A Slip of the Tongue Leads to Obama's Verbal 'Bomb'

Published in China Review News
(Hong Kong) on 1 April 2013
by Editorial (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Christine Chou. Edited by Bora Mici.
In today’s highly developed media landscape, political leaders must exercise special caution when they open their mouth to speak. An accidental slip of the tongue could become a widely circulated joke, but a more serious verbal blunder could lead to a political crisis. Many remember when U.S. President Barack Obama incorrectly recited the presidential oath, which consists of only 35 short words, back in January 2009 during his first inauguration. Fortunately, his second inauguration this January went smoothly. However, on the stage of international politics, an endless number of verbal gaffes still occur.

Politicians Who Are Not up to Speed on Their Geography

Wen Wei Po reported that on Feb. 20, new U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made his first public speech after taking office at the University of Virginia and spoke of developing democratic institutions in “Kyrzakhstan.” The unfamiliar country name caused confusion. Only after checking the U.S. Deparment of State-issued transcript of the speech, did people realize that Kerry meant to say Kyrgyzstan. It appears he confused Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, two different countries. Before becoming secretary of state, Kerry served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for many years and also acted as committee chairman; such a gaffe is truly puzzling coming from someone we can regard as a diplomatic veteran.

In fact, among U.S. politicians, Kerry is not the only one to flub the names of foreign places. This trend may be related to a lack of attention to geography, starting from a young age, among Americans. National Geographic magazine conducted a survey and discovered that half of Americans could not find New York on a map, while 63 percent could not locate Iraq, a country the U.S. military was waging war against at the time [in 2006]. The number of people who could not locate Afghanistan was even higher at 90 percent.

Even Obama, famous as the “high-IQ” president, has made geographical blunders. In April 2012, when he attended the Summit of the Americas, a dispute arose between Argentina and the U.K. over the ownership of the Malvinas Islands (British Falkland Islands). Obama expressed the neutral position of the U.S. on this issue. Perhaps to convey friendliness toward Argentina, he tried to refer to the islands using their Argentinean name, Malvinas. Unfortunately, he misspoke, instead calling them the Maldives Islands, a nation in the Indian Ocean and former British colony. This slip of the tongue can be described as shooting oneself in the foot: It caused the Argentinians even greater displeasure.

Compared to Americans, the French flaunt themselves as “cultured.” However, France’s leader has also made a “geography gaffe”; the error even involved a place in his own country. In January 2011, then President Nicolas Sarkozy visited the town of Truchtersheim in France’s Alsace region, located only 30 kilometers from the France-Germany border. In a speech to representatives of France's agricultural sector, Sarkozy said that he would not accept unfair competition between Germany and France.

“I’m not saying that simply because I’m in Germany,” he added. Realizing his error, Sarkozy quickly corrected himself, “I am in Alsace.”

However, the audience had already been stirred to anger and began booing loudly. Sarkozy had to interrupt his speech and raise his hands in the air as if to surrender.

Annexed twice by Germany and returned to France only after World War II, the Alsace region has long been a contended strategic location between France and Germany. To whom the region belongs is an especially sensitive issue for the residents of Alsace.

After the speech, the media concluded that, in French, the pronunciations of Germany and Alsace are similar, so Sarkozy most likely only made a slip of the tongue and did not show ignorance of history. Nevertheless, he still offended the locals.

Wrong Names Offend People

Even worse than geographical errors are those involving someone's name.

Regarded as the 20th century’s greatest spiritual teacher and success guru, American writer Dale Carnegie once said, “One of the simplest, most obvious and most important ways of gaining good will [is] by remembering names.”

But it seems Obama has not read Carnegie’s book.

In November 2012, during his visit to Myanmar, Obama declared the country’s “importance,” yet he still did not do his homework. While meeting with Myanmar President Thein Sein, Obama called him “President Sein,” following the Western custom of using the "latter" name in formal address. In fact, “President Thein Sein” would have been the appropriate title. When meeting Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Obama gave her an American-style affectionate kiss, but during a subsequent news conference, he mispronounced her name several times as “Aung Yan Suu Kyi,” making Suu Kyi, who stood beside Obama, rather embarrassed. The U.S. media pronounced that Obama’s errors would generate unease among the Burmese and cause them to wonder if the U.S. president really placed that much importance on their country.

