Inauguration
20.01.2009
Deborah Capras
Deputy Editor
Deputy Editor
On the look-out for wise words for work
(2 votes)
Bookmark this post with:
Wise Words: There’s only one word you’ll need to know today, and that’s inauguration.
By the end of the day, President-elect Barack Obama will have been sworn in as the 44th US president. It’s been a long time coming.
It’ll be a long time until you’ll need to use inauguration again. It’s primarily used to talk about the formal admittance of someone to a public office, especially in the US. In the UK, we don’t talk about the inauguration of the prime minister. (We don’t wait two months to throw the loser of the election out of 10 Downing Street, either — the newly elected prime minister moves in the very next day.)
We can also talk about inaugurations of museums or buildings that are used by the public for the first time.
- “The museum’s inauguration ceremony was attended by over 500 people.”
But I don’t think we’ll see many new museums in this recession.
You might come across the verb "inaugurate" more often, though. This is used in formal situations to describe what comes at the beginning of something, particularly a new period.
- “The treaty inaugurated a period of peace and growth in the region.”
But this week, the media focus will be on the inauguration of the first African-American US President. I’m looking forward to Obama’s inaugural address. He's a powerful and charismatic speaker. There are very few people who can bring me out in goosebumps. Obama is one of them.
As a quick reminder of his powers as a speaker, listen to the final minute from his acceptance speech in November. He promises to do a lot. I hope he can.
Yes we can. America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves — if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made? This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time — to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth — that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America. |
Watch the full speech here:
Amtseinführung; Eröffnung
den Amtseid ablegen
Zulassung
Amtssitz und Wohnort des britischen Premierministers
Einweihung
stoßen auf
ins Amt einsetzen; einweihen; einläuten
Vertrag
sich freuen auf
Antrittsrede
bei jmdm. zum Vorschein bringen; hier: hervorrufen
Gänsehaut
Dankesrede (Rede des siegreichen Kandidaten)
a 106-year-old African-American Atlanta woman who has experienced many changes in her life and whom Obama mentions earlier in his speech
einer Aufforderung nachkommen
wiedererlangen, wiederherstellen
Wohlstand
fördern, unterstützen
sich zurückholen, wieder einfordern
wieder bestätigen
Zynismus
Glaubensbekenntnis; hier: Motto, Losung
segnen
- ‹ previous
- 22 of 172
- next ›
"Like Greece, I don't always get what I think I need."
"It was ridiculous to force people to continue calling him 'Sir', or even 'sir'!"
"BlackBerry is no longer flavour of the month. It’s in a bit of a jam."
"In times of terror, tragedy or disaster, words often fail us. Actions too."
