One of the many verbal mysteries of Donald Trump is whether the GOP presidential nominee is saying "bigly" or "big league."
Over the course of his campaign he has said what sounds like the grammatically grating "bigly" at numerous debates, press conferences, rallies and campaign events.
SEE ALSO:Dictionary fact-checks America's vocabulary during debateAt Wednesday's debate he brought it out again.
Tweet may have been deleted
This time, though, the linguists were on it.
Susan Lin, an assistant linguistics professor at the University of California at Berkeley, posted her definitive answer Wednesday evening to the linguist Facebook group Friends of Berkeley Linguistics.
"'Bigly' or 'big league'? The latter, I'm quite sure," Lin said on the group page.
To defend her declaration, she included a spectrogram, a visual chart showing the phonetic pronunciation of words. Think of it as a voiceprint instead of a fingerprint. Based on her analysis, Trump introduces a second "G" sound as he ends the word, forming the clipped "league" in "big league."
The linguist community was quick to chime in. Tara McAllister Byun, a New York University linguist, passed along the findings, as did other linguists, noting that the velar pinch toward the end really seals the deal.
The phoneticians have spoken, and it actually is "big league": note the velar pinch and the stop closure/burst https://t.co/5VyjPaGqff pic.twitter.com/M9p0vvjMXk
— Tara McAllister Byun (@ByunLab) October 20, 2016
It’s def “big-league”-check out that velar pinch! (no it’s not something Trump does to women; is a cue to /g/). Spectrogram from Susan Lin! pic.twitter.com/91AdY60VN4
— Jennifer Nycz (@jennycz) October 20, 2016
We'd probably still be debating this mystery way beyond election day if it weren't for these linguists, big league.
(责任编辑：探索)
Over 82,000 evacuate as Blue Cut fire rapidly spreads in southern California
Happy 10th Anniversary to 'Step Up,' you beautiful piece of trash
Posting about your workout on Facebook means you're a narcissist, study says
Irish Olympian brothers talking casually after reaching Rio race will crack you upThis app is giving streaming TV news a second tryDid our grandparents have the best beauty advice?
Do our grandparents really know what's best?They're older and wiser, and they have no shortage of ad
...[详细]I tested out a virtual reality fart simulator and it was as odd as it sounds
LONDON -- It's not every day you get invited to Paris to spend three hours smelling farts.SEE ALSO:T
...[详细]Irish boxer jabs Putin on Twitter after controversial Russian win in Rio Olympics
Irish boxer Michael Conlan lost to Russia's Vladimir Nikitin by unanimous decision in the Olympics q
...[详细]U.S. Soccer's women deserve as much as the men — even when they lose
When the U.S. women's soccer team returns from the Rio Olympics, there will be no ticker-tape parade
...[详细]This coloring book is here for all your relationship goals
LONDON -- We are living through the golden age of celebrity relationships. Gone are the days of tort
...[详细]What's going down on day 4 of the 2016 'Dota 2' International
The unstoppable wildcard EHOME was finally stopped and Newbee and Alliance were knocked out of The I
...[详细]9 wildlife websites for citizen scientists who want to save the earth
Doing good for nature is just a mouse-click away.Citizen science, or the general public's participat
...[详细]Motel has the most relatable reason for rebuilding
No matter how tough you might be, you can still be brought down by a tiny spider.Imgur user admirals
...[详细]Mom discovers security cameras hacked, kids' bedroom livestreamed
A mother in Houston, Texas woke up one morning to pretty much every parent's worst-case scenario. 。 "
...[详细]LeBron James signs new contract that will make him highest
Fresh off delivering the Cleveland Cavaliers their first-ever NBA championship, LeBron James finally
...[详细]Two astronauts just installed a new parking spot on the International Space Station
What's going down on day 4 of the 2016 'Dota 2' International
