This article contains news with sarcastic commentary.
The Chinese word “neige” (內閣, assuming Google Translate works, but I won’t vouch for that; I may actually be talking about kitchen cabinets) is not the American slang word “——” (“——” in Chinese), nor does it have anything close to the same meaning (i.e., it means “that” or sometimes is used as a filler word similar to “um” or “like”).
“All I can say is, the professor’s pronunciation of the Chinese phrase ‘neige’ was accurate, and his use of it as an example of filler language was linguistically appropriate. It’s a *very* common phrase,” tweeted Yale law professor Taisu Zhang, who has previously taught in Hong Kong and China.
That didn’t stop USC from yanking the professor from the classroom after somebody complained, “The way we heard it in class was indicative of a much more hurtful word with tremendous implications for the Black community.” (我們在課堂上聽到它的方式表明這個詞更具傷害性，對黑人社區產生了巨大的影響, or something to that effect.)
The dean (白痴), after announcing he was “deeply saddened” by the “disturbing episode,” and any students “uncomfortable” with staying in the class would have “alternative options to complete their academic requirements,” issued the following mea culpa:
The Chinese in Beijing are like Parisians and they will look down their noses at us for our total mispronunciation of Chinese. Is that Mandarin or Han?
最好保持沉默和思想上的智慧。 比張開嘴，表現出愚蠢。
Translation: Better to be silent and thought wise, than to open one’s mouth and show one’s stupidity.
Never teach a foreign language to stupid Americans, they will turn it into political fight.