Backwards

// The Backwards Approach Most Of Us Take

By Jordan Childs .
09.03.09 // Backwards

View Comments / Sep 03.09 / Backwards / by Jordan Childs

// Accent-o

By Tristan Smith .
06.02.09 // That's What She Said

Since my compatriots will probably handle the penis and vagina territory with surgical expertise (wow, this has taken a bad turn already), I’m going to take this opportunity to look at an element of the English language that I find interesting.

Stop groaning.  I used both “penis” and “vagina” in the first line.  That should buy me at least a few more seconds of your eyes and brain.

The element in question is stress.  Precisely, the way the meaning of a sentence changes depending on which word carries the stress.  Let’s look:

That’s what she said.  —–>  “No no, you misheard.  Your Mom got it right.  It was ‘boner’, not ‘stoner’.”

That’s what she said.  —–>  “It’s true, Mary brought up Hitler in drivers ed. again.”

That’s what she said.  —–>  The traditional form.  See other posts.

That’s what she said.  —–>  “But what she did was totally different.  I’d never seen so many pornographic comic books featuring Bill Clinton.  Well, that’s not true, but you know what I mean.”

See?  Now that’s how you teach Spanish.  Muy bien.

View Comments / Jun 02.09 / That's What She Said / by Tristan Smith