![]() A further theory is that the game stems from the supposed confused messages created when a message was passed verbally from tower to tower along the Great Wall of China. ![]() An additional explanation is the commonplace observation that when two people, such as English and Chinese speakers, try to communicate with each other in their own language, the result is often confusion, and equally often amusing to both parties. Another proposed theory is that English people of the 19th century believed that Chinese people spoke in a way that was deliberately unintelligible, thus in their minds associating the Chinese language with confusion and incomprehensibility. One suggested reason is a widespread English fascination with Chinese culture in the 18th and 19th centuries, including what is now known as Orientalism. Various reasons have been suggested for naming the game after the Chinese, but there is no concrete explanation. ![]() In the U.K., Australia and New Zealand, the game is typically called "Chinese whispers" in the U.K., this is documented from 1964. It is often invoked as a metaphor for cumulative error, especially the inaccuracies as rumours or gossip spread, or, more generally, for the unreliability of typical human recollection.Įtymology U.K. The game is often played by children as a party game or on the playground. Reasons for changes include anxiousness or impatience, erroneous corrections, and the difficult-to-understand mechanism of whispering. Errors typically accumulate in the retellings, so the statement announced by the last player differs significantly from that of the first player, usually with amusing or humorous effect. Although the objective is to pass around the message without it becoming garbled along the way, part of the enjoyment is that, regardless, this usually ends up happening. The first person then compares the original message with the final version. When the last player is reached, they announce the message they heard to the entire group. The second player repeats the message to the third player, and so on. ![]() Players form a line or circle, and the first player comes up with a message and whispers it to the ear of the second person in the line. Chinese whispers / Telephone GenresĬhinese whispers ( Commonwealth English) or telephone ( American English) is an internationally popular children's game. For the coordination game in game theory, see Telephone game (game theory). ![]()
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