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PN = proper noun
N = noun
V = verb
NP = noun phrase
RC = relative clause
VP = verb phrase
S = sentence
"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo." is a grammatically valid sentence in the English language, used as an example of how homonyms and homophones can be used to create complicated linguistic constructs. It has been discussed in literature since 1972 when the sentence was used by William J. Rapaport, an associate professor at the University at Buffalo. It was posted to Linguist List by Rapaport in 1992. It was also featured in Steven Pinker's 1994 book The Language Instinct.
No one knows why Buffalo can create an infinitely long sentence. Some theories help explain the origins of it. For example, it is said that at a press conference President Obama couldn't think of anything intelligent to say, so he claimed that he could make a infinity long sentence using one word. When asked what word it was, he paused then replied with, "Buffalo." Ironically, he was visiting the city of Buffalo, New York during this press conference.
Other words
Other English words can be used to make grammatical (but not necessarily meaningful) sentences of this form, containing endless consecutive repetitions. Any word that is both an animate plural noun and a transitive verb will work. Other words which can be used in this manner include police, fish, smelt, char, people and bream.
A somewhat similar un-punctuated example is "James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher". This could concern a situation in an English class regarding the usage of the word had, and might be punctuated as, "James, while John had had 'had', had had 'had had'; 'had had' had had a better effect on the teacher."
See also
Notes
- Rapaport, William J. 22 September 2006. "A History of the Sentence "Buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo."". Accessed 23 September 2006. (archived copy)
- Rapaport, William J. 19 February 1992. "Message 1: Re: 3.154 Parsing Challenges". Accessed 14 September 2006.
- Pinker, Steven. The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language. William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, 1994. p. 210
External links
Listen to this article(2 parts, 5 minutes)
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- "Buffaloing buffalo" at Language Log, 20 January 2005
- Easdown, David. Template:PDF
- The Emory Wheel, Andrew Swerlick What a Herd of Confused Bison from Upstate New York Can Teach Us About Our Difficulties With the English Language