• disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

    “Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo” is a grammatically correct sentence in English that is often presented as an example of how homonyms and homophones can be used to create complicated linguistic constructs through lexical ambiguity. It has been discussed in literature in various forms since 1967, when it appeared in Dmitri Borgmann’s Beyond Language: Adventures in Word and Thought.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo

    • Chrobin@discuss.tchncs.de
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      6 months ago

      In German, we have “Wenn Fliegen hinter Fliegen fliegen, fliegen Fliegen Fliegen nach”. Notice that all nouns are capitalized in German.

    • 10_0@lemmy.ml
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      6 months ago

      People who say that this is grammatically correct need to resit GCSE English

      • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        It is grammatically correct, just semantically ambiguous. Buffalo is a proper noun, a noun, and a verb.

        A semantically equivalent form preserving the original word order is: “Buffalonian bison that other Buffalonian bison bully also bully Buffalonian bison.”