U.S. Politics: Vocabulary & Pronunciation for the 2020 Election Season

Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer from English with Jennifer. The U.S. presidential

elections stir up a lot of emotions, both positive and negative. As an English

language teacher, I get excited because the election season gives us things to

learn and talk about: pronunciation, vocabulary, current issues. If you'd like

to study American English with me, be sure to subscribe. And if you see the

JOIN button, consider becoming a member of my channel so you can get the most

you can out of your English Studies here on YouTube.

In this lesson, I'm going to remain politically neutral. You can find plenty

of opinions and controversy elsewhere. My goal is to give you knowledge and words

that will help you keep up with the news and participate in conversations about

U.S. politics. We'll focus on vocabulary and pronunciation. All right?

Let's start with the basics. In the U.S., we have two major political parties: the Democratic

Party and the Republican Party. If you'd like to know what makes Democrats and

Republicans different, you can check out my lesson on U.S. political parties.

In short, the Democratic Party is more to the left,

meaning more liberal, and they favor a bigger government. The Republican Party

is more to the right, meaning more conservative, and they favor

less regulation and a smaller role for the government, especially at the federal

level. A good number of stereotypes exist about each party, so I think it's

important to remember that there are good, kind, responsible people everywhere:

in blue states, in red states, and in so-called purple states or swing states.

That's where there's a mix of Republicans and Democrats.

Repeat after me. Democrat. Democrat. Democrat. Stress on the

first syllable. Democrat. Democratic. Democratic. Democratic. Primary stress is

on the third syllable. Democratic. And I'm flapping my T. It sounds like a D.

Democratic. Republican. Republican. Republican. Primary stress is on the

second syllable. Republican.

Liberal or liberal. This word can be said with two or three syllables: liberal,

liberal. Either way, the stress is on the first syllable. Liberal. Liberal.

Conservative. Conservative. Conservative. Primary stress is on the second syllable,

and we often flap our T, so it will sound like a D. Conservative. Swing, as in

swing state. "Swing" has one syllable and the word ends with that NG sound. NG.

Raise the back part of your tongue toward the roof of your mouth. NG.

Swing. Swing state. Right now, it's election season, and the individual

states are voting to confirm who the nominee will be for each party. This

early process from February to June is referred to as the primaries, meaning the

primary elections and caucuses. These are contests at the state level. Later in

November, we'll have our General Election at the national level. That's when we'll

choose between the Democratic candidate, the Republican candidate, candidates from

smaller parties, and usually at least one independent candidate. If you'd like to

understand our election process better, you can watch my lesson on U.S.

presidential elections. There are many candidates for president. They all want

to be considered as a possible choice for the job.

Repeat after me. Candidate. Candidate. Three syllables and stress is on the

first. Candidate or candidate. Candidate. Also with three syllables, but a long A

at the end. Candidate so you can use the long A: candidate.

Or the schwa sound: candidate. Repeat after me.

Nominee. Nominee. Stress is on the last syllable. Nominee. Nominee. In 2020, Donald

Trump is the sitting president. He's in the White House. But the incumbent

president can have challengers from within the party. To get reelected, the

president needs to win the nomination of his party during the primaries. In Donald

Trump's case, it's the Republican Party. What usually happens is that the sitting

president remains the first choice of the party. His name goes on the ballot.

The ballot is literally the paper used to vote, so in November, Donald Trump's

name will go on the ballot as the Republican nominee. Repeat after me.

Trump. One syllable and be careful with that TR. Don't roll your R. Don't trill

your R. Not Trrrump. Trump. Trump. Trump.

Incumbent. Incumbent. Incumbent. Stress is on the second syllable. Incumbent.

Nomination. Nomination. Nomination. Primary stress is on the third syllable.

Nomination. Ballot. Ballot. Ballot. Stress is on the first syllable. Ballot. Notice how

an unstressed vowel sound is often a schwa sound. Ballot. The list of

Democratic candidates is quite long. It was longer, but some candidates have

already dropped out of the race. In alphabetical order, the eight remaining

candidates are Joe Biden, Mike Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard,

Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, and Elizabeth Warren. The most

recent candidate to leave the race was Andrew Yang, an entrepreneur who entered

politics. He also has a background in law. His last name and the name of his

supporters give us practice with that NG sound. Yang. His supporters were and are

still known as the Yang Gang. The Yang Gang. The NG sound is a voiced sound and

it's similar to N, but we use the back of her tongue. The back rises toward the

roof of the mouth. NG. Yang. Yang Gang.