Of course, mispronouncing names is not a patented American trait. In June 2010, at the G-8 Summit held in Canada, Naoto Kan, Japanese prime minister at the time, successively mispronounced the names of then South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, both of whom he had met previously. He also substituted the English phrase “emerging companies” for “emerging countries” and erroneously said G-7 instead of G-8. Obama, who also attended the summit, could not even say Naoto’s name and simply referred to him as “the new prime minister.” Interestingly, two years later, in December 2012, newly elected Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe spoke with Obama on the phone and, afterward, unexpectedly told the person next to him that he had been speaking with U.S. President George W. Bush. Although he immediately corrected his mistake, Abe still attracted media ridicule.

No matter how good relations may be between two allied countries, the mispronunciation of a leader's name will lead to unhappiness.

On Feb. 6 of this year, the 12th summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation was held in Cairo, Egypt. During the opening ceremony, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi congratulated Palestine on its newly granted United Nations observer status and said that the Palestinian issue was the “central issue” of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. He called upon all member countries to support the establishment of a completely sovereign and independent Palestinian state. Subsequently, President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas delivered a speech expressing his thanks. Abbas opened his address with “President Mohamed Hosni,” but realized his mistake right away. After a short pause, he corrected himself and readdressed “President Mohamed Morsi.” The media observed that although Morsi looked calm, the subtle movement of his mouth seemed to imply the displeasure in his heart. It’s no wonder [he was displeased with himself]; the full name of the overthrown former President of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, is Mohamed Hosni Mubarak.

Mistakes Often Arise When Touching upon History

Many politicians enjoy citing historical events during their speeches, but errors come easily if they are not careful.

In 2010, British Prime Minister David Cameron visited the U.S. To show the importance of friendly Anglo-American relations, in an interview, Cameron emphasized the cooperation between the two countries during World War II.

“We were the junior partner in 1940 when we were fighting the Nazis,” he said.

In reality, although the U.S. continuously supported Britain during World War II, it did not officially enter the war until 1941. France’s earlier defeat had left Britain to fight bravely alone while suffering huge losses, so the British have always been extremely proud of this period in their history. Cameron’s words angered the British public, with many believing that Cameron was attempting to curry favor with the U.S. and had forgotten his own country’s history. A British major general declared, “I am quite sure if Winston Churchill were alive today, he would be dismayed.” Faced with public pressure, the prime minister’s office could only feign ignorance and claim that Cameron meant to say the 1940s, not 1940.

Some Leaders Find Themselves Misrepresenting Historical References and Must Apologize

On May 29, 2012, Obama held a ceremony at the White House to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the late Jan Karski in recognition of his historical achievements: Karski was a Polish-American who first exposed the atrocities of the Holocaust. Obama said Karski personally went to “the Warsaw Ghetto and a Polish death camp” and witnessed the massacre. Obama’s use of the term “Polish death camp” immediately provoked strong protests in Poland. The Polish government believed that Obama’s wording would cause people to think that Poland was responsible for the Holocaust. The correct reference should have been to “German concentration camps in Nazi-occupied Poland.”

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski publicly stated on the Internet that the White House should apologize for this “outrageous error.” The Polish Embassy in the U.S. also published guidelines on its website on how to correct the term “Polish death camp,” adding, “We cannot allow history to be distorted.” Polish President Komorowski said that Obama’s words “do not reflect views or intentions of our American friend,” but maintained that his choice of words was “unfair and painful.” Komorowski also sent a letter to Obama, who later replied, “I regret the error.”

In some cases, when politicians talk about their own experiences and a slip of the tongue occurs, these errors are more than likely intentional. During the U.S. presidential election in 2008, when Hillary Clinton was seeking her party's nomination, she boasted about her visit to Bosnia in 1996 as first lady: “I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.”

The statement was meant to showcase her courageous dash in the nation’s interests. But later, when the U.S. media played back the video of the visit, Hillary could be seen laughing at the airport; there was no sign of her dodging a sniper attack. The facts caused her great embarrassment.

In 2009, when Hillary became secretary of state, she once again told a “tale.” When visiting Belfast in Northern Ireland, she claimed in a speech that when she had visited the city in 1995, she had witnessed her hotel’s renovated appearance following a bomb attack. However, when local media investigated her story, they found that restorations had been completed by 1994, so it would have been impossible for her to have seen what she claimed.

Politically Incorrect Statements Incite Close Scrutiny

Among the variety of gaffes, politically inappropriate remarks are the most likely to cause trouble. In 2006, then Senator John Kerry, D-Mass., made a speech at a university in California.

