From: http://blog.geek2geek.info/2008/01/29/i-didnt-say-you-stole-my-money/
This sentence is interesting in that if you say the sentence seven times, each time placing the emphasis on a different word, the meaning of the sentence shifts.
Try it…
- I Didn’t Say You Stole My Money.
- I Didn’t Say You Stole My Money.
- I Didn’t Say You Stole My Money.
- I Didn’t Say You Stole My Money.
- I Didn’t Say You Stole My Money.
- I Didn’t Say You Stole My Money.
- I Didn’t Say You Stole My Money.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
I Didn't Say You Stole My Money
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3 comments:
That's cool...it shows the incredible ambiguity in language and how you really need experience speaking and emphasizing in order to know a language, and intention of the speaker/writer...and how quickly a misunderstanding can happent.
I'm amazed at how clear each of the separate meanings are. Our language is so productively complex.
My students went absolutely crazy when we did this lesson on the importance of proper inflection. Incidentally, I learned and taught this sentence as "I didn't say you stole my red bandana," leaving room for yet another ambiguity with the adjective "red."
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