James puzzled face after struggling to understand American Journalists
Lebron James was caught at a presser last week being asked about a potential return to Cleveland next season, to which the Ohio native at first seemed confused, before pressing his fingers to his ear and nodding, seemingly receiving a remote translation. James then responded, shocking the audience by speaking what sounded like heavy traditional Chinese, possibly the Fuzhou dialect. James seemed diplomatic in his speech, with a business savvy tone, but it was hard to understand what exactly the NBA star was saying, given how provincial his dialect was. An on-site translator and Chinese historian was called on 10 minutes into the press conference, who said James was speaking a traditional form of Ming era aristocratic Chinese, making him hard to understand, but quite honorable. “He say he want to thank the people of Cleveland for the offer, but that his heart belong in China” said Liu Shaoqi, the translator. After a few awkward minutes of translation, James bowed to reporters, and walked back to his dressing room, taking a few photos of random objects with his disposable camera as he did so. “你們所有的黑鬼真的把這個狗屎翻譯回來了？” - Lebron James It is unclear how James’ new speech habits will affect the Lakers this season, but some analysts theorize communication on the court may remain effectively unchanged. Stephen A. Smith to rant racistly about Chinese people coming up.
Nicole McMullen, Kalkaska Chronicle
