explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3229: Grammar

2026-04-08T12:43:20Z

82.132.222.151:

E3EeE E3eE!! [[User:Logalex8369|Logalex8369]] ([[User talk:Logalex8369|talk]]) 22:26, 6 April 2026 (UTC)
: E [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 19:54, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

I created a transcript, but used OCR for all the E's because I kept losing count of how many there were. If someone wants to factcheck that, please do. [[Special:Contributions/104.28.215.220|104.28.215.220]] 22:45, 6 April 2026 (UTC)
: Factchecked 19 E's counted in the image and 19 E's counted in the transcript. [[Special:Contributions/12.155.149.34|12.155.149.34]] 23:00, 6 April 2026 (UTC)

It looks like the bot picked up the April Fool's "feature" as interactive, should we keep it or remove? [[Special:Contributions/104.28.215.220|104.28.215.220]] 22:46, 6 April 2026 (UTC)

Side note: I have heard people using both alternate niche methods of language structure, kinda like those people who adopt a losing format even after it's clear it has lost. On character who has on occasion dabbled in both is Homer Simpson, BTW. --[[Special:Contributions/94.73.49.13|94.73.49.13]]
:I still say that Video2000 was the superior home VCR format, in every way...[[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 23:55, 6 April 2026 (UTC)
: Not really niche - a significant proportion of spoken language is non-grammatical. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 16:27, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

Any "competitors" to grammar would still be grammars since a grammar, by definition, describes how a language is structured. [[Special:Contributions/75.248.235.98|75.248.235.98]] 00:00, 7 April 2026 (UTC)
:Well, the Random Words one ''seems'' to have no particular structure beyond being word-utterances, and the EEEEEEEEEEEEEE one doesn't even have much that ''can'' be structuralised (though I'm half expecting it to actually supposed to be a modem 'yowl', it needn't even be that), so I'm willing to bet that this exempts them from any consistent quality of being grammar. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 00:08, 7 April 2026 (UTC)
: The second example used the term word-s which in itself is a structure with grammar. And the last example might well have grammar, if eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee is a single morpheme, we siply wouldn't be able to recognize the grammar. [[Special:Contributions/195.65.24.115|195.65.24.115]]

I interpreted "words order words random words words random good" differently. I assumed it was missing commas and should be read as "words-order", "words-random" "words-words" "random-good". Maybe(probably?) not what Randall intended, but if anyone interpreted it the same as me, you're not alone! {{unsigned ip|69.204.108.174|00:23, 7 April 2026 (UTC)}}

i reconsider this: non-verbal communication isn't another rival for communication, as it is a subset (after seeing and liking [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=next&oldid=409748 this anon's edit]), but i'm not sure what other methods there could be than just communication and non-communication; Lenhart says "rivals" plural -- <span style="letter-spacing:0.1rem">[[User:Somefan|somefan]] ([[User talk:Somefan|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Somefan|contribs]])</span> 00:45, 7 April 2026 (UTC)
:Pretty sure the joke is that any alternative to communication would by definition be impossible to communicate. --[[User:Biotronic|Biotronic]] ([[User talk:Biotronic|talk]]) 08:18, 7 April 2026 (UTC)
::Actually, I worded that wrong - what I meant is that '' is an example of non-communication, which is not very effective at transmitting information --[[User:Biotronic|Biotronic]] ([[User talk:Biotronic|talk]]) 08:58, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you [[Special:Contributions/137.25.230.78|137.25.230.78]] 00:54, 7 April 2026 (UTC)
:steal orange me steal eat orange me eat orange steal me eat orange steal me you [[User:King Pando|King Pando]] ([[User talk:King Pando|talk]]) 02:34, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

orange orange orange
orange orange orange
orange orange orange
yellow
orange you glad I didn't say orange? [[Special:Contributions/98.22.184.160|98.22.184.160]] 11:27, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

I would suggest that light/photons are the most popular way of transmitting information? to (most) humans anyway... {{unsigned ip|2a02:a468:b8cb:0:5a82:a830:1528:55af|13:15, 7 April 2026 (UTC)}}
: Only up until the last mile. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 14:15, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

Why waste time use good grammar when bad grammar do trick? [[Special:Contributions/70.40.121.82|70.40.121.82]] 15:08, 7 April 2026 (UTC)
:Cuz if you're doing too bad grammar, sometimes you'll see some sentences that triggers Uncanny Valley effect (or related stuff). (I would guess this way) [[User:Cream Starlight|Cream Starlight]] ([[User talk:Cream Starlight|talk]]) 15:25, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

::It's a reference to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bctjSvn-OC8 this scene] from the American version of The Office. [[User:MeZimm|MeZimm]] ([[User talk:MeZimm|talk]]) 16:08, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

In Cookie Clicker, there’s a news ticker message that says “Neeeeews : "neeeew EEEEEE keeeeey working fineeeeeeeee", reeeports gleeeeeeeeful journalist.” Might be a reference to that. [[Special:Contributions/185.124.31.68|185.124.31.68]] 15:41, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

Erm, isn't the current description kind of missing the point? "Grammar is one of the most popular ways to structure a language" is a tautology. "Grammar" studies how languages are structured, so ANY organization scheme of a language (from random to highly structured) would be classified as that language's grammar. Trying to say there are "other ways to structure a language" would just be a different form of grammar. Same thing with the title text. "Communication" is transmitting information from one individual to another. Any alternative to "Communication" isn't transmitting information. [[Special:Contributions/57.140.32.31|57.140.32.31]] 16:32, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

