I Can Eat Glass: Difference between revisions
CallMeSarge (talk | contribs) I've attempted to add more citations, to support the spread of this phrase. |
CallMeSarge (talk | contribs) m fix capitalization (See Also -> See also) |
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The project grew to considerable size since web surfers were invited to submit translations.<ref name="Blyth2000">{{cite book|last=Blyth|first=Carl S.|title=Untangling the Web: Nonce's Guide to Language and Culture on the Internet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jn9pOo0MNGgC|accessdate=22 January 2013|year=2000|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=9780471392477|page=48}}</ref> The phrase was translated into over 150 languages, including some that are fictional or invented, as well as into code from various computer languages. It became an [[Internet meme]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705392885/Potty-language-Safely-navigating-international-water-closets.html?pg=all|title=International Business: Potty language: Safely navigating international water closets|last=Wooten|first=Adam|date=21 October 2011|work=[[Deseret News]]|accessdate=22 January 2013|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224621/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705392885/Potty-language-Safely-navigating-international-water-closets.html?pg=all|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
The project grew to considerable size since web surfers were invited to submit translations.<ref name="Blyth2000">{{cite book|last=Blyth|first=Carl S.|title=Untangling the Web: Nonce's Guide to Language and Culture on the Internet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jn9pOo0MNGgC|accessdate=22 January 2013|year=2000|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=9780471392477|page=48}}</ref> The phrase was translated into over 150 languages, including some that are fictional or invented, as well as into code from various computer languages. It became an [[Internet meme]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705392885/Potty-language-Safely-navigating-international-water-closets.html?pg=all|title=International Business: Potty language: Safely navigating international water closets|last=Wooten|first=Adam|date=21 October 2011|work=[[Deseret News]]|accessdate=22 January 2013|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224621/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705392885/Potty-language-Safely-navigating-international-water-closets.html?pg=all|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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== See |
== See also == |
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* [[My Hovercraft Is Full Of Eels]] |
* [[My Hovercraft Is Full Of Eels]] |
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Revision as of 14:53, 28 August 2023
 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's general notability guideline. (March 2023) |
I Can Eat Glass was a linguistic project documented on the early Web by then-Harvard student Ethan Mollick.[1] The objective was to provide speakers with translations of the phrase "I can eat glass, it does not hurt me" from a wide variety of languages; the phrase was chosen because of its unorthodox nature. Mollick's original page disappeared in or about June 2004,[2] but the phrase has continued as an absurdist example in linguistics.[3][4][5]
As Mollick explained, visitors to a foreign country have "an irresistible urge" to say something in that language, and whatever they say (a cited example being along the lines of "Where is the bathroom?") usually marks them as tourists immediately. Saying "I can eat glass, it does not hurt me", however, ensures that the speaker "will be viewed as an insane native, and treated with dignity and respect".
The project grew to considerable size since web surfers were invited to submit translations.[6] The phrase was translated into over 150 languages, including some that are fictional or invented, as well as into code from various computer languages. It became an Internet meme.[7]
See also
References
- ^ Finegan, Edward (2004). Language: its structure and use. Thomson Wadsworth. p. 254. ISBN 9780838407943. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
- ^ "UTF-8 Sampler".
- ^ "I Can Eat Glass without Hurting Myself". Fifty Words for Snow. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ "i can eat glass - La Lojban". mw.lojban.org. 30 June 2014.
- ^ "How to say "I can eat glass, it does not hurt me"". everything2.com. 12 April 2000.
- ^ Blyth, Carl S. (2000). Untangling the Web: Nonce's Guide to Language and Culture on the Internet. John Wiley & Sons. p. 48. ISBN 9780471392477. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
- ^ Wooten, Adam (21 October 2011). "International Business: Potty language: Safely navigating international water closets". Deseret News. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
External links
- Web Archive copy of I Can Eat Glass
- I Can Eat Glass, Harvard Immediate Gratification Players
- I Can Eat Glass in UTF-8, with notes by Frank da Cruz, Columbia University
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