Does G.W. Bush speak Standard English?

MollyB   Sun Oct 07, 2007 11:22 pm GMT
Does G.W. Bush speak Standard English?
JM   Sun Oct 07, 2007 11:46 pm GMT
Yes he does, although, in the eyes of many, he may "come accross as a fool" due to obvious controversy which is inappropriate to discuss in this language forum. He pretty much speaks standard American English with a slight (to my ears) Texas accent.
Uriel   Mon Oct 08, 2007 12:06 am GMT
Yeah, it's standard English. It's just not General American. Two different things.
Skippy   Mon Oct 08, 2007 12:15 am GMT
No, he doesn't speak Standard English...

He speaks the Texan variety of Southern American English... I'm sure his idiolect has become MORE Standard than before, it is certainly Southern American English.
MollyB   Mon Oct 08, 2007 6:44 am GMT
<Yeah, it's standard English. It's just not General American. Two different things. >

Ah really? what's the difference.

And what's all this I hear about "Bushonics"?
MollyB   Mon Oct 08, 2007 6:46 am GMT
<No, he doesn't speak Standard English... >

How confusing, two people here say he does and you say he doesn't.
Guest   Mon Oct 08, 2007 7:17 am GMT
"Standard" American English is a rather subjective if you go around asking people. I am sure linguists have their own definition as to what constitutes "standard American English".

He definitely has a bit of a southern accent as does Bill Clinton, but to the average American (whatever that is) it's probably standard enough.
Anglophile   Mon Oct 08, 2007 7:24 am GMT
One thing is to speak of a "standardised" language and quite another is to speak of a more or less "cultivated accent". Some people tend to think that there is only "one" standard accent "per country". This would be the case for Received Pronunciation in the UK and General American for the US. Where would that leave educated people from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa or other native speaking countries of the world? Does Gordon Brown, the British Primer Minister, a cultivated Scot, speak Standard English? He certainly does, although he neither has a cultivated Scot or a fully Received Pronunciation accent.

The fact is "standard" should have little to do with "native accents" and more with speaking English in a "standard" way and, only perhaps, in a more refined and more understandable manner for speakers of other English varieties, within or outside the country. It's a question of "levelling".

From this point of view, Bush and Brown both speak fully Standard English with possibly a few odd mistakes as happens with almost all native speakers. In the case of Bush I imagine his accent to be close to the way most college graduates from his generation and age speak in Texas.
Damian in London E14   Mon Oct 08, 2007 8:24 am GMT
Pretty soon it won't matter a hoot to the world generally what form of English George W Bush speaks! To us he sounds like your average American, but Americans themselves, of course, would know differently. It's not so much what kind of English he speaks but more how he uses it and what he actually says. Actually it was fun in a way - a clear example of laughing at a guy rather than with him! I guess he meant well......
Skippy   Mon Oct 08, 2007 12:26 pm GMT
"Standard enough" maybe, but it's still Southern American English. He's not a very comfortable public speaker so, if I were him, I'd stick to my native dialect to keep it comfortable.
Guest   Mon Oct 08, 2007 2:35 pm GMT
Is he bidialectal? Can he use both Standard English and his regional dialect, if he has one.
Anglophile   Mon Oct 08, 2007 3:58 pm GMT
What about Gordon Brown, Damian, what kind of accent has he got?
Guest   Mon Oct 08, 2007 4:04 pm GMT
Skippy   Mon Oct 08, 2007 9:21 pm GMT
I don't think Bush is really bidialectal... Just like anyone else, his speech may change slightly when talking with family friends in Maine from when he's speaking with friends in Texas, but as far as I've heard him speak it's purely Southern American English.
Skippy   Mon Oct 08, 2007 9:22 pm GMT
Oh and as long as people are asking about Gordan Brown... What are Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy's dialects? Are they relatively standard or relatively regionalized?