei guǐzi," (which are literally translated as "Old Black" and "Black Devil" but are meant to be as offensive as "porch monkey" or "coon") then you have a reason to knock somebody upside the head :o)
This one had my falling out laughing!I really LMBO!!!
ReplyDeleteThat's crazy, my na-ge! ;0)
ReplyDeleteIts more cra\zy my chink, in my country chink isn't offensive, chink chink chink, its just a filler word, chink
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