Bush Trips on Polish Name but Reagan Still the Champ
President Bush stumbled today when he tried to pronounce a tongue-twisting Polish surname, but linguists rated his attempt superior to former President Ronald Reagan’s efforts in Russian.
Before delivering a speech at the Polish Parliament, Bush turned to greet Senate Speaker Andrzej Stelmachowski. He pronounced the third syllable of the name chow , as if it rhymed with now .
In fact, in Polish the syllable is pronounced hoff .
Poles watching Bush on live television noticed the slip but said it was a forgivable error and Bush’s meaning was clear.
Reagan, Bush’s predecessor, delighted in reciting Russian proverbs to Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev when they met at summits. However, Reagan’s pronunciation was so thick that neither Gorbachev nor his wife, Raisa, ever seemed to understand.
Poland proved embarrassing linguistic territory for former President Jimmy Carter in a 1977 visit to Warsaw when his interpreter mistranslated several bland presidential remarks. Among other gaffes, he had Carter saying that he wanted to learn of the carnal desires of Poles and that he had just abandoned the United States.
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