https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Can_Eat_Glass

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I Can Eat Glass

[ ] 3 languages

  * Latina
  * Wen Yan 
  * Zhong Wen 

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linguistic project

       The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's general
       notability guideline. Please help to demonstrate the
       notability of the topic by citing reliable secondary sources
       that are independent of the topic and provide significant
[40px] coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention. If notability
       cannot be shown, the article is likely to be merged,
       redirected, or deleted.
       Find sources: "I Can Eat Glass" - news * newspapers * books *
       scholar * JSTOR (March 2023) (Learn how and when to remove
       this template message)

[220px-GNOME_Font_Viewer_]The phrase is used as sample text for
displaying Chinese fonts in GNOME Font Viewer. This screenshot shows
the Simplified Chinese translation of "I can eat glass, it does not
hurt me."

I Can Eat Glass was a linguistic project documented on the early Web
by then-Harvard student Ethan Mollick.^[1] The objective was to
provide speakers with translations of the phrase "I can eat glass, it
does not hurt me" from a wide variety of languages; the phrase was
chosen because of its unorthodox nature. Mollick's original page
disappeared in or about June 2004.^[2]

As Mollick explained, visitors to a foreign country have "an
irresistible urge" to say something in that language, and whatever
they say (a cited example being along the lines of "Where is the
bathroom?") usually marks them as tourists immediately. Saying "I can
eat glass, it does not hurt me", however, ensures that the speaker
"will be viewed as an insane native, and treated with dignity and
respect".

The project grew to considerable size since web surfers were invited
to submit translations.^[3] The phrase was translated into over 150
languages, including some that are fictional or invented, as well as
into code from various computer languages. It became an Internet meme
.^[4]

References[edit]

 1. ^ Finegan, Edward (2004). Language: its structure and use.
    Thomson Wadsworth. p. 254. ISBN 9780838407943. Retrieved 22
    January 2013.
 2. ^ "UTF-8 Sampler".
 3. ^ Blyth, Carl S. (2000). Untangling the Web: Nonce's Guide to
    Language and Culture on the Internet. John Wiley & Sons. p. 48.
    ISBN 9780471392477. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
 4. ^ Wooten, Adam (21 October 2011). "International Business: Potty
    language: Safely navigating international water closets". Deseret
    News. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 22
    January 2013.

External links[edit]

  * Web Archive copy of I Can Eat Glass
  * I Can Eat Glass, Harvard Immediate Gratification Players
  * I Can Eat Glass in UTF-8, with notes by Frank da Cruz, Columbia
    University


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Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=
I_Can_Eat_Glass&oldid=1172537673"
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  * Internet memes
  * Translation
  * Internet stubs
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  * This page was last edited on 27 August 2023, at 18:45 (UTC).
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