I'm mentioning Mr. Yang because I think we'll still hear from him. He's become

visible as a political commentator on TV since dropping out of the race.

I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Yang holds some kind of political office in the

future. As for the remaining Democratic candidates, we can divide them up in a

few different ways. First, I think it's interesting to note who uses their

nickname and who uses their full name. Presidents make this choice before they

get elected. For example, Ronald Reagan was Ronald, not Ron. But Bill Clinton was

Bill, not William. Note that Joe is short for Joseph. Mike is short for Michael.

Pete is short for Peter. Bernie is short for Bernard.

Tom is short for Thomas, and Liz is short for Elizabeth, but Elizabeth Warren

prefers to use her full name Elizabeth. Amy and Tulsi

are full names. Before Tulsi Gabbard, I had never heard the name "Tulsi" before.

It's a girl's name in Hindi, as I understand. If you hear a first name

you're curious about, it's okay to ask, "Is that a family name? Does your name have a

special meaning?" You can also ask, "What kind of name is that?"

if you use a polite tone. Not, "What kind of name is that?!" Add a compliment to make

sure you don't cause offense. "Tulsi. That's pretty. What kind of name is that?

Does it have a special meaning?" Another way we can look at the candidates is by

age. Now, normally in American culture it's not polite to ask an adult, "How old

are you?" But when we elect a president, age can be a factor. Voters question

whether it's better to choose someone older with more experience, or whether a

younger candidate could handle the stress of the job better.

Pete Buttigieg and Tulsi Gabbard are the youngest at 38. Amy Kobuchar

is in her fifies. Tom Steyer is in his sixties. The remaining candidates are in their

seventies. You can say, "They're in their seventies." "They're all over 70." Or you can impress

people with this long word: septuagenarian. They're all

septuagenarians. Septuagenarians. Seven syllables, I believe, and that's easy to

remember because the prefix "sept-" means "seven." Septuagenarians. People in their seventies.

Where's the stress? Septuagenarians. There's primary and secondary.

Septuagenarians. "Sept" and "nar." They're septuagenarians. Septuagenarians. There

are some variations with that word, but I've heard it most...I think I've heard it

most often said as "septuagenarians." Practice it and you'll sound confident!

They're septuagenarians. In terms of political

experience, we have one former Vice President, two former mayors, three

senators, one member of Congress, a congresswoman, and two people from the

business world, businessmen. I should note that some of the candidates have held

other offices in the past. Biden was a senator. Sanders was a congressman and a

mayor. And Klobuchar and Warren, like Andrew Yang, have a background in law.

The current candidates are an interesting mix. Mike Bloomberg, for example, served as

mayor of New York City, and he's a businessman. Both Bloomberg and Steyer

have been financially successful. Bloomberg and Steyer are the only two

billionaires among the Democrats. Repeat after me.

Steyer. Bloomberg. Both those last names have consonant blends: two consonant

sounds together: ST in Steyer. BL in Bloomberg . And note the pattern. Most two-syllable

last names have stress on the first syllable. Steyer. Bloomberg. Again,

repeat after me. Biden with a long I. Biden. Gabbard with a short A and an

"er" sound. Gabbard. Sanders with a Z sound at the end. Sanders. Warren. Take the

time to fully form that W. Warren. Warren.

As mentioned, Mike Bloomberg isn't the only one with experience as a mayor. Pete

Buttigieg is the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Mayor Pete has the most

difficult name of all to pronounce. If you ever meet someone with a last

name that's challenging to pronounce, you can ask, "How do you say your last name?" or

"How is your last name pronounced?" Some people have come up with a strategy of

saying, "BOOT EDGE EDGE" to teach others how to say Buttigieg. It's not entirely

accurate, but it's helpful. There are three syllables. Buttigieg. Stress on the

first, which means the other two syllables have unstressed vowels.

