Origin: originally in the sense 'a word or sound which a foreigner is unable to pronounce' from Hebrew 'ear of corn' (according to the book of Judges, chapter 12, the word was used as a test of nationality because of its difficult pronunciation).
They couldn't pronounce the town's name. Now they have to leave.I'd never heard of this word until it popped up in a friend's status on Facebook. I guess Facebook can be useful for something other than wasting time then.
I think that everyone should learn this word, even if you do so just to 'stick it to the man'. Imagine if they used the pronunciation of a word to test nationality these days: we would have to found a new country in the middle of the ocean just to fit everyone who gets it wrong. We could call it 'The Nation of Mispronunciation' or name it after that place in Wales (you know the one) just for fun.
Seriously though, I'm not in favour of judging anyone by the way they speak or by a shibboleth, I just like the word (it sounds great and is used in Judges, another great-sounding word). If I lived by that rule I would have had to remove myself from Andalucia a couple of hours after arriving.
P.S. Actually, Facebook is a bit of a waste of time. Admit it.
Facebook is a total waste of time - agreed.
ReplyDeletemission for today slip Shibboleth into conversation