因为发音和N开头的种族主义词汇相似，中文的“那个”被很多网友笑称不能在美国使用。然而，就是这样的一个段子，居然也能照进现实。
最近，美国南加州大学教授格雷格•巴顿（Greg Patton）在上课时，因说出汉语词“那个”音似英语中种族歧视性词汇“Nigger”（意为“黑鬼”），直接导致他被学生投诉，且被校方停课。
The University of Southern California has placed a professor on leave after he said a Chinese word that sounds similar to a racial slur in English while teaching a communications class.
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当地时间8月20日，受疫情影响，巴顿通过网络授课的方式与学生进行交流。在讲解到“填充词”的运用场景时，巴顿说道，像“呃”“嗯”等语气词，在不同国家有不同说法，比如在中国，人们会用“that that that”，也就是“nèi ge, nèi ge, nèi ge”（那个）。
Greg Patton, a professor at the university’s Marshall School of Business, was giving a lecture about the use of "filler words" in speech during a recent online class when he used the word in question, saying, "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.'"
不过，Greg Patton在说“那个”的时候，听起来更像是汉语口语中的“内个”。
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8月21日，学生们给校方发了一封邮件，称Patton每节课都要重复发音类似Nigger的词5次左右，“冒犯了我们班级里的所有黑人成员。”
In an Aug 21 email to university administration, students accused the professor of pronouncing the word like the N-word "approximately five times in every communication class", and said he "offended all of the Black members of our class".
学生们认为Patton的发音与这个词的实际发音“差别很大”，称这位教授“明显疏忽且不够尊重”，影响了学生们的心理健康。
Claiming the actual pronunciation of the word is “much different” from Patton’s, the students accused the professor of “negligence and disregard” and said the lecture affected their mental health.
视频来源：观察者网
校方随后发布声明表示，“近日，南加大一名教师在课堂上使用了一个听起来像英语中种族歧视单词的中文词汇。我们了解种族歧视性语言所带来的历史性的、文化上的、负面的影响。”
“Recently, a USC faculty member during class used a Chinese word that sounds similar to a racial slur in English,” the university said in a statement. “We acknowledge the historical, cultural and harmful impact of racist language.”
校方还表示已经安排另一位教授接手Patton的课程，且会认真反思更好的了解当前局势，并采取行动。
Another professor is instructing the class after Patton “agreed to take a short term pause while [the university is] reviewing to better understand the situation and to take any appropriate next steps.”
几天之后，Patton本人也道歉了。他解释道自己教了10年课程，这样的例子几年前也给国际学生讲过。至于发音问题，他认为可能是自己在上海的时候学来的。
Days later, Patton apologized, explaining that he has taught the course for 10 years and had been given the example by several international students years ago. He added that the transcript of the session records his pronunciation as “naga” and that his pronunciation of the word comes from time spent in Shanghai.
“发音、口音、上下文和语言都会有不同，但是我并没有把这个词和英文单词联系起来，当然也不是任何种族主义表述。”
“Given the difference in sounds, accent, context and language, I did not connect this in the moment to any English words and certainly not any racial slur,” he wrote.
学校官网上的个人资料显示，Patton本人是“沟通、人际关系以及领导能力”方面的专家，获得过“很多奖项”，是该校的顶级教师人才，帮助USC马歇尔学院在沟通和领导力发展方面蝉联相关排名的世界第一。
According to a brief bio on the school’s website, Patton is “an expert in communication, interpersonal and leadership effectiveness” who has received “numerous teaching awards, been ranked as one of the top teaching faculty at USC and helped USC Marshall achieve numerous #1 worldwide rankings for Communication and Leadership skill development.”
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对于这样一件段子成真的“教学事故”，微博网友表示费解：
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同时，也有网友“真诚”建议，歌手大张伟就不要考虑去美国发展了：
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综合来源：National Review RT 观察者网 环球网