Buttigieg. The first syllable has a long U. The double T becomes a flap T, so it will sound

more like a D sound. Buttigieg. The second syllable could

have a schwa sound "uh" or a short I sound. I've listened to Mayor Pete introduce

himself, and to my ears, it sounds like a schwa sound. Buttigieg.

The two G's are soft G's and sound like a J. Buttigieg. Pete Buttigieg. The other

candidate with a three-syllable last name is Amy Klobuchar. Klobuchar. Three

syllables and the first syllable is stressed. It follows the same stress

pattern as Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Klobuchar. If we break it up into three

syllables, it is easier to say. Klo -- we have a consonant blend KL. Klo. Long O.

-bu- long U. -char with an SH. -char. I have heard

people use the CH, but when I hear Senator Klobuchar introduce herself, I

hear an SH sound. Klobuchar. Senator Klobuchar. Yet another way to group the

candidates is by who is a veteran and who isn't. Tulsi Gabbard and Pete Buttigieg

are veterans. They both have military experience. They served in the United

States Armed Forces. For some voters, this is a plus.

Repeat after me. Veteran. Veteran. Three syllables. Stress on the first. Veteran.

Veteran. They're veterans. A final way we can classify the presidential candidates

is probably the most important way: Where do they fall on the political spectrum?

Someone who is closer to the center, but leans a little left or right is a

centrist. More often, I hear the word "moderate." That can be a noun or an

adjective. You can be a moderate. You can have moderate views. Repeat after me.

Moderate. Moderate. Three syllables. Stress on the first. Moderate. Moderate.

In each party, there are those who are far left and far right. In the Democratic Party,

those who are far left are called very liberal or progressive. These two words

don't necessarily mean the same thing, but there's enough overlap that today

Americans often use these words interchangeably. Bernie Sanders and

Elizabeth Warren are seen as the most progressive candidates. Bernie Sanders

identifies himself as a Democratic Socialist. Both Sanders and Warren are

proposing big changes in the role of the government. The other candidates are seen

as more or less moderate. Repeat after me. Progressive. Progressive. Stress on the

second. Progressive. Not pro-, "pruh." Progressive. Socialist. Socialist. Three

syllables. Stress on the first. Socialist. Socialist. Socialist. So who will win the

Democratic nomination and face Donald Trump in the general election? The

Democratic field is still large, but we'll know more within a few months.

We've already seen results from a few primaries, but Super Tuesday is coming up,

and that's a big day. Super Tuesday is when a large number of states hold their

primary elections. It's usually a time to gain some clarity and confirm the

front-runner, meaning the leader of the race. Perhaps the list of Democratic

candidates will become shorter if some fail to win enough votes. Super Tuesday

can help winnow the field. Candidates can be winnowed out. The list can be winnowed

down. This refers to removing people from the list, making the list shorter.

Repeat after me. Super Tuesday. Super Tuesday. Super Tuesday.

Front-runner. Front-runner. This can be written as one word or with a

hyphen. But place the stress on the first

syllable: front. I'm not dropping my T. I'm using a glottal stop. It's the same

sound we use in "Uh-oh!" or "Uh-uh." When you hold your breath, that's the same action you

need to make a glottal stop in "front-runner." Front-runner. Winnow. Winnow. Two

syllables. Stress on the first. Winnow. Winnow. Winnow out. Winnow down.

How much do you care about politics? To be honest, politics can stress me out,

especially the debates. But our presidential elections are important, and

I care about many issues, so I feel it's my responsibility to listen to different

views and stay informed. If you'd like to have the language to talk about current

issues such as immigration, health care, and college tuition, be sure to check out

my conversation playlist and look for those advanced topics. I'll put the link

in the video description. And don't forget if you'd

like to have a conversation with me about anything one-on-one, you can book a

private lesson through my website. I'll end here. If you found the lesson useful,

please like and share the video with others. As always, thanks for watching, and

happy studies!

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. And try something new download the apps

Kiki Time and Hallo. These are more ways I can help you learn English each and

every week. And hey! Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Turn on those notifications.