Chinese whispers

Chinese whispers or Telephone is a game in which each successive participant secretly whispers to the next a phrase or sentence whispered to them by the preceding participant. Cumulative errors from mishearing often result in the sentence heard by the last player differing greatly and amusingly from the one uttered by the first. It is most often played by children as a party game or in the playground. It is often invoked as a metaphor for cumulative error, especially the inaccuracies of rumours.^[1]

The game has many other names, including the telephone game, Broken Telephone, operator, grapevine, whisper down the lane and Pass It Down. In the United States, "Telephone" is the most common name for the game.^[1] The name "Chinese whispers" reflects the former stereotype in Europe of the Chinese language as being incomprehensible.^[2] It is little-used in the United States and may be considered offensive.^[3] However, it remains the common name in the United Kingdom and many British-influenced countries, where it is not generally considered politically incorrect.^[4] In practice the game is also referred to by describing how to play, without giving it a specific name.

How to play

As many players as possible line up such that they can whisper to their immediate neighbours but not hear any players further away. The player at the beginning of the line thinks of a phrase, and whispers it as quietly as possible to her/his neighbour. The neighbour then passes on the message to the next player to the best of his or her ability. The passing continues in this fashion until it reaches the player at the end of the line, who calls out the message he or she received.

If the game has been 'successful', the final message will bear little or no resemblance to the original, because of the cumulative effect of mistakes along the line. Deliberately changing the phrase is often considered cheating, but if the starting phrase is poorly chosen, there may be disappointingly little natural change.

One variation known as "operator" allows each listener one chance to ask his or her neighbour for a repetition, as if assistance from the line operator were available by calling that magic word.

Purpose

The game has no winner: the entertainment comes from comparing the original and final messages. Intermediate messages may also be compared; some messages will be unrecognizable after only a few steps. The world record for the largest game is held by one organized by stage magician Mac King, on January 6, 2004 at Harrah's Casino in Las Vegas. It involved 614 people; King started by whispering "Mac King is a comedy magic genius"; the final version reported was "Macaroni cantaloupe knows the future", slightly different from what King had predicted it would be.^[5]

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 harmful effects.^[6] It can also be used to teach young children to moderate the volume of their voice,^[7] and how to listen attentively;^[8]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.^[9]

Examples of sequences

The following is excerpted from the movie Johnny Dangerously:

Lil: Get this to Johnny on the grapevine: Vermin is going to kill Johnny's brother at the Savoy Theater tomorrow night. Got it?

Polly: Got it.

Polly: Vermin is going to kill Johnny's brother at the savoy theater pass it on.

Prisoner: Vermin is going to kill Johnny's brother at the Savoy Theater tonight. Pass it on.

Prisoner: Vermin is going to kill Johnny's mother at the Savoy Theater tonight. Pass it on.

Prisoner: Vermin's mother is going to kill Johnny tonight at the Savoy Theater. Pass it on.

Prisoner: [gibberish]

Prisoner: There's a message on the grapevine, Johnny.

Johnny: Yeah, what is it?

Prisoner: Johnny and the Mothers are playin' "Stompin' At The Savoy" in Vermont tonight.

Johnny: Vermin's going to kill my brother at the Savoy Theater tonight?

Prisoner: I didn't say that.

Johnny: No, but I know this grapevine.

From the January 8, 2006 comic strip Zits:

[Frame 1]

Mom: [on phone] Sara? It's Connie, Jeremy's mom.

Sara: Oh, hi!

[Frame 2]

Mom: [on phone] Jeremy must have turned his cell phone off. Can you give him a message?

Sara: Sure!

[Frame 3]

Sara: [on phone] D'ijon? Sara. Tell Jeremy that his mom locked her keys in the car, so he should get a ride home with Hector.

D'ijon: Got it.

[Frame 4]

D'ijon: [on phone] Zuma? D'ijon. Give Jeremy this message.

Zuma: 'K.

[Frame 5]

Zuma: [on phone] Thanks Brittany.

Brittany: No problem. I'll pass it on.

[Frame 6]

Brittany: [on phone] Pierce, I have a message for Jeremy.

Pierce: Go.

[Frame 7]

Pierce: Give Hector a ride home. Your mom locked her cheese in a jar.

[Frame 8]

Pierce: ...Or something like that.

Jeremy: [thinking] And she wonders why I screen her calls...

