Genre(s) | Children's games |
---|---|
Players | Three or more |
Setup time | None |
Playing time | User determined |
Random chance | Medium |
Skill(s) required | Speaking, listening |
Chinese whispers (Commonwealth English) or telephone (American English) [1] is an internationally popular children's game[2] in which players form a line, and the first player comes up with a message and whispers it to the ear of the second person in the line. The second player repeats the message to the third player, and so on. When the last player is reached, they announce the message they heard to the entire group. The first person then compares the original message with the final version. Although the objective is to pass around the message without it becoming garbled along the way, part of the enjoyment is that, regardless, this usually ends up happening. Errors typically accumulate in the retellings, so the statement announced by the last player differs significantly from that of the first player, usually with amusing or humorous effect. Reasons for changes include anxiousness or impatience, erroneous corrections, the difficult-to-understand mechanism of whispering, and that some players may deliberately alter what is being said to guarantee a changed message by the end of the line.
The game is often played by children as a party game or on the playground. It is often invoked as a metaphor for cumulative error, especially the inaccuracies as rumours or gossip spread,[1] or, more generally, for the unreliability of human recollection or even oral traditions.
Etymology[edit]
Good Sentences For Telephone Game
As the game is popular among children worldwide, it is also known under various other names depending on locality, such as Russian scandal,[3]whisper down the lane, broken telephone(In Poland), operator, grapevine, gossip, don't drink the milk, secret message, the messenger game, and pass the message among others.[1] In France, it is called téléphone arabe (Arabic telephone) or téléphone sans fil (wireless telephone).[4] In Malaysia, this game is commonly referred to as telefon rosak, and in Greece as spazmeno tilefono (σπασμένο τηλέφωνο) which both translate to broken telephone. In the United States, the game is known under the name telephone – which in this use is never shortened to the colloquial and more common word phone.
Historians trace Westerners' use of the word Chinese to denote 'confusion' and 'incomprehensibility' to the earliest contacts between Europeans and Chinese people in the 17th century, and attribute it to Europeans' inability to understand China's culture and worldview.[5]Using the phrase 'Chinese whispers' suggested a belief that the Chinese language itself is not understandable.[6] Additionally Chinese people have historically been stereotyped by Westerners as secretive or inscrutable.[7] The more fundamental metonymic use of the name of a foreign language to represent a broader class of situations involving foreign languages or difficulty of understanding a language is also captured in older idioms, such as 'It's all Greek to me'.
The game has no winner: the entertainment comes from comparing the original and final messages. Intermediate messages may also be compared; some messages will become unrecognizable after only a few steps.
As well as providing amusement, the game can have educational value. It shows how easily information can become corrupted by indirect communication. The game has been used in schools to simulate the spread of gossip and its supposed harmful effects.[8] It can also be used to teach young children to moderate the volume of their voice,[9] and how to listen attentively;[10] in this case, a game is a success if the message is transmitted accurately with each child whispering rather than shouting. It can also be used for older or adult learners of a foreign language, where the challenge of speaking comprehensibly, and understanding, is more difficult because of the low volume, and hence a greater mastery of the fine points of pronunciation is required.[11]
Variants[edit]
A variant of Chinese whispers is called Rumors. In this version of the game, when players transfer the message, they deliberately change one or two words of the phrase (often to something more humorous than the previous message). Intermediate messages can be compared. What an individual player changes in the message often says something about the player.[according to whom?]
The pen-and-paper game Telephone Pictionary (also known as Eat Poop You Cat) is played by alternately writing and illustrating captions, the paper being folded so that each player can only see the previous participant's contribution.[12] Commercial boardgame versions Telestrations[13] and Cranium Scribblish were both released in 2009. The game has also been implemented online at Broken Picture Telephone, Drawception and other sites.
A translation relay is a variant in which the first player produces a text in a given language, together with a basic guide to understanding, which includes a lexicon, an interlinear gloss, possibly a list of grammatical morphemes, comments on the meaning of difficult words, etc. (everything except an actual translation). The text is passed on to the following player, who tries to make sense of it and casts it into his/her language of choice, then repeating the procedure, and so on. Each player only knows the translation done by his immediate predecessor, but customarily the relay master or mistress collects all of them. The relay ends when the last player returns the translation to the beginning player. The game has been played in the conlang community.[14]
Another variant of Chinese whispers is shown on Ellen's Game of Games under the name of Say Whaaaat?. However, the differences is that the 4 players will be wearing earphones, therefore the players have to read their lips.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ abcBlackmore, Susan J. (2000). The Meme Machine. Oxford University Press. p. x. ISBN0-19-286212-X.
