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：百科)
Honda's all'Westworld' promotional error on Facebook sends fans to someone's DMs
Newly designed Pride flag is far more inclusive for 2018Reddit user texts brother midYou can now play 'Solitaire' and 'TicThis chart shows just how high Simone Biles can jump
American gymnast Simone Biles has dominated the Rio Olympics with five medals (four of them gold) bu
...[详细]'Suits' creator gushes about what it was like to attend Meghan and Harry's wedding
It was hard not to gush about the royal wedding, which enthralled millions of people around the worl
...[详细]The first gay kiss in a campaign commercial just aired on Fox News
The best way to communicate with the president is by meeting him where he's at: in front of the TV.。
...[详细]We're getting more 'Queer Eye' – and much sooner than expected
Within months of the Season 1 reboot that stole our hearts, Netflix's Queer Eyewill return for a sec
...[详细]This German startup wants to be your bank (without being a bank)
BERLIN -- “That is f*cking clever,” said Ben Floyd, 33, as we sat in a trendy cafe in Be
...[详细]Emma Watson sends moving message to people voting in Ireland’s abortion referendum
Emma Watson has tweeted an inspiring message to people voting in Ireland's historic abortion referen
...[详细]The nostalgic power of Korean dramas — and why you should start binging right now
This post is part of Mashable's You're Old Week. Break through the haze of nostalgia with us and see
...[详细]Valedictorian banned from giving speech delivers it via bullhorn
Most high school valedictorians deliver their graduation speeches in overcrowded gymnasiums to sligh
...[详细]5 people Tim Cook calls for advice on running the biggest company in the world
It's only fitting that the leader of the biggest company in the world has a pretty impressive list o
...[详细]Sit back, relax, and let GDPR legislation lull you into a peaceful slumber
Drifting off to the land of nod is hard in this day and age, especially when we're not entirely sure
...[详细]Dressage horse dancing to 'Smooth' by Santana wins gold for chillest horse
All the biggest news from PlayStation's E3 showcase