Other names

This game is also known in various parts of the world as broken telephone, or gossip. In the UK, NZ, and Australia, it is usually called Chinese Whispers.

• Brazilian Portuguese: telefone sem fio ("wireless telephone")
• Bulgarian: развален телефон ("broken telephone")
• Catalan: El telèfon ("the telephone")
• Chinese: 以訛傳訛 ("pass wrong with wrong")
• Croatian: pokvareni telefon ("broken telephone")
• Czech: tichá pošta ("silent mail")
• Danish: hviskeleg ("whispering game")
• Finnish: rikkinäinen puhelin ("broken telephone")
• French: téléphone arabe ("Arabian telephone")
• German: stille Post ("silent mail")
• Greek: σπασμένο τηλέφωνο ("broken telephone")
• Hebrew: טלפון שבור ("broken telephone")
• Hungarian: súgós játék ("whispering game")
• Icelandic: Hvísluleikurinn ("The whispering game")
• Italian: telefono senza fili ("telephone without wires")
• Japanese: 伝言ゲーム ("message game")
• Kannada: ಗುಟ್ಟಾಟ ("Whispering game")
• Latvian: klusie telefoni ("silent telephones")
• Macedonian: расипан телефон ("broken telephone")
• Norwegian: hviskeleken ("the whispering game")
• Polish: głuchy telefon ("the deaf telephone" / "dead telephone")
• Portuguese: telefone estragado ("broken telephone")
• Romanian: telefonul fără fir ("wireless telephone")
• Russian: испорченный телефон or глухой телефон ("broken telephone" or "deaf telephone")
• Serbian: Gluvi Telefoni ("the deaf telephone" / "dead telephone")
• Spanish: el teléfono estropeado/dañado/descompuesto/roto ("broken telephone") el telefonito
• Swedish: viskleken ("the whispering game")
• Turkish: Kulaktan kulağa ("from ear to ear")

See also

• Eat Poop You Cat, a variation involving drawing and writing
• Translation relay, a version involving translations into different languages
• Epistemology, the study of the properties of knowledge and truth
• It's Quite True!, a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen where a feather becomes five hens

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Blackmore, Susan J. (2000). The Meme Machine. Oxford University Press, pg.x. ISBN 019286212X. “The form and timing of the tic undoubtedly mutated over the generations, as in the childhood game of Chinese Whispers (Americans call it Telephone)” 
2. ^ Ballaster, Rosalind (2005). Fabulous Orients: fictions of the East in England, 1662-1785. Oxford University Press, pp.202-3. ISBN 0199267332. “The sinophobic name points to the centuries-old tradition in Europe of representing spoken Chinese as an incomprehensible and unpronounceable combination of sounds.” 
3. ^ Day, Robert (2004). Working the American Way: How to Communicate Successfully with Americans At Work. How To Books, p.169. ISBN 185703984X. “You should avoid expressions that contain an implied racist stereotype, such as "Chinese whispers".” 
4. ^ For example it is used in a guide for TEFL teachers of Chinese-speakers published in Hong Kong: Hill, Monica (2005). Harsh Words: English words for Chinese learners. Hong Kong University Press, p.133. ISBN 9622097170. “Oral practice can help eliminate some of the pronunciation errors, for example by playing 'Chinese whispers'” 
5. ^ Centennial: 10 Records Vegas Holds: Longest game of Telephone. Vegas.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
6. ^ Jackman, John; Wendy Wren (1999). "Skills Unit 8: the Chinese princess", Nelson English Bk. 2 Teachers' Resource Book. Nelson Thornes. ISBN 0174246056. “Play 'Chinese Whispers' to demonstrate how word-of-mouth messages or stories quickly become distorted” 
7. ^ Collins, Margaret (2001). Because We're Worth It: Enhancing Self-esteem in Young Children. Sage, p.55. ISBN 1873942095. “Explain that speaking quietly can be more effective in communication than shouting, although clarity is important. You could play "Chinese Whispers" to illustrate this!” 
8. ^ Barrs, Kathie (1994). music works: music education in the classroom with children from five to nine years. Belair, p.48. ISBN 0-947882-28-6. “Listening skills:...Play Chinese Whispers” 
9. ^ For example, see Hill, op. cit.; or Morris, Peter; Alan Wesson (2000). Lernpunkt Deutsch.: students' book. Nelson Thornes, p.viii. ISBN 0174402678. “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.” 

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