. >>> WELCOME BACK TO FRIDAY NIGHT
BROADCAST. LET'S AGREE FOR THE SAKE OF THE
NEXT CONVERSATION THAT DONALD TRUMP USES THE MOST COLORFUL
LANGUAGE OF ANY PRESIDENT AT LEAST IN THE MODERN ERA AND SAYS
SOME OF THE MOST QUESTIONABLE THINGS.
AND THAT IS WHERE OUR NEXT GUEST COMES IN.
JOHN IS A LINGUIST. HE HAS A PH.D..
HE TEACHES AT COLUMBIA. HE TOO IS COLORFUL WHEN TALKING
ABOUT DONALD TRUMP AND SPECIFICALLY HOW THIS PRESIDENT
TALKS. THAT'S WHY WE TALKED ABOUT IT
WITH JOHN McWHARTER. >> THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
>> THANK YOU, BRIAN. >> I'VE BEEN WANTING TO ASK YOU,
WHAT IS YOUR LING WIS TICKS DEFINITION OF THIS PRESIDENT?
>> DONALD TRUMP LINGUISTIKALLY IS UNADORNED.
THIS IS THE BASICS. THIS IS WHAT LANGUAGE WAS
UNDOUBTEDLY LIKE WHEN IT FIRST EMERGED AMONG PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T
HAVE WRITING AND WERE FIRST GETTING THEIR VERBAL SEA LEGS.
THIS IS WHERE IT STARTED. AND SO IN THAT WAY, AS IN SO
MANY OTHERS, DONALD TRUMP IS AN ORIGINAL.
>> THAT WOULD MEAN THAT EDUCATION AND SCHOOLING HAS HAD
NO EFFECT ON HIS USE OF LANGUAGE WAJ.
HE'S QUICK TO REMIEPD US HE WENT TO THE BEST SCHOOLS.
>> AND LEARNED NOTHING IN THEM. HE SPEAKS LIKE ONE WHO PAID NO
EDUCATION TO ONE OF THE GOALS OF EDUCATION WHICH IS TO REFINE OUR
SPEECH. HE USES THOSE SAME WAYS OF
SPEAKING IN WHAT MOST OF US USED TO CONSIDER FORMAL.
>> I THINK IN YOUR LINE OF WORK THEY CALL IT A TAG.
WHEN SOMETHING IS ADDED TO THE END OF A TRADITIONAL SENTENCE.
SO OFTEN HE WILL TAG A SENTENCE WITH BELIEVE ME, BELIEVE ME, AND
ENFORCER. SOMETHING HE THOUGHT WAS LACKING
IN THE ORIGINAL SENTENCE. >> UH-HUH.
IT'S THAT HE'S REINFORCING. ALSO HE'S USING ORAL SPEECH.
WE'RE CHECKING TO SEE THAT THE OTHER PERSON
WE'RE SAYING, THEY'RE IN THE SAME BOAT WE ARE.
THAT'S WHAT "YOU KNOW IS, " THINGS LIKE LOL IN TEXTING.
HE DOES THAT, TOO, BUT ONCE
AGAIN IT'S NOT IN TEXTING, HE'S DOING IT IN FORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES
WHICH MEANS THAT HE NEVER LEAVES THE REALM OF THE CASUAL WHEN HE
SPEAKS. WHICH IS UNLIKE EVEN SAY
INDIGENOUS SOCIETIES WHERE THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS READ NG
AND WRITING, THERE'S ALWAYS A HIGH AND LOW WAY OF TALKING.
THE CHIEF DOESN'T GET UP AND RUN HIS MOUTH, OURS DOES.
>> THERE'S A FRIEND OF OUR BROADCAST WHO WORKS FOR THE WALL
STREET JOURNAL AND SAYS ABOUT DONALD TRUMP THERE ARE VISUAL
AND AUDIO TELLS THAT HE PEPPERS HIS SPEECH WITH WHERE IF YOU
KNOW WHAT'S COMING, YOU KNOW WHAT'S COMING.
I WANT TO RUN A MONTAGE OF A TRUMP PHRASE PEOPLE DON'T KNOW.
IN HIS READING OF IT. PEOPLE DON'T KNOW FOR DONALD
TRUMP MEANS I JUST LEARNED. HERE'S THE EXAMPLE.
>> FRANCE IS AMERICA'S FIRST AND OLDEST ALLY.
OUR FIRST REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT, ABRAHAM LINCOLN RAN HIS FIRST F
CAMPAIGN TORE PUBLIC OFFICE IN 1832.
GREAT PRESIDENT. MOST PEOPLE DON'T EVEN KNOW HE
WAS A REPUBLICAN, RIGHT? DOES ANYONE KNOW?
LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THAT. PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE WE ARE A
UNBELIEVABLY DIVIDED COUNTRY. I HAVE TO TELL YOU IT'S A
UNBELIEVABLY COMPLEX SUBJECT. NOBODY KNEW HEALTH CARE COULD BE
TO COMPLICATED. >> YOU'RE LAUGHING, WHY?
