The Old Must Go for the New to Come

In January 2010, I crammed 25 years of my life into two little 50 lbs bags and headed out on a China-bound plane to educate the young and inquisitive minds of Dalian on all things American. But why? Why leave a coveted associate producer position at CBS (and six years of journalism training to boot) and head off to a lowly English teaching position in China? Why? Because, frankly, I've learned getting what you think you want out of life isn't always what it's cracked up to be. What follows are the tales of my trials and triumphs (like overcoming my fear of the dreaded squatty potty) and the lessons I've learned along the way...
中國歡迎您


Friday, March 5, 2010

Jigga ma Nigga: China and the N-Word

Hey Black people, so funny thing about living in China...you hear the N-word...ALL THE TIME. "Xu yao nigga fuzhuang"..."gei wo nigga"... "nigga tai tang"..."jigga nigga ma nigga jigga!" (Ok, they don't really say that last one.) Nevertheless, among the crowds of the Chinese-speaking public it is incessant. Why? Because the Chinese word for "that" is "na-ge" which sounds a whole heck of a lot like that dear old epithet from back in the states. And apparently, the Chinese like to use "that" the way Americans like to use "like," which means they like to like use it for like every other word. So, when listening to any given conversation among the Chinese, you're guaranteed to here about 10 or 12 "niggas." Sometimes they're a couple of quick little "niggas" in rapid succession of one other, other times it's a long, contemplative "ni--gaaah," and then, there's my personal favorite "jigga nigga" which always brings to mind that eloquently articulated anthem by Jay-Z "Jigga (What's My Motha$^%*ing Name?)"

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)

3 comments:

  1. This one had my falling out laughing!I really LMBO!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Replies
    1. Its 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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