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Presidential Language: How A Few Words Can Open Doors
The new President of the United States has had much said about him in the news over the past few months: about his fiscal plans, about his foreign policy, even about his bowling skills. But I was most fascinated to pick up on a few discussions of the language of Barack Obama. Obama spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, and Language Log decided to look into whether or not the President speaks any Indonesian as a result of his time spent living there. In the course of their investigation, they unearthed this video, which shows the President exchanging pleasantries in Indonesian ("How are you?" "Fine, thanks."). This could be proof of "visitor's Indonesian," or the retention of key phrases he would have used on a day-to-day basis, and while it's not necessarily a prerequisite for a leader of a country to speak another language, it's interesting nonetheless to witness how speaking a few words in another language can open up the comfort levels of communication slightly wider. I imagine it's the role of any world leader to learn a few polite courtesy expressions before speaking to the leader of another country, if only to show some form of respect. For Obama, I think the issue is not how well he speaks Indonesian, but rather that he is willing to. (Similarly, the previous President, Mr. Bush, endeared himself to many in the Latino-American community with his willingness to conduct business in Spanish.) I think it's fair to say if you learn how to be polite in a language, you will find far more people willing to stop and help you. A simple "hello," "how are you," "yes," "no," "thank you," and "please" will win many people over, or at least show them that you took the time to learn a thing or two about them before visiting their country. Even if they laugh at your accent, it's an icebreaker. It even worked once with my dentist; after I offered up a few pleasantries in Tagalog, she seemed to be much gentler with the water pick. (SUZANNE)
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