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You may think gibberish is covert nonsense talk or something a 2-month-old infant might say, but, in reality, it is a "secret language" used by some either for secrecy or just for kicks. If you want to join the conversation, listen (and read!) up.
How to Speak in Gibberish
- Gibberish is a general term for any silly language that nobody can understand.
- Try breaking actual words down into syllables and mixing them up.
- Mix up words by putting “-idig-” wherever the vowel sound would go.
- Avoid repeating vowel sounds. It’s easy to fall into a pattern when you’re making words up.
Steps
Sample Phrases
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Understand the process. "Gibberish" is an umbrella term for any nonsensical language that is hard to understand, such as baby talk. However, all established variants use the same pattern: A nonsense sound is inserted into every syllable when speaking. The same nonsense sound is used over and over, so words get much longer and all sound quite similar. [1] X Research source
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Break a word down into spoken syllables. Generally, every syllable in a word contains one vowel sound. Here are some words and their syllables:
- Tree : Tree
- Bottle : Bot / tle (pronounced tul)
- Symmetry : Sym (sim) / me (meh) / try (tree)
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Add "-idig-" before each vowel sound in a syllable. If there are only vowels (e.g., "I"), add it at the very beginning. Regardless of whether there are 1,2, or 3 consonants at the beginning, add it before the first vowel sound. The result will sound something like this: [3] X Research source
- tree : tr idig ee
- bottle : b idig ottle
- symmetry
: symm"idig"etry
- For a word like "street," remember to keep the consonants together (it's still one syllable). The word, in gibberish, would be pronounced, "str idig eet."
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Resist the urge to repeat vowel sounds. If you were to say the word "hi" in gibberish, it may be tempting to pronounce it "hi-tho-gi," instead of "h I -di-gi." which sounds like you're saying "hit a guy." Don't do it! It's harder to decipher when you add in a different vowel sound.
- "My name" is not "mi-thag-eye nay-tha-game," it's "m I -dig-eye n I -dig-ame."
- "-idig-" has the same initial sound as "dig" (not "pig"), in case you were curious. In the IPA, it's a schwa, or /É™/. Think of a caveman grunt.
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As you're just walking around, mutter different words to yourself. If you have trouble, slow down and say them syllable by syllable, and just repeat until you can say it quickly. Do the same thing with phrases. Start simple at first. Practice "the cat sat on the mat (with a hat.)" It's very helpful in practicing to start speaking really fast. Again, you probably shouldn't mutter words to yourself in public settings with other people around; they might think you are possessed by a demon. However, if this isn't a problem, go right ahead.
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Teaching this to your friends or S.O. is helpful especially in a situation with kids. You can talk about if you want to get ice cream, or go to a movie or buy a present with the kid nearby without them getting all hyper. You could also use this with friends to talk about things that are urgent but not really PG-13.
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Repeat, repeat, repeat. Eventually, it'll seem like othagold hothagat. You'll grow more and more confident, shortly moving onto phrases and sentences. Take a look around your room. What objects do you see?
- Is there a chothagair? Maybe a bothaged? Or a cothagompothagutothager? How quickly can you decipher the words in this secret language? What sounds are flubbing you up?
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Get quicker. After a bit of practice, the words will start rolling off your tongue. Try reading aloud the words on this page in gibberish. How quickly can you translate? Are you ready for sentences?
- "My name is": Mothagy nothagame othagis [yothagour nothagame hothagere]
- "How are you today?": Hothagow othagare yothagou tothagodothagay?
- "Yes, I can speak gibberish, how could you tell?": Yothages, othagi cothagan spothageak Gothagibbothagerothagish, hothagow cothagould yothagou tothagell?"
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Experiment with different variations. There are many established variants, and you're completely welcome to come up with your own twist -- though no one else will understand you. When it comes to that inserted sound, here are some possible (already established) variants: [4] X Research source
- "-idig-": "Go" becomes "gidigo."
- "-uddag-": "Go" becomes "guddago."
- "-uvug-": "Go" becomes "guvugo."
- "-othag-": "Go" becomes gothago."
