Thursday, May 27, 2004
The Importance of Pronounciation
Call me trivial, but was anyone else outraged by Bush's mangling of the pronunciation of "Abu Ghraib prison"? Sources say he was a good little president and practiced saying the three-syllable phrase before his speech. But when it came for the internationally covered speech on the transition to an independent Iraqi government, all that practice went out the window -- even when he acknowledged its infamous importance in saying it would be demolished.
Maybe it's because I was an English literature student that I put too much importance on words, their pronunciation, context, and meaning. Or maybe it's because I'm an editor that I'm overly conscious when words are misused, misspelled, or mispronounced. Or maybe it's just that I'm living abroad, and when Bush does something embarrassing, we get to hear about it. A lot. (The number of people who have tried to buy me the book on BUSHIMS is proof of that.)
The mispronunciation of one little word may not seem like so much. After all, we've all had the opportunity to hear some of Bush's unintentional comic moments. But Abu Ghraib has been at the forefront of most international media for a few weeks now. It has been a major topic on the news, talk shows, and in people's homes (surely Bush must have heard it pronounced before). The fate of U.S. military procedure hangs on tenterhooks because of it. The lives of seven soldiers (and possibly higher brass to come) have been seriously altered by it. The dignity and safety of many Iraqi prisoners have been trampled by it. And yet, President Bush can't take the time to figure out how to say a three-syllable word when speaking in front of the entire world.
I know that there are far more important matters at hand than how Bush does or does not say a tiny little word. But I would say that that tiny little word is an important one in America's place within the international community. That word sums up the way America is perceived at the moment, the cavalier nature of the Bush administration, and the apparent international disregard for paying attention to each other's differences. Bush had three attempts within his speech to get the pronunciation correct. Once, I could excuse. Maybe his throat was dry or he had suddenly developed stage fright. But three times? How is that for showing the world that America is making a concerted effort to understand and respect cultural differences, and for Bush being a role model for the military stationed abroad, who are expected to do the same thing? It just comes across in much the same way as a good deal of the international community already perceives the Bush administration (and, sadly, as a result, sometimes America as a whole) -- pushing itself, full steam ahead, without regard for detail, care, or correctness, and not apologising when things go wrong.
Oh my goodness! How difficult can a three-syllable reference be? I just hope that next time Bush speaks or acts, he does one little thing. Takes a deep breath and thinks about what he's talking about.
Call me trivial, but was anyone else outraged by Bush's mangling of the pronunciation of "Abu Ghraib prison"? Sources say he was a good little president and practiced saying the three-syllable phrase before his speech. But when it came for the internationally covered speech on the transition to an independent Iraqi government, all that practice went out the window -- even when he acknowledged its infamous importance in saying it would be demolished.
Maybe it's because I was an English literature student that I put too much importance on words, their pronunciation, context, and meaning. Or maybe it's because I'm an editor that I'm overly conscious when words are misused, misspelled, or mispronounced. Or maybe it's just that I'm living abroad, and when Bush does something embarrassing, we get to hear about it. A lot. (The number of people who have tried to buy me the book on BUSHIMS is proof of that.)
The mispronunciation of one little word may not seem like so much. After all, we've all had the opportunity to hear some of Bush's unintentional comic moments. But Abu Ghraib has been at the forefront of most international media for a few weeks now. It has been a major topic on the news, talk shows, and in people's homes (surely Bush must have heard it pronounced before). The fate of U.S. military procedure hangs on tenterhooks because of it. The lives of seven soldiers (and possibly higher brass to come) have been seriously altered by it. The dignity and safety of many Iraqi prisoners have been trampled by it. And yet, President Bush can't take the time to figure out how to say a three-syllable word when speaking in front of the entire world.
I know that there are far more important matters at hand than how Bush does or does not say a tiny little word. But I would say that that tiny little word is an important one in America's place within the international community. That word sums up the way America is perceived at the moment, the cavalier nature of the Bush administration, and the apparent international disregard for paying attention to each other's differences. Bush had three attempts within his speech to get the pronunciation correct. Once, I could excuse. Maybe his throat was dry or he had suddenly developed stage fright. But three times? How is that for showing the world that America is making a concerted effort to understand and respect cultural differences, and for Bush being a role model for the military stationed abroad, who are expected to do the same thing? It just comes across in much the same way as a good deal of the international community already perceives the Bush administration (and, sadly, as a result, sometimes America as a whole) -- pushing itself, full steam ahead, without regard for detail, care, or correctness, and not apologising when things go wrong.
Oh my goodness! How difficult can a three-syllable reference be? I just hope that next time Bush speaks or acts, he does one little thing. Takes a deep breath and thinks about what he's talking about.
