Chinese whispers
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In the game variously known as Chinese whispers,[1] Telephone, Broken Telephone, Whisper Down the Lane, Gossip, Arab Phone (from the French Le téléphone arabe), and Stille Post (Silent Post), the first player whispers a phrase or sentence to the next player. Each player successively whispers what that player believes he or she heard to the next. The last player announces the statement to the entire group. Errors typically accumulate in the retellings, so the statement announced by the last player differs significantly, and often amusingly, from the one uttered by the first. The game is often played by children as a party game or in the playground. It is often invoked as a metaphor for cumulative error, especially the inaccuracies as rumours or gossip spread,[2] or, more generally, for the unreliability of human recollection.

In the United States, "Telephone" is the most common name for the game.[2] The name "Chinese whispers" reflects the former stereotype in Europe of the Chinese language as being incomprehensible.[3] It is little-used in the United States and may be considered offensive.[4] It remains the common British name for the game.[5]

Contents [hide]
1 How to play
2 Purpose
3 See also
4 References


[edit] How to play
As many players as possible line up such that they can whisper to their immediate neighbors but not hear any players farther away. The player at the beginning of the line thinks of a phrase, and whispers it as quietly as possible to his neighbor. The neighbor then passes on the message to the next player to the best of his ability. The passing continues in this fashion until it reaches the player at the end of the line, who calls out the message he or she received.

If the game has been 'successful', the final message will bear little or no resemblance to the original, because of the cumulative effect of mistakes along the line. Deliberately changing the phrase is often considered cheating, but if the starting phrase is poorly chosen, there may be disappointingly little natural change.

One variation known as "operator" allows each listener one chance to ask his or her neighbor for a repetition, as if assistance from the line operator were available by calling that word.

Examples: The boy was playing in the chim chimty chims.

[edit] Purpose
The game has no winner: the entertainment comes from comparing the original and final messages. Intermediate messages may also be compared; some messages will be unrecognizable after only a few steps. The world record for the largest game involved 614 people organized by stage magician Mac King, on January 6, 2004 at Harrah's Casino in Las Vegas. King started by whispering "Mac King is a comedy magic genius." King predicted the final outcome would be "Macaroni cantaloupe knows the future."[6]

As well as providing amusement, the game can have educational value. It shows how easily information can become corrupted by indirect communication. The game has been used in schools to simulate the spread of gossip and supposed harmful effects.[7] It can also be used to teach young children to moderate the volume of their voice,[8] and how to listen attentively;[9]in this case, a game is a success if the message is transmitted accurately with each child "whispering" rather than "shouting". It can also be used for older or adult learners of a foreign language, where the challenge of speaking comprehensibly, and understanding, is more difficult because of the low volume, and hence a greater mastery of the fine points of pronunciation is required.[10]

An apocryphal example from World War I of a message being sent down the trench line is Send reinforcements, we're going to advance which became Send three and fourpence, we're going to a dance (three and fourpence is three shillings and four pence in old British money).[11]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_whispers