Monday, September 21, 2009
Shibboleth
In this week of the Jewish High Holidays, let us look at a word English acquired from Hebrew, one of my favourites: shibboleth, something that identifies you as belonging to a specific group. At one point, two of the tribes of Israel were at war. The Gileadites used the word “shibboleth” as a password. The Ephraimites couldn't say it; they said “sibboleth” instead. No doubt the consequences were dire, which is a lesson to all of us striving to improve our pronunciation of foreign words!
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About Me
- Katherine Barber
- Canada's Word Lady, Katherine Barber is an expert on the English language and a frequent guest on radio and television. She was Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Oxford Dictionary. Her witty and informative talks on the stories behind our words are very popular. Contact her at wordlady.barber@gmail.com to book her for speaking engagements; she can tailor her talks to almost any subject. She is also available as an expert witness for lawsuits.
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