Dalai Lama's 'forget' confused for curse

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PROVIDENCE, R.I., Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Students at Brown University in Rhode Island laughed when a stenographer providing closed-captioning for a Dalai Lama speech mistakenly used a profane phrase.

The audience of students, watching the subtitles during the 14th Dalai Lama's speech on world peace at the school's auditorium Wednesday, said the stenographer confused the word "forget" for a four-letter euphemism for fornication followed by the word "it," The Independent reported Friday. When it showed on the auditorium screen, the audience laughed and applauded, the New York Daily News reported.

"If you feel these points are not much relevant -- not much interest," the newspaper quoted the 77-year-old religious leader as saying during his speech, "then forget."

"The Dalai Lama's last word of the day, verified by his personal translator, was 'forget,'" Brown University spokeswoman Darlene Crist told the Daily News. She said the school "regrets any confusion caused by the transcription."