“If you make the most of it and you study hard and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq,” he said to the students. Kerry had wanted to be humorous, but as soon as he made the remarks, Republicans quickly seized on the opportunity, saying Kerry had insulted the troops in Iraq. Some Democrats demanded that Kerry apologize for his comments.

While a slip of the tongue can involve sensitive terms, it can also attract media attention.

On Jan. 19 of this year, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden attended an Iowa event at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

“I’m proud to be president of the United States,” he said.

The audience laughed. Biden’s son Beau, attorney general of Delaware, quickly called the gaffe to his father’s attention. Biden corrected himself, “I’m proud to be vice president of the United States, but I am prouder to be Barack Obama’s, President Barack Obama’s, vice president.” Since Biden has hinted that he is considering running in the next presidential election, his mistake triggered speculation in the media as to whether Biden had let slip what was on his mind accidentally.

The “Luckiest” Verbal Blunders Are Those that Listeners Do Not Hear

In March 2009, then Russian President Medvedev visited Spain. During his welcoming remarks, the Spanish prime minister at the time, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, spoke of cooperation between their two countries, when he accidentally substituted the Spanish word for “support” with an obscenity. Fortunately, the on-site interpreter reacted quickly and did not translate the prime minister’s original reference. Medvedev and the foreign reporters, none of whom could understand Spanish, did not realize what had happened and continued listening happily, while the local Spanish reporters who heard the gaffe were scared into a cold sweat.

A slip of the tongue is a mistake that happens during oral communication. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language defines it as “an involuntary departure from the speaker’s intended production of a sequence of language units, which are very common. Sounds, syllables, morphemes, words and sometimes larger units of grammar can be affected. Often, the deviant performance is immediately detected by the speaker (though not always consciously) and corrected.” In general, all people make verbal errors as they converse. Politicians are also people; slips of the tongue are inevitable. However, politicians who work on strengthening all aspects of their personal cultivation, including psychological qualities, intellect and eloquence, can lessen the incidence of these verbal errors. Of course, politicians with a resourceful assistant at their side can also reduce the embarrassment caused by slips of the tongue.


中評社香港4月1日電/在媒體高度發達的今天,政要們說話需要十分謹慎,一不小心出現口誤,小則成為坊間流傳的笑話,嚴重的會釀成政治風波。很多人都記得,美國總統奧巴馬2009年1月第一任期就職時,念錯了只有35個單詞的總統宣誓詞。好在他今年1月在第二任期就職時沒有出問題。不過,在國際政治場合,類似的各種口誤還是層出不窮。

  沒學好地理的政治家

  文匯報刊文稱,新任美國國務卿約翰.克里2月20日在美國弗吉尼亞大學發表就職後的首次公開演講,談到了要如何在“吉爾薩克斯坦”開展工作。這陌生的國名讓人摸不著頭腦。人們後來對照美國國務院發佈的克里演講的文稿,才知道克里要說的是“吉爾吉斯斯坦”。看來,他是把吉爾吉斯斯坦和哈薩克斯坦這兩個國家混為一談了。克里在當國務卿之前,曾經在美國參議院外交委員會工作多年,並擔任該委員會的主席,稱得上是外交老手。他居然會出現這樣的口誤,實在令人費解。

  其實,在美國政治家中,說錯外國地名的還真不止他一個。這可能和美國人從小不注意學習世界地理有關。美國國家地理雜誌曾經做過調查,發現半數美國人在地圖上找不到紐約,63%的美國人不知道當時美軍正在作戰的伊拉克在什麼地方,不知道阿富汗地理位置的美國人更高達九成。甚至以“高智商”出名的美國總統奧巴馬,也在地理上出洋相。2012年4月,奧巴馬出席美洲國家首腦會議,當時阿根廷和英國正為馬爾維納斯群島(英國稱福克蘭群島)的歸屬問題起爭執。奧巴馬在講話中表達了美國在這一問題上的中立立場,同時可能是為了表示對美洲國家阿根廷的友善,用了阿方的“馬爾維納斯群島”之稱,卻又誤說成了馬爾代夫群島。後者是印度洋上的一個島國,曾經是英國殖民地。這個口誤,可謂弄巧成拙,讓阿根廷人更不高興。

