文化"大不敬":小心英文雷区

Everyone wants a piece of Jeremy Lin. From Linsanity to Lin-credible then Va-Lin-tine, news headlines have been trying to find wordplays to match the new sensation on the NBA court with his meteoric shoot to stardom.

人人都想跟林书豪扯上点关系。从林疯狂、林不思议，到情林节，资讯标题中变着花样地玩着文字游戏，来描述这位一夜成名的NBA新星。

However, A Chink in the Armor, a news headline that blamed Lin for his teams loss of a game, is obviously a turnoff which threw a PR disaster at ESPN, one of worlds major sports network. It also cost an editor his job. The charge is racism.

然而，一条指责林书豪导致他所在球队输掉比赛的资讯标题盔甲上的中国佬却令人大倒胃口，也将身为全球最大的体育资讯网之一的娱乐体育节目电视网身陷公关危机。一位编辑甚至被炒了鱿鱼，罪名是使用种族主义词汇。

The case again reminds Americans that while the First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, a wrong choice of word might ignite a bomb.

这一事件让美国人再次意识到，虽然美国宪法第一修正案确保了言论的自由，但错误的措辞可能会引起轩然大波。

Its also a warning to people outside the country who engage in international communications.

这也为其他国家从事国际交流的人士敲响了警钟。

Racism

种族主义

Put aside the context, the phrase Chink in the armor means the weak point in a supposedly strong defense. It is somewhat similar to a fly in the ointment.

如果不考虑具体语境，盔甲上的破绽这句短语指的是本该万无一失的防御中出现的弱点，有点类似于软膏里的苍蝇这个短语（意为一粒老鼠屎坏了一锅粥或令人扫兴的人或事物）。

The phrase is often deployed in sports writing to describe a players weakness which affects the whole team.

这一短语经常出现在体育报道中，用来形容因为某位队员的弱势而导致整个团队受影响。

But the word is also a racial slur against Chinese people.

但同时Chink这个词也是对中国人带有种族主义的诽谤。

With Lins Chinese heritage, the Chink in the armor was soon bombarded for its racial implication. To quiet public fury, ESPN issued an apology: We regret and apologize for this mistake.

由于林书豪的中国背景，这则题为盔甲上的破绽（Chink在俚语中，贬义指中国佬）的报道因带有种族主义色彩，很快招致人们炮轰。为平息众怒，ESPN公开道歉：我们对这一错误表示遗憾和歉意。