CNN links to uggabugga's Bushisms Analyzed page:

BusinessWeek has a story on Bush's mangled syntax:

"Analyzating" Bush's Grey Matter
The President's tendency to mangle words and syntax may be due to an undiagnosed language and hearing disability, say some experts

The BusinessWeek article is linked to from a CNN page on "bushspeak" - which includes a link to our own analysis of Bush's use of language.

In the BusinessWeek story, we read:

To some learning-disability experts, the signs are clear: Bush might want to pay them a visit. These experts haven't tested the President, so they caution that they can't be certain of the diagnosis. Yet, ample signs indicate that something unusual is going on in the left side of his brain, where language and hearing are processed.

and

[One] reason [Bush has trouble speaking might be] something called central auditory processing disorder (CAPD). ...

According to an article on the Internet by Judith W. Paton, a San Mateo (Calif.) audiologist, CAPD is a physical hearing impairment that doesn't show up as hearing loss but rather affects hearing beyond the ear. In effect, the auditory nerves don't handle the raw data from the ear properly. It's usually found with a cluster of other symptoms. Among the tell-tale signs she cites: Confusion of similar sounding words, terse communications, better hearing when watching the speaker, and trouble hearing when it's noisy.

Well, maybe. All we can say is that when we analysed the Bushisms, we didn't find any clear pattern. Sure, there were sound-alike problems, but there were instances where the noun or verb was the opposite of what was called for (e.g. "at home" instead of "abroad"). There were even subject-object switches. And many other errors that don't fit into a pattern of auditory failure. The overall impression we got from the analysis was that Bush was a lazy speaker (and thinker).

But we're certainly interested in learning more about what ever it is that makes Bush speak the way he does. There are known special-function areas of the brain for visual processiong (e.g. edge filters), so perhaps there are similar special-function areas for language processing (hearing, thinking, and speaking). And maybe some of those are unusual in Bush (either congenital or from long-term alcohol consumption).

What we need to do to settle the matter, is have Bush's head in an NMR scanning device while he is being interviewed by Tim Russert. Wouldn't that be something? (While we're at it, let's scan Russert's head as well.)

posted by Quiddity at 3/16/2004 01:22:00 PM