Trump as a Second Language

An Interpretive Guide for English Speakers

Foreign language interpreters report having difficulty and ethical dilemmas when translating Donald Trump’s speeches to readers across the globe. This shouldn’t be too surprising, though, as many Americans report having difficulty understanding this emerging form of communication, colloquially known as TrumpSpeak.

But have no fear, gentle reader, the team at Voices of the Revolution has assembled the following Teaching Trump as a Second Language quickstart guide. Here, you’ll find the most important words and phrases of TrumpSpeak explained in plain English for you. With this handy guide, you’ll be ready to understand and translate Trump as your second language in no time. Let’s get started!

TTSL: A Quickstart Guide to Common Phrases

• “America” — A ubiquitous term in TrumpSpeak that many listeners misunderstand when new to the dialect. Instead of referring to all of America, as commonly assumed, it almost always refers to just
  Corporate America. See below for examples.
• “Make America Great Again” — The key to successful translation of this phrase is to is include the silent “corporate” that goes unvoiced by the speaker. The true intent of the phrase in TrumpSpeak is better understood as “Make Corporate America Great Again.”
• “America First” — This modifier is often used before phrases such as ‘Energy Plan’ or ‘Foreign Policy.’ Again, apply the “silent corporate rule” that you just learned. A plan to revive the coal industry in this vernacular should be understood as a “Corporate America First Energy Plan.”
• “Bigly” — Adverb. One of the best words in the TrumpSpeak canon to keep an audience or debate opponent off balance. It is placed at the end of a sentence to add emphasis and generally thought to mean the equivalent of “really big,” but even seasoned translators can’t agree on it’s true meaning.
• “Hoax” — Adjective. Generally used to describe a phenomenon that is politically or ideologically inconvenient, e.g. climate change.
• “Alternative Facts” — A newly coined addition to the lexicon, this phrase lets the user generate any figure or data that supports their official narrative. It also negates any competing “facts” that contradict the user.
• “The Establishment” — In TrumpSpeak this term has a very particular meaning, often misunderstood. Using the word “Establishment” in this vernacular refers only to career politicians and Washington insiders. CEO’s and billionaires are exempt from being lumped in with the politicians in this sense.
• “Drain the Swamp” — See “The Establishment” for additional insight. This is to be understood as a process of removing politicians, lawyers, and lifelong policy makers from high political posts in Washington with the connotation that this group is ‘corrupt’ and/or ‘incompetent.’ In contrast, it is implied that these posts will be replaced with CEOs and billionaires (who are thought to be neither of those things).
• “Two Corinthians” — Though it may sound jarring to the untrained ear, “Two Corinthians” is a completely reasonable way to quote scripture to a group of Christian students in TrumpSpeak. It is not be confused with the Aramaic jokes that start with “Two Corinthians walk into a bar…”
• “Right to Work” — A phrase used to describe a laborer’s right to work for a corporation for longer hours and in less regulated conditions than previous generations of workers. An inexperienced listener may start repeating this phrase to others, unaware of its true meaning.

Got all that? We at Voices of the Revolution know it is a lot to take in at first, but don’t worry! We trust that by reviewing this guide regularly you will be able to effortlessly navigate the ins and outs of this fascinating new dialect. Happy Translating!

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Written by Justin Zarb. Edited by Jonathan Revell H. and Dan Cancro. Image by Amanda Robertson.

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