Gibberish (language game)
Encyclopedia
Gibberish is a language game
or secret language similar to Pig Latin
that is played in the United States
, Canada
and Northern Ireland
. Similar games are played in many other countries. The name Gibberish
refers to the nonsensical sound of words spoken according to the rules of this game.
), and -adeg-. The dialects are given different names. Another form of gibberish known as allibi is spoken using the insertion -allib-. One instance of spoken Gibberish is in certain dialogues in the movie but is not an actual language Slums of Beverly Hills
.
to each syllable after the onset. Example:
When a syllable starts with more than one consonant, the infix is added after the onset consonants. Example:
When the syllable begins with a vowel, that vowel is used in place of the first i in the -ithieg- infix. Example:
Words of more than one syllable repeat the rules for each sylable.
The sentence "I hit the alarm clock when I woke up" could be "Ittiguy Hittigit thittagee addagalitigarm clidigock wittigen Ittiguy wittigoke uttigup".
, the Gibberish morpheme breaks up the syllable into a sequence of vowels plus a glide. The vowels of the Gibberish morpheme typically harmonize
for quality with the vowel of the syllable nucleus, but can be reduced
if unstressed according to English stress rules. The [ɡ] syllabifies
into a new onset. Examples:
s created by inserting a certain infix before the vowel in each syllable. For example, if the code infix were "ob", then "Hello, Thomas" would be translated as "Hobellobo, Thobomobas". While a relatively simple code, this can be difficult to understand when spoken swiftly and sounds merely like meaningless babble, which is how it received its name. The terms "Double Talk" and "Double Dutch" are alternate names for such codes. While any syllables could be used as code syllables, some syllables are more commonly used. These include:
Another variation consists in the code syllable's not having a specific vowel, but repeating the vowel of the syllable in which it is being inserted. This variation is common in Switzerland, where the inserted syllable thus could be "@n@f", where @ denotes the original vowel, e.g. "Hallo, Chrige" would be translated into Hanafallonofo, Chrinifigenefe. Similarly, "Lalafa" replaces each occurrence of a vowel with "@ləf
@." In Gibberish as spoken in the United Kingdom
, the infix code syllable is often "@rag".
In some variants only the first sylable of each word is modified. On the other hand, combining (or double-encoding) forms of Gibberish, or by further encoding with other languages games such as Pig Latin
and Tutnese
can result in increasingly hard to decipher (and pronounce) words. For instance, combining Pig Latin, Hard Gibberish and Openglopish might result in a phrase idigopidigatthidigopidigay idigopidigoundsidigopidigay idigopidigikelidigopidigay idigopidigisthidigopidigay ('that sounds like this').
Language game
A language game is a system of manipulating spoken words to render them incomprehensible to the untrained ear. Language games are used primarily by groups attempting to conceal their conversations from others...
or secret language similar to Pig Latin
Pig Latin
Pig Latin is a language game of alterations played in English. To form the Pig Latin form of an English word the first consonant is moved to the end of the word and an ay is affixed . The object is to conceal the meaning of the words from others not familiar with the rules...
that is played in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. Similar games are played in many other countries. The name Gibberish
Gibberish
Gibberish is a generic term in English for talking that sounds like speech, but carries no actual meaning. This meaning has also been extended to meaningless text or gobbledygook. The common theme in gibberish statements is a lack of literal sense, which can be described as a presence of nonsense...
refers to the nonsensical sound of words spoken according to the rules of this game.
In English
There are many variations of Gibberish in the English-speaking world. They use -itherg-, -elag-, -itug-,-uthaga-, -uvug-, -idig-, -atheg- (th in then and the two vowels are pronounced with a schwaSchwa
In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa can mean the following:*An unstressed and toneless neutral vowel sound in some languages, often but not necessarily a mid-central vowel...
), and -adeg-. The dialects are given different names. Another form of gibberish known as allibi is spoken using the insertion -allib-. One instance of spoken Gibberish is in certain dialogues in the movie but is not an actual language Slums of Beverly Hills
Slums of Beverly Hills
The Slums of Beverly Hills is a 1998 motion picture, written and directed by Tamara Jenkins. Its hero is a teenage girl struggling to grow up in a lower-middle-class family that moves every few months in the late 1970s....