  比起美國人來,法國人一向自詡“有文化”,但法國領導人也鬧過“地理笑話”,說錯的還是本國地名。2011年1月,時任法國總統薩科齊來到法國阿爾薩斯地區的特呂克泰塞姆鎮。這個鎮離法德邊境只有30公里。薩科齊對法國農業部門的代表發表講話說,他絕不能接受法國和德國之間存在不正當競爭。“之所以這麼講,不僅僅是因為我現在正處於德國”。意識到自己說錯了,他馬上改口“我現在正處於阿爾薩斯”,但台下聽眾已經“炸了鍋”,他們憤怒不已,大聲起哄。薩科齊只好中斷講話,把雙手伸向空中“投降”。這是因為阿爾薩斯這個地區長期以來是法德兩國爭奪的戰略要地,曾經兩次被德國吞併,直到二戰結束法國才收回這個地區。當地居民對阿爾薩斯歸屬十分敏感。後來媒體分析,法語中“德國”一詞與“阿爾薩斯”一詞發音相似,薩科齊應該只是口誤而已,並非對歷史無知。但他還是得罪了當地人。

  說錯人名得罪人

  比說錯地名更糟糕的是說錯人名。被譽為20世紀最偉大心靈導師和成功學大師的美國作家戴爾.卡耐基說過:“一種既簡單又最重要的獲取好感的方法,就是牢記別人的姓名。”但現在看來,奧巴馬沒讀過卡耐基的書。

  2012年11月,奧巴馬訪問緬甸,雖然他聲稱“十分重視”緬甸,卻還是沒“做好功課”。會見緬甸總統吳登盛時,他按照西方人習慣稱後者“盛總統”。其實,“登盛總統”才是合適的稱呼。見到緬甸反對派領導人昂山素季時,奧巴馬來了個美國式的“深情擁吻”,但在隨後的新聞發佈會上,他又多次把昂山素季讀成了“昂延素季”,讓身邊的昂山素季頗為尷尬。美國媒體也說,奧巴馬的口誤,會讓緬甸人“感到不安”,不知美國總統是否真的那麼重視他們的國家。

  當然,弄錯人名也不是美國人的專利。2010年6月,時任日本首相菅直人出席在加拿大舉行的八國集團首腦會議,就在新聞發佈會上接連說錯了與自己會談的時任韓國總統李明博、時任俄羅斯總統梅德韋傑夫的名字,還把英語“新興國家”說成了“新興公司”,把八國峰會說成了七國峰會。而出席峰會的奧巴馬也說不出菅直人的名字,乾脆就稱他“新首相”。有趣的是,兩年後的2012年12月,新當選日本首相的安倍晉三與奧巴馬通了電話,隨後居然告訴身邊人,他剛與“美國總統小布什”通話。雖然他馬上改正了這個錯誤,但還是惹來媒體的嘲笑。

  作為盟友,無論雙方的關係多好,一旦領導人名字被說錯,也會引起不快。今年2月6日,第十二屆伊斯蘭合作組織首腦會議在埃及首都開羅舉行。埃及總統穆爾西在開幕式上祝賀巴勒斯坦獲得聯合國觀察員國地位,說巴勒斯坦問題是伊斯蘭合作組織的“核心議題”,並呼籲所有成員國支持建立擁有完整主權和獨立的巴勒斯坦國。隨後,巴勒斯坦民族權力機構主席阿巴斯發表致辭,表示感謝。阿巴斯一開口就是“穆罕默德.胡斯尼總統”,但馬上意識到自己說錯,短暫停頓後更正為“穆罕默德.穆爾西總統”。媒體觀察到,雖然當時穆爾西表情平靜,但嘴部略有細微動作,似乎暗示他內心的不快。這也難怪,因為被推翻的埃及前總統穆巴拉克,全名正是穆罕默德.胡斯尼.穆巴拉克。

