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This action is so obviously wrong I can't but wonder if its not some prank. It would be an ideal prank for the Chinese in particular, to audit the course (at fi

This action is so obviously wrong I can't but wonder if its not some prank. It would be an ideal prank for the Chinese in particular, to audit the course (at first as an attempt to see how Chinese language and culture is taught here), and then stumble upon this coincidental pronunciation, in the context of a tinder-dry atmosphere of political correctness, and send in (multiple) complaints and watch America burn just a little bit more. Truth is, if this was the case, then we deserved it. It seems sometimes like America has split into the two races in "The Dark Crystal", and we very badly need a reunification. We need the reason and open-mindedness of the left, and the practicality (and romanticism) of the right. We need to accept the truth that there are real differences between people (even groups of people) and celebrate those differences and not pretend they don't exist. We need to accept the truth that racial/ethnic/religious bigotry is essentially a human universal, which doesn't justify it but it also means you can't stop it with law or strongly worded emails to university authorities. So yeah, if the CCP is behind this one, I say: thanks. Hope we can learn from it. P.S. The culprit is the dean of the USC Marshall School of Business, Geoff Garrett, not UPenn. Also, according to the LA Times it was a group of black students, not the CCP. Feel free to call or write (213) 740-6422 ggarrett@marshall.usc.edu or tweet https://twitter.com/USCMarshall/ https://twitter.com/USCMarshall/ https://twitter.com/garrett_geoff https://twitter.com/garrett_geoff

whiddershins 6y ago
It would never be accidental. In China, English language students are taught to break that habit for fear of it being misinterpreted by a native English speaker. It could be opportunistically malicious though, to feign outrage. That’s not beyond the realm of possibility at all. Edit: people are asking how I ‘know’ this. —— It is anecdotal, so I should have phrased it more carefully. When I was in mainland China about 15 years ago I talked to several people eager to practice their English, in various regions. They were aware. One kid in particular I remember vividly having that conversation. But this was a very small sample.
- galimaufry 6y ago
  > In China, English language students are taught to break that habit for fear of it being misinterpreted by a native English speaker. Based on my Chinese colleagues this is not true, or at least is not universal, or it changed within the last 3 years.
- hitekker 6y ago
  > It would never be accidental. As someone with a number of friends from the mainland, I can assure you it does happen by accident. None of them were taught to avoid saying “na ge” because it is the English equivalent of "that" or "that one". Where are you getting your information from?
  - whiddershins 6y ago
    It is anecdotal, so I should have phrased it more carefully. When I was in mainland China about 15 years ago I talked to several people eager to practice their English, in various regions. They were aware. One kid in particular I remember vividly having that conversation. But this was a very small sample.
- apricot 6y ago
  Some English students might be taught that, but I'm far from certain that is the norm. In fact, I just asked three Chinese native speakers who learned English in China, and none of them was ever taught to avoid na ge / nei ge.
shajznnckfke 6y ago
> We need to accept the truth that there are real differences between people (even groups of people) and celebrate those differences and not pretend they don't exist. Is this a position that lots of people disagree with? You see the left talk a lot about the value of diversity, and you see the right talk a lot about differences between groups of people.
asddubs 6y ago
practicality isn't the word i would associate with the american right wing
svrb 6y ago
> open-mindedness of the left Did you even read the article? How is cancel culture "open-minded"? I'm legitimately confused and shook at how you could come to that conclusion... It would be really helpful if you could explain it.
- krapp 6y ago
  Why do you believe "the left" is entirely defined by "cancel culture?"
  - svrb 6y ago
    I don't, but I believe "cancel culture" is entirely defined by the left, so again I find the notion of the left being "open-minded" entirely contrary to all lived experience. Can you point to a single piece of evidence for the left being more open-minded?
    - joshuamorton 6y ago
      Gay marriage is still openly advocated against by the right.
      - svrb 6y ago
        How does that demonstrate open-mindedness by the left? The left is (ostensibly) universally supportive of LGBT rights. Liking the in-group is not a demonstration of open-mindedness. (Unless, of course, you're saying there's something inherently out-group about LGBT; i.e., there's something inherently wrong with it. It would not be charitable of me to assume that this is what you meant, but it's the only way I can make "Supporting LGBT is a demonstration of open-mindedness" into a true sentence. Otherwise... it's never the case that supporting any group—other than the out-group, i.e., the morally wrong group—is a demonstration of open-mindedness. So I don't think it applies to LGBT.)
        joshuamorton 6y ago

whiddershins 6y ago

It would never be accidental. In China, English language students are taught to break that habit for fear of it being misinterpreted by a native English speaker. It could be opportunistically malicious though, to feign outrage. That’s not beyond the realm of possibility at all. Edit: people are asking how I ‘know’ this. —— It is anecdotal, so I should have phrased it more carefully. When I was in mainland China about 15 years ago I talked to several people eager to practice their English, in various regions. They were aware. One kid in particular I remember vividly having that conversation. But this was a very small sample.

galimaufry 6y ago
> In China, English language students are taught to break that habit for fear of it being misinterpreted by a native English speaker. Based on my Chinese colleagues this is not true, or at least is not universal, or it changed within the last 3 years.
hitekker 6y ago
> It would never be accidental. As someone with a number of friends from the mainland, I can assure you it does happen by accident. None of them were taught to avoid saying “na ge” because it is the English equivalent of "that" or "that one". Where are you getting your information from?
- whiddershins 6y ago
  It is anecdotal, so I should have phrased it more carefully. When I was in mainland China about 15 years ago I talked to several people eager to practice their English, in various regions. They were aware. One kid in particular I remember vividly having that conversation. But this was a very small sample.
apricot 6y ago
Some English students might be taught that, but I'm far from certain that is the norm. In fact, I just asked three Chinese native speakers who learned English in China, and none of them was ever taught to avoid na ge / nei ge.

shajznnckfke 6y ago

> We need to accept the truth that there are real differences between people (even groups of people) and celebrate those differences and not pretend they don't exist. Is this a position that lots of people disagree with? You see the left talk a lot about the value of diversity, and you see the right talk a lot about differences between groups of people.

asddubs 6y ago

practicality isn't the word i would associate with the american right wing

svrb 6y ago

> open-mindedness of the left Did you even read the article? How is cancel culture "open-minded"? I'm legitimately confused and shook at how you could come to that conclusion... It would be really helpful if you could explain it.

krapp 6y ago
Why do you believe "the left" is entirely defined by "cancel culture?"
- svrb 6y ago
  I don't, but I believe "cancel culture" is entirely defined by the left, so again I find the notion of the left being "open-minded" entirely contrary to all lived experience. Can you point to a single piece of evidence for the left being more open-minded?
  - joshuamorton 6y ago
    Gay marriage is still openly advocated against by the right.
    - svrb 6y ago
      How does that demonstrate open-mindedness by the left? The left is (ostensibly) universally supportive of LGBT rights. Liking the in-group is not a demonstration of open-mindedness. (Unless, of course, you're saying there's something inherently out-group about LGBT; i.e., there's something inherently wrong with it. It would not be charitable of me to assume that this is what you meant, but it's the only way I can make "Supporting LGBT is a demonstration of open-mindedness" into a true sentence. Otherwise... it's never the case that supporting any group—other than the out-group, i.e., the morally wrong group—is a demonstration of open-mindedness. So I don't think it applies to LGBT.)
      - joshuamorton 6y ago