.
"-ithieg-", "-idig-", "-uddag-", "-uvug-", "-uthug-"
These four dialects of Gibberish are spoken by adding the infixInfix
An infix is an affix inserted inside a word stem . It contrasts with adfix, a rare term for an affix attached to the end of a stem, such as a prefix or suffix.-Indonesian:...
to each syllable after the onset. Example:
- dog → dithiegog, didigog, duddagog, duvugog
- cat → kithiegat, kidigat, kuddagat, kuvugat
When a syllable starts with more than one consonant, the infix is added after the onset consonants. Example:
- creek → krithiegeek, cridigeek, kruddageek, cruvugeek
- strong → strithiegong, stridigong, struddagong, struvugong
When the syllable begins with a vowel, that vowel is used in place of the first i in the -ithieg- infix. Example:
- all → athiegall, idigall, uddagall, uvugall
- eat → eithiegeet, idigeat, uddageet, uvugeat
Words of more than one syllable repeat the rules for each sylable.
- example → ethiegexathiegampithiegle, idigexidigampidigle, uddagex-uddagam-puddagle, uvugex-uvugam-puvugle
- flower → flithiegow-ethieger, flidigow-idiger, fluddagow-uddager, fluvugow-uvuger
"-atheb-", "-adag-"
This dialect works in much the same way as the previous dialects, with an additional rule. When a single syllable word begins with a vowel, the infix acts as a prefix, with the initial "a" becoming like that vowel.- all → adagall
- eat → eadageet
- if → idagif
- it → idagit
- up → udagup
- at → adagat
- is → idagis
- I → idaguy
- hi → hidaguy
The sentence "I hit the alarm clock when I woke up" could be "Ittiguy Hittigit thittagee addagalitigarm clidigock wittigen Ittiguy wittigoke uttigup".
"-(V)rV+g-"
Another paradigm involves infixing (V)rV+g following the onset of a monosyllabic word, or less usually after each onset or nucleus of polysyllabic words. In words consisting of a single diphthongDiphthong
A diphthong , also known as a gliding vowel, refers to two adjacent vowel sounds occurring within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: That is, the tongue moves during the pronunciation of the vowel...
, the Gibberish morpheme breaks up the syllable into a sequence of vowels plus a glide. The vowels of the Gibberish morpheme typically harmonize
Vowel harmony
Vowel harmony is a type of long-distance assimilatory phonological process involving vowels that occurs in some languages. In languages with vowel harmony, there are constraints on which vowels may be found near each other....
for quality with the vowel of the syllable nucleus, but can be reduced
Vowel reduction
In phonetics, vowel reduction is any of various changes in the acoustic quality of vowels, which are related to changes in stress, sonority, duration, loudness, articulation, or position in the word , and which are perceived as "weakening"...
if unstressed according to English stress rules. The [ɡ] syllabifies
Syllabification
Syllabification is the separation of a word into syllables, whether spoken or written.It is also used to describe the process of something like a consonant turning into a syllable, but this is not discussed here...
into a new onset. Examples:
- Eye → Eregye [ˈærəɡaɪ]
- Float → Floragoat [ˈflɔrəɡoʊt]
- Street → Strerageet [ˈstɪərɨɡiːt]
- eat is finesn
"-(V)lV+g-"
L can also be commonly used instead of r. Examples:- Eye → Elegye [ˈæləɡaɪ]
- Float → Flologoat [ˈflɔləɡoʊt]
- Street → Strelegeet [ˈstɪəlɨɡiːt]
- eat is finesn
Gibberish family
The term "gibberish" is used more generally to refer to all language gameLanguage game
A language game is a system of manipulating spoken words to render them incomprehensible to the untrained ear. Language games are used primarily by groups attempting to conceal their conversations from others...
s created by inserting a certain infix before the vowel in each syllable. For example, if the code infix were "ob", then "Hello, Thomas" would be translated as "Hobellobo, Thobomobas". While a relatively simple code, this can be difficult to understand when spoken swiftly and sounds merely like meaningless babble, which is how it received its name. The terms "Double Talk" and "Double Dutch" are alternate names for such codes. While any syllables could be used as code syllables, some syllables are more commonly used. These include:
- Ubbi dubbiUbbi dubbiUbbi Dubbi is a language game spoken with the English language, and is a close relative of the language game Obbish. It was popularized by the long-running PBS television show ZOOM...
