Slip of the tongue

By Park Moo-jong

French President Emmanuel Macron has been the talk of the global town thanks to his apparent “slip of the tongue” he made during his visit to Australia last week, as reported by mass media worldwide.

At the end of a news conference he had together with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Sydney on May 2, raised eyebrows by calling Turnbull's wife Lucy “delicious.”

According to news reports, Macron said, “I want to thank you for your welcome, thank you and your delicious wife for your warm welcome,” he said.

Macron must have simply slipped up in his use of English since the French word for delicious _ delicieux _ also translates as “delightful” or “lovely.”

His episode is a simple example of a slip of the tongue, “an error in speaking in which a word is pronounced incorrectly, or in which the speaker says something unintentionally.”

Here is a similar case in Korea. A foreign ambassador in Seoul was eager to learn Korean during his service some years ago. But frankly speaking, it is not that easy for him or other foreigners to pronounce Korean words correctly.

He learned the word, “멋있다,” pronounced “meositta, meaning “look smart.” He also learned another word, “맛있다,” pronounced “masitta” meaning “delicious.”

Not surprisingly, he confused “eo” of meositta with “a” of masitta for a slip of the tongue. During a dinner party, he told a graceful Korean lady, “You look masitta,” instead of “meositta,” to her embarrassment and the laughter of Korean guests.

If that happened today, she might become a victim of “MeToo,” while the career diplomat might be accused of sexual harassment.

The episodes are not so serious for they are supposed to be simple errors in speaking like a signature slip tongue such “chicken towel” instead of “kitchen towel.” They do little harm to listeners.

The problem is politicians' slips of the tongue _ either intentional or unintentional _ that adversely affect the political landscape, stirring up public fury, as in the case of recent controversial remarks by Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, the leader of the main conservative opposition Liberty Korea Party.

The outspoken prosecutor-turned-politician surprised people, irrespective of their ideological inclination, namely not only liberals but conservatives, by commenting on the April 17 inter-Korean summit at Panmunjeom, saying that “Kim Jong-un (the North Korean leader) might be elected the next president of the Republic of Korea.”

He was discrediting the historical talks between President Moon Jae-in and Kim designed to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula through the North's denuclearization, also saying, “the world is going crazy.”

Some may think that Hong made a slip of the tongue, but many others believe that he made such controversial remarks, dubbed “blunt and absurd words,” as a red-baiting tactic to rally conservatives in the upcoming local elections.

He continued to invite public criticism after he declared, “There are many pinkos in Changwon (the capital city of South Gyeongsang Province),” after seeing demonstrators denouncing him. He was the governor of the province from 2014 to 2017.

An overwhelming national consensus of today is, no doubt, the settlement of a permanent peace on the peninsula as a result of the ongoing inter-Korean contacts, initiated by the Moon-Kim summit and scheduled talks between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump is desirable.

Even many of his party colleagues were displeased with their leader's “habitual” absurd words and slips of the tongue, with some of them opposing his leadership. Hong is going too far for “opposition for the sake of opposition.”

He needs to take lessons from the bitter experiences of some political leaders. For instance, former French President Jacque Chirac who suddenly said in 2005 that Finnish food was tasteless, incurring the Finnish International Olympic Committee's anger, and thus failing to host the 2012 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Still vivid in the memory of many voters was a slip of the tongue of TV anchorman-turned-lawmaker Chung Dong-young made ahead of the 2004 general election. He said, “No problem. Elders over the ages of 60 to 70 stay home to rest without voting. Why? They are not the people who will decide on the future. But young ones have to vote without fail for future is for them.”

The backlash was severe and the then opposition party eventually suffered a miserable defeat and he was virtually ostracized for three years until the 2007 presidential election after giving up his parliamentary seat.

Hong should also listen to what Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), one of the founding fathers of the United States, said of slips of the tongue: “A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over.”

Here is a good proverb for Hong: “Silence is golden.” The old saying, in short, means that it is often better to say nothing, and saying nothing is preferable to speaking.

As a “rare” leader in the conservative force, Hong needs to keep deep in mind that “speech is silver, while silence is gold.” He should become a good listener if he seeks to muster the support of the people to help the opposition party do its given role of checking the government and regaining power in the long run.

If he continues to speak as bluntly as before, he is not qualified to lead the conservatives, who are having a hard time in the face of the relatively powerful liberal ruling camp led by Moon.

Park Moo-jong is a standing adviser of The Korea Times. He served as the president-publisher of the nation's first English daily newspaper founded in 1951 from 2004 to 2014 after working as a reporter from 1974. He can be reached at moojong@ktimes.com or emjei29@gmail.com.