skunk what?

[mr. piper]

Can anyone tell me what this is all about?:-

   "THE SKUNK ROLLED DOWN AND RUPTURED IT'S LARYNX"

And i am being serious, cos i do know!

[johnalex]

It's actually a tongue-twister!

Try and remember the full version:

Iquaqa Laziqikaqika kwaza kwaqhawaka uqhoqhoqha.
(Xhosa - from Transkei, South Africa - for "The skunk rolled down and ruptured its larynx".)

http://www.placementor.com/resources/tonguetwist.htm

[mr. piper]

In one! after 25 min. very good!

I would have liked to have done someones head in for a while though. 

[mldr79]

Its an Xhosa (south african langauge) tongue twister:

"Iqaqa laziqikaqika kwaze kwaqhawaka uqhoqhoqha" - in its native tongue

[acw]

mldr79 - someone already said that!  Or typed it!  Saying it is apparently a lot harder!

[mr. piper]

typing looks hard enough!

[johnalex]

When in haste,cut and paste . . .

[mldr79]

I'll try and remember that - I promise when i put my answer up, this question was unanswered!

[mrs p]

mr. piper, pleeeeeeese don't think i'm trying to be a smartass. There's no apostrophe in "its" - treat this word like his, hers, theirs, ours & leave it out. Only use it to shorten the verb: it is = it's. I teach english to students who were never taught this, & so many people include it every time just in case, & so it spreads ... Your question was really interesting & I enjoyed discovering the answer. I'm also amazed how many people know it!

[THECORBYLOON]

mrs p you teach "english?" Hmmmmm........

[mldr79]

Well equally not trying to be a smart ass, but "it's" HAS been used correctly.

Johnalex has abbreviated "It is actually a tongue-twister" to "It's actually a tongue-twister."  He has not used "it" to indicate possession of the tongue-twister

Do you also encourage your students to proof read their work, to make sure it's correct ;)

[johnalex]

My three worst subjects at school was grammer and arithmetic.

[mldr79]

A grammer joke and a maths joke all in one post!

That's gotta be a record?!?!

[mr. piper]

Thankyou Mrs.p, i did let that one slip through. it is ironic if you knew what i have done for a living for the last 23 years you would be amazed at such lack of care that i take with my e-mail. I don't mind at all if someone corrects my grammar, if there is anyone prepared to take on the job. I have been asked to contribute to a reference book with approx 5000 words, well god help the proof readers i can say!

[THECORBYLOON]

mldr 79 mrs p was referring to the mr. piper's original question in which he wrote "IT'S LARYNX," It's her using "english" and "i" instead of "English" and "I" that perplexed me......

[mldr79]

You're quite right THECORBYLOON, I hereby apologise to mrs p.  It serves me right for putting the sarcastic comment at the end!

In my defence the Xhosa speakers use apostrophes differently to us (I am, of course, now lying).

If we're starting up a 'who has to write the most' debate I have a 90,000 word thesis to submit by October!

[mrs p]

This has been a lively exchange, & I have not meant to cause any offence. I accept the slap on the wrist for no capital letters & the appropriate apologies for misunderstandings. You're all obviously literate & busy people, & good luck to everyone who's facing deadlines involving writing and reading.

[THECORBYLOON]

mrs p write out "I must not offend THECORBYLOON" 1000 times and have it on my desk in the morning.

Ta