The form and timing of the tic undoubtedly mutated over the generations, as in the childhood game of Chinese Whispers (Americans call it Telephone)
- ^'Oxford English Dictionary'. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
- ^Gryski, Camilla (1998). Let's Play: Traditional Games of Childhood, p.36. Kids Can. ISBN1550744976.
- ^'Téléphone arabe'. fr.wikipedia.org. Retrieved 25 July 2018.[circular reference]
- ^Dale, Corinne H. (2004). Chinese Aesthetics and Literature: A Reader. New York: State University of New York Press. pp. 15–25. ISBN0-7914-6022-3.
- ^Ballaster, Rosalind (2005). Fabulous Orients: fictions of the East in England, 1662–1785. Oxford University Press. pp. 202–3. ISBN0-19-926733-2.
The sinophobic name points to the centuries-old tradition in Europe of representing spoken Chinese as an incomprehensible and unpronounceable combination of sounds.
- ^Young, Linda W. L. (1994-05-26). Crosstalk and Culture in Sino-American Communication. Cambridge University Press. ISBN9780521416191.
- ^Jackman, John; Wendy Wren (1999). 'Skills Unit 8: the Chinese princess'. Nelson English Bk. 2 Teachers' Resource Book. Nelson Thornes. ISBN0-17-424605-6.
Play 'Chinese Whispers' to demonstrate how word-of-mouth messages or stories quickly become distorted
- ^Collins, Margaret (2001). Because We're Worth It: Enhancing Self-esteem in Young Children. Sage. p. 55. ISBN1-873942-09-5.
Explain that speaking quietly can be more effective in communication than shouting, although clarity is important. You could play 'Chinese Whispers' to illustrate this!
- ^Barrs, Kathie (1994). music works: music education in the classroom with children from five to nine years. Belair. p. 48. ISBN0-947882-28-6.
Listening skills:..Play Chinese Whispers
- ^For example, see Hill, op. cit.; or Morris, Peter; Alan Wesson (2000). Lernpunkt Deutsch.: students' book. Nelson Thornes. p. viii. ISBN0-17-440267-8.
Simple games for practising vocabulary and/or numbers: .. Chinese Whispers: ..the final word is compared with the first to see how similar (or not!) it is.
- ^Jones, Myfanwy (4 November 2010). 'Parlour Games for Modern Families'. Penguin Adult – via Google Books.
- ^'Eat Poop You Cat: A silly, fun, and free party game'. annarbor.com. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
- ^http://www.kneequickie.com/kq/Polyglottal_Telephone
External links[edit]
- Broken Picture Telephone, an online game based on Chinese Whispers; recently re-activated.
- Drawception, another online game which uses the concept.
- Chinese Whispers, explains the game and offers some examples.
- Global Gossip Game, a game of Gossip that passes from library to library around the world on International Games Day @ your library.
- The Misemotions Game, a variation of the Chinese Whispers where participants have to properly convey emotions instead of text messages.
- HobbyLark»
“I heard it through the grapevine…” Oh how phrases get twisted when traveling through the grapevine! So twisted, in fact, that the concept makes for a great game for kids and adults to play! Whether you’re looking for sleepover game ideas or icebreaker games, the Telephone Game might be just what you’re seeking!
How to Play
First, setup. Since there’s only people involved, everyone needs to be in the proper position. The best way to set everyone up for this game is to be in a straight line, spaced far enough apart so that others can’t hear what you’re whispering into the next player’s ear. Sometimes you’re working with too tight of a space to allow for a straight line, such as indoors in a bedroom, so then it becomes necessary to arrange everyone in a circle, spaced apart in the same manner as you would in a line.
Next, begin game. The first player starts the game by whispering a single word or phrase into the ear of the next player. No repeating! Cdl hazmat jobs close by. If the next player didn’t quite hear it, well, that’s a part of the fun of the game! The next player then whispers what they think they heard to the following player, and so on. This continues until the word or phrase reaches the very last person.
Last, announce. The last player gets the most important part, announcing what word or phrase they heard! It’s fun to get to see just how much it changed from one person to the next! The first player then goes on to state what the actual word or phrase was. The last player then gets to jump to the first player position so and starts the game over. This can continue until each person has had a turn at choosing the initial word or phrase and a turn at being the one to announce it!
Telephone Game Phrases to Use
Coming up with single words is easy, so in order to have an even better game, you should have a few good telephone game phrases handy to start the game! You want to pick something a little challenging and easy to misinterpret because it makes the end result even more entertaining! Also, choosing a phrase that you think would be totally hilarious for people to be whispering down the line is a great choice no matter how easy or hard it is to interpret. Now onto the telephone game phrases… enjoy!
