US President Donald Trump's speech on Monday at Ahmedabad's Motera stadium left Twitter in splits over his several mispronunciations even though the American leader won some praise over his references to Bollywood and Indian public figures.
From calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi the son of a "chiwala" ("Chaiwala" or tea-seller) to mentioning "The Vestas" (The Vedas) and a botched up pronunciation of Swami Vivekananda, social media users noted several instances of Trump-isms.
Some also praised Mr Trump for speaking about the "genius" of the Hindi film industry and recalling two all-time favourites, 'Sholay' (which he called "Shojay") and 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' ("DDLJ").
All the words Trump mispronounced (and how to say them correctly):
— jamia boy@ (@Rj_Jamia1) February 24, 2020
- Suuchin Tendulkar (Sachin Tendulkar)
- Cheewallah (Chaiwallah)
- Shojay (Sholay)
- The 'Vestas' (The Vedas)
- Swami Vivekamanan (Swami Vivekananda) #TrumpInIndia
Sbsa Mazadar cheewallah h???????? pic.twitter.com/Xt7l8A28hT
Lord! Trump just said Swami Viveka-mu-nand!#MoteraStadium#TrumpModiMeet #NamasteTrump #TrumpIndiaVisit
— Just A Citizen (@ks_NotANiceGirl) February 24, 2020
Who thought it was a good idea to get Trump to try and pronounce Swami Vivekananda on stage?
— Ross Adkin (@AdkinRoss) February 24, 2020
Not oldest ? Anyhow Till now Trump said these words ????
— Anurag Patra (@AnuragPatra17) February 24, 2020
????Chiwala (not to be confused for Chihuahua)
???? Swami Vivakamunda
???? Suuchin Trendulkar
???? Viriut Kohli
????????????#NamasteTrump
I struggle to socialize like Trump struggle to pronounce swami vivekanand.
— Girish (@Girishgogia) February 24, 2020
Donald Trump's pronunciation of Tendulkar and Kohli ????????????????????????????????
— Responsible Father of Three!!! (@AndileMlondo) February 24, 2020
Something about Donald Trump's pronunciation of Sachin Tendulkar tells me he isn't a huge cricket fan pic.twitter.com/stFhq46MLx
— Andy Silke (@andysilke) February 24, 2020
Terrible pronunciation by Trump of Hindi words
— AQ (@AmbedkarQuote) February 24, 2020
#NamasteyTrump
A+ grade to Trump speech writers. Haven't heard the speech hut what I am seeing on twitter suggests good homework on today's India. On pronunciation, Trump struggles with English words, like ‘anonymous'. Swami Vivekananda more than a mouthful for him.
— Ram (@ramprasad_c) February 24, 2020
Ignoring bad pronunciation by trump, overall it was a very good speech.
— Aditya (@Adiguru_ji) February 24, 2020
Trump has done tremendous homework before coming here. Ignore the pronunciation part.
— Vikas Mika Gurjar (@VikasMikaGurjar) February 24, 2020
That was a good speech from Donald Trump. People might point towards his mistakes in pronunciation but that's all part of the package. He makes everything sound more authentic and genuine and that's his greatest credo.
— K Bhattacharjee (@YearOfTheKraken) February 24, 2020
Donald Trump received a red-carpet welcome in India on Monday, addressing a huge rally at the world's biggest cricket stadium on his first official visit to India that is big on photo opportunities but likely short on substance.
"America loves India. America respects India, and America will always be faithful and loyal friends to the Indian people," Mr Trump told the ecstatic crowd.
Name-checking Bollywood films and Indian cricketers, Mr Trump - with an eye on elections in November - also paid tribute to the four-million-strong Indian-American diaspora as "truly special people".
(With inputs from agencies)
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