  涉及歷史常出錯

  很多政治家在演講的時候喜歡引經據典,但引述歷史如果不嚴謹,也容易出現錯誤。

  2010年,英國首相卡梅倫出訪美國。為了表示對英美友好關係的重視,他在接受採訪時強調了兩國在第二次世界大戰中的合作。他說:“早在1940年抵抗納粹德國時,我們就作為夥伴並肩而戰了。”但事實是,二戰期間美國雖然一直在支持英國,但直到1941年美國才正式參戰。此前,法國戰敗,英國孤軍奮戰,遭受巨大損失,英國人也一直為那段歷史自豪。卡梅倫的話惹惱了英國國內民眾,很多人覺得卡梅倫是為了討好美國而忘記了自己國家的歷史。一位英軍少將說:“如果丘吉爾還活著,肯定會很傷心的。”面對輿論壓力,首相府只好打馬虎眼說:“首相說的是40年代,不是1940年。”一些領導人也曾為自己涉及歷史的不恰當言辭而道歉。2012年5月29日,美國總統奧巴馬在白宮舉行儀式,向率先揭露納粹屠殺猶太人的已故波蘭裔美國人揚.卡爾斯基追授總統自由勳章,表彰他的歷史功績。奧巴馬說,卡爾斯基曾親自到“華沙猶太人區和一個波蘭死亡集中營”見證大屠殺。奧巴馬所用的“波蘭死亡集中營”一詞,立刻引起波蘭的強烈抗議。波蘭政府認為,奧巴馬的說法會讓人認為波蘭應該對納粹大屠殺負責,正確的說法應該是“在納粹佔領的波蘭境內的德國集中營”。波蘭外長西科爾斯基在網上公開表示,白宮應該為這一“駭人的錯誤”道歉。波蘭駐美國大使館也在網站上公佈指南,糾正“波蘭死亡集中營”的說法,稱“我們不能允許歷史被歪曲”。波蘭總統科莫羅夫斯基說奧巴馬“沒有惡意”,但所用詞語“不公正、令人痛苦”,並為此致信奧巴馬。奧巴馬後來回信表示“我為這一錯誤道歉”。

  在有些情況下,政治家談自己的經歷時的“口誤”,更像是有意為之。2008年美國總統大選期間,正在爭取黨內提名的希拉里.克林頓誇耀說,自己作為第一夫人在1996年訪問波斯尼亞時,“專機是在狙擊手的威脅下著陸的,歡迎儀式被迫取消”,“即使那樣,我們也沒有取消訪問,而是在重重包圍下,低頭躲著狙擊手離開了機場”,以示自己為國家利益奔走的勇氣。但後來美國媒體播放了當時的錄像,她在機場談笑風生,根本沒有所謂“躲避狙擊手”的事。這讓她很尷尬。2009年,希拉里.克林頓當上國務卿以後,又一次說了一段“故事”。當時她到訪北愛爾蘭貝爾法斯特,發表演講時聲稱自己1995年訪問該市時,入住的酒店能看到炸彈襲擊後整修的模樣。但當地媒體查證發現,她下榻酒店最後一次遭襲擊和整修,早在1994年就結束了,她根本不可能看到這些。

  說錯“敏感詞”引起關注

  在各種口誤中,政治上不恰當的說法最容易引來麻煩。2006年,時任民主黨參議員的克里到加利福尼亞州一所大學發表演講。他對學生們說:“如果你們充分利用教育機會,努力學習,讓自己變得更聰明,你們就能做得更好。否則你們會被困在伊拉克。”克里是想“幽默”一下,但此言一出,立刻被共和黨人抓住把柄,認為他是在侮辱駐伊美軍。一些民主黨人要求克里就此言論道歉。

  當口誤涉及“敏感詞”時,也容易引起媒體關注。今年1月19日,美國副總統拜登在艾奧瓦州出席活動。他在當地的全國女藝術家博物館發表講話說:“我為成為美國總統感到驕傲。”聽眾們樂了。拜登的兒子、特拉華州檢察長博爾趕緊提醒父親。拜登隨即改口:“我為作為美國副總統感到驕傲,更為驕傲的是能成為貝拉克.奧巴馬的副總統。”由於拜登曾一度暗示考慮參選下屆總統,他的口誤也引發媒體的聯想,是否他一不留神說出了心裡話?

  最“幸運”的口誤是對方沒聽出來的口誤,這也曾經發生過。2009年3月,時任俄羅斯總統的梅德韋傑夫前往西班牙訪問。時任西班牙首相薩帕特羅致歡迎詞時,大談兩國合作,結果一不留神把西班牙語的“支持”一詞說成了一個下流詞。幸好,現場翻譯腦子靈活,沒把原話翻譯出來。不懂西班牙語的梅德韋傑夫和外國記者們,根本不知道發生了什麼,還是聽得樂呵呵的,倒是西班牙當地記者聽得驚出了一身冷汗。

  口誤是發生在口語交流中的失誤,權威的《劍橋語言百科全書》是這樣定義的:“口誤是正常人在語言交流中不由自主地偏離想要表達的語音、語義、詞匯或語法形式的失誤現象。而多數情況下,說話者會很快地發現並糾正錯誤。”一般說來,人們在交流中都會出現口誤,政治家也是人,出現口誤在所難免,但政治家加強自身各方面的修養,包括心理素質、知識修養以及口才等方面的培養,都可以減少口誤。當然,政治家身邊能有個隨機應變的助手,也能減少口誤帶來的尷尬。
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