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Tinglish errors that tickle
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Dear old Rev Spooner left his `intact' on the English Language `impact'. Even 72 years after his death, Spooners thrive amongst English users and we remember him with warmth, remarks HEMJIT BHARATHAN
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HAVE YOU ever, while addressing a public meeting, felt so embarrassed that you wanted the earth to swallow you up, as you made a ludicrous `slung of the tip' - oops sorry, slip of the tongue? If you have, you can rest easy, as there once was a literary figure, who became well known for his linguistic slips. He was by no means a birdbrain but retired from service as a Dean at Oxford. So popular in fact he grew for his verbal somersaults that the English Dictionary honoured him by adding a new word called Spoonerism, named after him in the English language.
The word `Spoonerisms' thus came to denote a verbal slip or accidental juxtaposition of words or syllables when uttering a phrase or sentence, which makes at least some sense mostly hilarious and nonsensical. Thus `funny bone' can accidentally turn out into `bunny phone' and `take a shower' as `shake a tower'.
The creator of Spoonerisms, Reverend William Archibald Spooner was Dean and Warden of New College, Oxford. Born in 1844 in London, William Spooner entered into priesthood and became a scholar. He was associated with the Oxford University for 60 years where he lectured in History, Philosophy and Divinity. Endowed with a warm and amiable nature, he was also a gifted conversationalist, but was often prone to verbal slips, more when he was agitated. He was thus acclaimed for his English Terrors and Tinglish Errors. Spooner's flip-flops in his speech soon became legendary and people quoted his distinguished verbal horrors in a spirit of bonhomie and merriment.
Reverend Spooner's tendency to get words and syllables mixed up could arise any moment. Once while solemnising a wedding he said to the bridegroom, "son it is now kisstomary to cuss the bride". His students perhaps were the fortunate ones who were at the receiving end of his bounty. While admonishing a wayward student he cried, "You hissed my mystery lecture", and further added that he "tasted two worms" and concluded by asking him to leave Oxford at once by the "town drain". He also chided another pupil for, "fighting a liar".
His howlers at the chapel were illustrious. "Our Lord is a shoving leopard", he once chanted to the horrified congregation. To the secretary of a Dean he enquired, "is the bean dizzy"? Spoonerisms, it is said, may (mis) happen most in the English language as it is supposed to have three times more words than other languages and further adds around four hundred words every year. It also borrows words extensively from other languages for its own end.
So due credit goes to Reverend Spooner for highlighting and mixing the humane and humorous elements in the English language. It is in the spoken form that one receives the full impact of a Spoonerism more than the written form, At a Naval show Reverend Spooner commended the Captain for the impressive array of "cattle ships and bruisers". Even the Queen was not spared from his goofs. Once when patriotic fervour overcame him he toasted to Her Majesty Queen Victoria by "three cheers to the queer old dean". He acclaimed Britain's farmers as noble `tons of soil'. While visiting a friend in his country cottage he crooned, "you have a nosy little crook here".
Reverend Spooner passed away in 1930 after a full and engaging life, at the age of 86. The English language came to be viewed from an altogether different light after him. The rigid rules and conduct of the language no longer seemed to weigh down so heavily. Unintentionally Reverend Spooner had contributed towards the uniqueness of the language.
As a tribute to him it would be worthwhile if lovers of the English language engage themselves in Spoonerism contests or games where the most hilarious or whackiest Spoonerism could be thought of.
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