Funny Sentences to Use
- Don't move! There's a gigantic spider behind you!
- If I could go back in time, I would yell at Troy, 'It's a trap!'
- A dog named Moose ran loose through the spruce forest chasing a goose.
- Jokers, jesters, and jugglers jingled, jumped, and jigged for the King of Jordan.
- Kaleidoscopes, Calliopes, and Christopher Columbus.
- My favorite thing to do on a rainy afternoon is watch Lord of the Rings and party like a hobbit.
- You're a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity.
- Musical mice made the muffin mix while humming a melancholy melody.
- I still think Nicolas Cage would've made a great Superman.
- Minions would look really weird with contacts.
- Who's your friend who likes to play, Bing Bong, Bing Bong!
- Facebook is perfect for aunts who want to creep on nieces and nephews and tattletale on them for holding a beer.
- Have you ever noticed that it only ever seems to rain when you have to go somewhere?
- Don't tell me name brands and generics are the same until you've tried generic mac and cheese.
- The easiest way to make an adult man cry is to force him to watch Toy Story 3.
- The only thing I like better than reading a book, is watching the movie and never reading the book.
- For Christmas this year, I'm asking Santa for an Amazon gift card.
- Education is important, but big muscles are importanter.
- A Taco Bell chicken quesadilla with extra creamy jalapeno sauce.
- If I were a dinosaur, I'd be an Ankylosaurus, a tough, armored exterior but with a leafy loving heart of gold!
- Ted’s toolbox fixes Fred’s friend’s Ford.
- I really need to break my habit of opening a million new tabs I'll never look at.
- People who know me, would say that my best quality is my unwavering optimism, or my sarcasm.
- My guilty pleasure is watching FailArmy.
- The entrance is guarded by a fire-breathing, near-sighted dragon with a fear of heights.
- I'm cursed with the terrible fate of relentlessly interrupting everyone around me.
- The only thing better than a tall, dark, and handsome man, is one carrying a pizza box.
- Chinese food is made with sugar and spice, and lots of rice.
- The best chips are chocolate ones.
- Not even an iceberg could sink our friendship!
- Sally sells sushi by the seashore.
- In high school, I was voted most likely to become a cat lady.
- I have no idea what I'm doing, but I know I'm doing it really well.
- My sexy dance moves have been described as a blend of Beyonce and Mr. Bean.
- When I grow up, I want to be an excavator.
- I going to sleep like a 2 year old after eating pizza.
- When you're in an exam and can't stop coughing.
- Dumbo's real name is Jumbo Junior.
- You've been voted off the island.
- Nobody's favorite food is cabbage.
- I like Voltage better than Code Red, but not as much as Livewire.
- I only Riverdance when I'm happy.
- Unlucky Laura lost her lunch at the library last week.
- Koala bears are cute and pandas bears are cuddly.
- When I was 6, I had a pet guinea pig that I named 'Sir Piggysworth.'
5 More Ways to Play
Sometimes the same old game can get boring. If you’re looking to put a fun spin on the game, give one of the following variations a shot! Gana sudhakar songs download.
- Movement: It's telephone game meets charades in this wacky version of the game. The first player shows the second player a silly movement or dance move, while everyone else looks in the opposite direction. The second player must then do the same movement to the next player, and so on. Check out the video at the end for a ridiculous demo of this variation!
Drawing: In this variation, the first player choose a word and uses pencil and paper to draw a single line to begin the illustration of the word. You cannot lift the pencil, and once you do, it’s time to pass it to the next player. The next player is quietly told the word and must continue the drawing, again with just one line. At the end of the round, the last player is not told the word and must guess the word by looking at the drawing!
Teams: This is the best way to play with a large group and fun if you like competition! Even teams are made and one single person whispers the same phrase to the first player on each team. Whichever team is closest to having the correct phrase at the end wins!
Foreign language: Play a variation of the game that involves using language that is anything but your primary language. Whatever word or phrase will be dramatically changed at the end!
Rumor has it: In this variation, instruct each person to change just one or two words out of the entire phrase and see just how much words get twisted, just like a rumor that gets spread!
The beauty of the game is sharing a bunch of laughs to see how much everything can change from the original source! It also goes to show you that you just can’t believe everything you hear because so much can get lost through that awful grapevine everyone talks about!
Telephone Challenge (ft. MAZE RUNNER: The Scorch Trials)
All the phrases were stupid like your faceeeeee.NOT FUNNY.