>> THAT ASPECT OF HIM, I CAN'T SAY ANYTHING PARTICULARLY
LINGUISTIC ABOUT IT. HE HAS THE NEED TO BE THE ALPHA
MALE, THE IDEA MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THIS IS COMING FROM THE
SAME WELL. THE IDEA IS HE'S ALWAYS THE ONE
WHO'S ONE STEP AHEAD. IN THAT, FRANKLY, I DON'T FIND
HIM LINGUISTICALLY CHALLENGED AS SOMEBODY WHO'S AUDIBLY
ADOLESCENT FOR SOMEBODY WHO'S A SENIOR CITIZEN.
>> WHAT ABOUT HIS OTHER FAVORITES, BELIEVE ME AND MORE
THAN EVER BEFORE, OR MORE THAN WE'VE EVER SEEN BEFORE?
>> SOME OF THAT IS BECAUSE THEY'RE REALLY ONLY -- I'M SORRY
TO SAY IT, BUT THERE ARE ONLY SO MANY THOUGHTS.
AND SO OFTEN HE'S SPEAKING, AND I THINK HE RUNS OUT OF NEW
INSIGHTS SO HE COVERS IT WITH THINGS LIKE BELIEVE ME OR IT
CAN'T EVER BE THAT SOMETHING IS BAD, IT'S VERY BAD OR VERY, VERY
BAD. THOSE ARE HIS EQUIVALENTS OF
ROUGHLY, UM OR SCRATCHING HIS HEAD.
I HI THE CONTENT OF WHAT HE'S SAYING IS SLIMMER THAN THE BULK
OF THE VERBIAGE THAT HE SPUS OUT.
>> HE'S 71 YEARS OLD NOW PRESIDENT IN A AGE OF INSTAND
TAKENIOUS FACT CHECKING. HE'S NOT USED TO HIS AD-LIB
BEING FACT CHECKED IN REAL TIME. DO YOU THINK HE'S BUMPED UP
AGAINST THAT DYNAMIC. >> I DON'T THINK HE'LL CHANGE IN
THAT WAY. HE SIMPLY HAS NO DEODORANT
WEARING SUNDAY BEST WAY OF SPEAKING, THAT INCLUDES YOU HAVE
TO HAVE A MORE RESPONSIBLE SENSE OF TRUTH THAN WHEN YOU'RE JUST
BSING WITH YOUR PALS. WHEN WE SPEAK CASUALLY ALL THE
TIME WE SAY THINGS WHERE MAYBE IF WE CHECKED UP ON IT THINGS
MIGHT BE DIFFERENT. HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND IF YOU'RE
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, YOU CAN'T JUST TALK.
IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE JUST TALKING BECAUSE YOU'RE MOVING
YOUR MOUTH, BUT THERE'S THIS OTHER ART THAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED
TO MASTER. HE WASN'T NRD THAT SORT OF THING
IN SCHOOL. THIS IS SOMEBODY WHOS NUMBER TO
THE ARTFUL. HE HAS A NARCOTIC JOY IN
DISMISSAL AND BEE LITTLE MEANT RATHER THAN BUILDING AND
DECORATING. AND SO HE'S GOING TO KEEP
RUNNING UP AGAINST THE WALL. HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND WHEN
YOU'RE PRESIDENT YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THINGS WHICH ARE
WHAT WE CALL TRUTH THINGS IN LINGUISTIC.
>> ARE YOU JOINING THE INTERSECTION OF NARSY SISM AND
LINGUISTIC. >> HE IS WHAT HAPPENED WHEN YOU
GET SOMEBODY EXTREMELY ARTFUL AND I THINK IT'S SAFE TO SAY,
CLINICALLY NARCISSISTIC AND TALKING ALL THE TIME TO US IN
OUR HOUSES ABOUT SERIOUS THINGS. THAT'S WHAT'S SO STRIKING ABOUT
LISTENING TO THIS PERSON TALK. WHAT'S UNFORTUNATE IS HOW MUCH
WE'VE HAD TO LISTEN TO IT. I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD BE UNDER
ANY IMPRESSION THAT IT'S GOING TO CHANGE BECAUSE WE'RE IN A
INFORMAL ERA. IN A WAY, HE'S A PRODUCT OF
SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN GOING ON SINCE THE MID '60s AND IN MANY
CASE IT'S IN GOOD WAYS. IN AMERICA YOU AND I WOULD HAVE
HAD TO WEAR DID HE DOORA ASSEN SUITS EVEN ON HOT SUMMER DAYS,
BUT SOMETHING ELSE THAT LEFT WAS YOU PUT SPEECH IN ITS SUNDAY
BEST. ALL OF US FAKE IT TO A EXTENT.
WE COULD HAVE PREDICTED SOMEBODY WOULD COME ALONG WHO WOULD ONLY
TALK RATHER THAN SPEAK AND BECOME PRESIDERESIDENT OF THE U
STATES. I DON'T THINK TRUMP IS GOING TO
BE LAST IN THAT