– "ub" or "ib", whibich wibould sibound libike thibis. ("which would sound like this.") - Oppish – "op" or "ob",
- Egglish – "eg" or "ineg",
- Izzle – "iz" or "izl",
- Fuzzy Wuzzy – "ez" or "uz", which comes out sounding something like, "Fuzzy Wuzzy was a..."
Another variation consists in the code syllable's not having a specific vowel, but repeating the vowel of the syllable in which it is being inserted. This variation is common in Switzerland, where the inserted syllable thus could be "@n@f", where @ denotes the original vowel, e.g. "Hallo, Chrige" would be translated into Hanafallonofo, Chrinifigenefe. Similarly, "Lalafa" replaces each occurrence of a vowel with "@ləf
Schwa
In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa can mean the following:*An unstressed and toneless neutral vowel sound in some languages, often but not necessarily a mid-central vowel...
@." In Gibberish as spoken in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the infix code syllable is often "@rag".
In some variants only the first sylable of each word is modified. On the other hand, combining (or double-encoding) forms of Gibberish, or by further encoding with other languages games such as Pig Latin
Pig Latin
Pig Latin is a language game of alterations played in English. To form the Pig Latin form of an English word the first consonant is moved to the end of the word and an ay is affixed . The object is to conceal the meaning of the words from others not familiar with the rules...
and Tutnese
Tutnese
Tutnese or Double Dutch is a language game primarily used in English, although the rules can be easily modified to apply to almost any language...
can result in increasingly hard to decipher (and pronounce) words. For instance, combining Pig Latin, Hard Gibberish and Openglopish might result in a phrase idigopidigatthidigopidigay idigopidigoundsidigopidigay idigopidigikelidigopidigay idigopidigisthidigopidigay ('that sounds like this').
In other languages
Language games in the Gibberish family are not unique to English-speaking countries. Gibberish games in other languages include:- SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
: Allspråket (Identical to Pig Latin, but with the suffix "-all" rather than "-ay".) - FinnishFinnish languageFinnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
: Konttikieli, Vedkieli - FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: JavanaisJavanaisJavanais is an element of French slang where the extra syllable "av" is placed inside a word , between every consonant followed by a vowel, rendering it more incomprehensible...
(consonant + vowel ---> consonant + “av” + vowel) - GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Löffelsprache – infix "@ləf" - HebrewHebrew languageHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
: "bet" language, "gimel" language (consonant is added after every vowel) - HungarianHungarian languageHungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
: Madárnyelv ("bird's-language") – infix "@v" or "@rg" (Tudsz így beszélni? → Tuvudsz ívígy beveszévélnivi?) - SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
(Latin AmericaLatin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
): Jerigonza – "@p*" (Hola mundo → Hopolapa mupundopo) efe language – "@f" (Hola mundo → Hofolafa mufundofo) or some variations like "@g@d": (Hola mundo → Hogodolagada mugudundogodo) - SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
(VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
): Cuti Talk - Using the prefix "cuti" before every syllable in the word. For instance: "Buenos Dias" would be: cutibu-cutie-cutinos cutidi-cutias. - PortuguesePortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
: Língua do P/Língua dos PP/Língua dos Pês ("language of the Ps") – "p@" (Eu te amo → pEu pte papmo in Brasil; Epeupu Apamupu-tepe in Portugal) - RomanianRomanian languageRomanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
: Păsărească ("bird talk") – "@p*" (Bună ziua! → Bupunăpă zipiuapa!) - RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
: Fendifeyevskiy – "@f*" (Davay! → Dafavafay!)