- "-Othag-" is the hardest to say quickly of this list ("th" and "g" are farther apart in the mouth than "d" and "g" or "v" and "g" and thus take a split-second longer to pronounce). Once you get fast at "-othag-", the rest will be cake (cothagake!).
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Practice! Get out a few old baby books and read them out loud in gibberish. Keeping the three syllable words to a minimum (how did you do with Gothagibbothagerothagish above?) is key. Once the baby books are easy, it's time to impress your friends!
- Hopefully you can convince a buddy to do this with you. What's the point in speaking in code if you can't exchange classified information in front of people? Or, it's possible you have friends that can already do this and you just don't know. Sothago othagask!
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Use your powers wisely. Now that you can say whatever you please in front of anyone, don't abuse your power. After a few phrases, you're going to be like that guy who has a French word for everything. People may get irritated, especially if you don't tell them what the heck is going on. If you'd like, you could teach them your ways, but it may be more fun to see if they can figure it out first.
- Hold off until you're confident with it. Speaking gibberish can be quite impressive if you can do it decisively and with confidence. Just as with any language, you have to practice it often. Or else you'll find yourself tongue-tied and stuttering.
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Community Q&A
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QuestionCan I add a translator for gibberish?Community AnswerSure!
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QuestionWhat benefits does speaking gibberish have?Community AnswerIt's like speaking in code. You can talk about private things with others in the room, and they won't be able to understand you.
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QuestionAre there different forms of gibberish language?Community AnswerYes, there is pretty much an unlimited number of versions of gibberish, as people tend to just make up their own rather than follow any traditional system.
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Tips
- The Swedish equivalent of gibberish is Rövarspråk (robber language). [5] X Research source In it, you repeat each consonant in the word, so that "good" becomes "ggoodd", then put an "o" between your consonants, "gogoodod". eg. Hohanonodod : hand and coclolotothohsose : clothes. *The Australian Version, Alibi, uses "lab" in the middle of every syllable, the vowel(s) are doubled, or sounded again, but all vowels must be sounded properly, otherwise you might confuse other speakers. So for example, food: foolabood , stove: stolabove , dog: dolabog , cat: calabat , and so on.Thanks
- You should probably teach a friend or family member Gibberish too. What's the point in a secret language if you have no one to talk to?Thanks
- Keep in mind that many versions of gibberish are slightly different. You may need to learn a new "gibberish dialect" if you want to communicate with some folks. Luckily, one version is generally applicable to another.Thanks
Tips from our Readers
The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.
- If you just want people to not know what you're saying when you talk to a close friend, just come up with code words. It's much easier than trying to learn an entire language.
- If gibberish is a little to hard, check out Pig Latin. It's an easier language to learn and is most commonly used with the -ay variant.
- I have a lot of success just trying to say words backwards. Like, I might say "nur ot eht erots" instead of "run to the store."
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Warnings
- Don't tell anyone who you don't want speaking gibberish that you're speaking it. Then they could search online and come to this page!Thanks
- Take your time. If you talk too fast, it will be unintelligible. But if you talk too slow, most people will catch on.Thanks
- People may think you are making fun of a language.Thanks
- Remember, you must not say stupid things like 'diddly' like Ned Flanders, because if you do, others are bound to catch on, or people will think you're unoriginal.Thanks
- Don't talk gibberish for to long or constantly. People don't like it when they can't understand you.Thanks
- Don’t get too fluent in your gibberish language, as you might focus on it TOO MUCH, and forget all the words in your language that you spoken before (e.g English, French)Thanks
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References
- ↑ https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/gibberish
- ↑ https://www.dictionary.com/e/pig-latin/
- ↑ https://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-gibberish.html
- ↑ https://penlighten.com/how-to-speak-gibberish
- ↑ https://journals.linguisticsociety.org/proceedings/index.php/amphonology/article/view/4244
- Syllable on Gramarly
About This Article
Article Summary
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To speak gibberish, start by breaking down a word into individual syllables. Then, add "idig" before the vowel sounds in each syllable. For example, if you're trying to say the word "bottle," you would say "bidigottle," and if you're trying to say the word "tree," you would say "tridigee." Practice saying simple words at first, and then try to say longer and longer phrases until you can speak gibberish fluently! To learn easy ways to become fluent in gibberish, scroll down!
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