Welcome to the Adventures

11 March 2009

Buffalo buffalo

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

The above is a true sentence. Created in 1972 by William J. Rapaport, it is an example of how homonyms and homophones can be used to create complicated sentences.

I came across this special sentence while browsing the internet with my twin sister a couple years ago. Since then, it has always captivated me.

So, what does this sentence mean? Can you figure it out?

Click here for the answer.

For all you Spanish speakers out there, here is a similar sentence:

¿Cómo como? Como como como.

There are more interesting sentences in many different languages at the above source.

Enjoy!

4 comments:

Sara said...

I feel stupid because I don't get either one.

Sara said...

Haha... I get it now. Sort of.

Amanda said...

haha, Sara don't feel stupid.

My Spanish profesor pushes this idea on us: that there are many words in Spanish that have multiple meanings. And when you put them together, you can create a grammatically correct sentence with a single word. Like traje traje (I brought the suit). Smaller example, same concept.

Kyle said...

Lol.

I also like the other ones in the Wikipedia article - especially the Finnish one with Kokko and the Danish/Swedish/Norwegian one with Bar barbarbar etc.

A barbarian in a bar looking for another barbarian in the bar...awesome!