The "words order random words" part may be a reference to {{w|Nim Chimpsky}}'s sign language "sentences" like "Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you". [[Special:Contributions/193.179.120.253|193.179.120.253]] 18:22, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

I figured the EEE....EEE was referring to the screeching of a modem trying to establish communication. --[[User:Jimmosk|Jimmosk]] ([[User talk:Jimmosk|talk]]) 22:07, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

Farm Macdonald farm old farm farm had farm a, EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE [[User:King Pando|King Pando]] ([[User talk:King Pando|talk]]) 02:53, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

Somebody should make a version of scream cypher where it's E instead of A. [[Special:Contributions/216.25.182.141|216.25.182.141]] 04:43, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

Oh btw, in Chinese translation of What If? 2, the amount of E's featured in the question were 1083. I counted lol [[User:Cream Starlight|Cream Starlight]] ([[User talk:Cream Starlight|talk]]) 04:46, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

This reminds me of a linguistics forum post a professor showed my class once. "I respect Chomsky, but Universal Grammar isn't all it's cracked up to be," it read. "The best way to learn a language is through immersion!" [[User:Flipping Mackerel|Flipping Mackerel]] ([[User talk:Flipping Mackerel|talk]]) 11:46, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

I believe this is a reference to frequent weird results that Google AI mode sometimes returns after a search. I got this exact behavior twice. --[[Special:Contributions/82.132.222.151|82.132.222.151]] 12:42, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3229: Grammar

2026-04-08T12:42:40Z

82.132.222.151: Added alternative explanation

E3EeE E3eE!! [[User:Logalex8369|Logalex8369]] ([[User talk:Logalex8369|talk]]) 22:26, 6 April 2026 (UTC)
: E [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 19:54, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

I created a transcript, but used OCR for all the E's because I kept losing count of how many there were. If someone wants to factcheck that, please do. [[Special:Contributions/104.28.215.220|104.28.215.220]] 22:45, 6 April 2026 (UTC)
: Factchecked 19 E's counted in the image and 19 E's counted in the transcript. [[Special:Contributions/12.155.149.34|12.155.149.34]] 23:00, 6 April 2026 (UTC)

It looks like the bot picked up the April Fool's "feature" as interactive, should we keep it or remove? [[Special:Contributions/104.28.215.220|104.28.215.220]] 22:46, 6 April 2026 (UTC)

Side note: I have heard people using both alternate niche methods of language structure, kinda like those people who adopt a losing format even after it's clear it has lost. On character who has on occasion dabbled in both is Homer Simpson, BTW. --[[Special:Contributions/94.73.49.13|94.73.49.13]]
:I still say that Video2000 was the superior home VCR format, in every way...[[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 23:55, 6 April 2026 (UTC)
: Not really niche - a significant proportion of spoken language is non-grammatical. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 16:27, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

Any "competitors" to grammar would still be grammars since a grammar, by definition, describes how a language is structured. [[Special:Contributions/75.248.235.98|75.248.235.98]] 00:00, 7 April 2026 (UTC)
:Well, the Random Words one ''seems'' to have no particular structure beyond being word-utterances, and the EEEEEEEEEEEEEE one doesn't even have much that ''can'' be structuralised (though I'm half expecting it to actually supposed to be a modem 'yowl', it needn't even be that), so I'm willing to bet that this exempts them from any consistent quality of being grammar. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 00:08, 7 April 2026 (UTC)
: The second example used the term word-s which in itself is a structure with grammar. And the last example might well have grammar, if eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee is a single morpheme, we siply wouldn't be able to recognize the grammar. [[Special:Contributions/195.65.24.115|195.65.24.115]]

I interpreted "words order words random words words random good" differently. I assumed it was missing commas and should be read as "words-order", "words-random" "words-words" "random-good". Maybe(probably?) not what Randall intended, but if anyone interpreted it the same as me, you're not alone! {{unsigned ip|69.204.108.174|00:23, 7 April 2026 (UTC)}}

i reconsider this: non-verbal communication isn't another rival for communication, as it is a subset (after seeing and liking [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=next&oldid=409748 this anon's edit]), but i'm not sure what other methods there could be than just communication and non-communication; Lenhart says "rivals" plural -- <span style="letter-spacing:0.1rem">[[User:Somefan|somefan]] ([[User talk:Somefan|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Somefan|contribs]])</span> 00:45, 7 April 2026 (UTC)
:Pretty sure the joke is that any alternative to communication would by definition be impossible to communicate. --[[User:Biotronic|Biotronic]] ([[User talk:Biotronic|talk]]) 08:18, 7 April 2026 (UTC)
::Actually, I worded that wrong - what I meant is that '' is an example of non-communication, which is not very effective at transmitting information --[[User:Biotronic|Biotronic]] ([[User talk:Biotronic|talk]]) 08:58, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you [[Special:Contributions/137.25.230.78|137.25.230.78]] 00:54, 7 April 2026 (UTC)
:steal orange me steal eat orange me eat orange steal me eat orange steal me you [[User:King Pando|King Pando]] ([[User talk:King Pando|talk]]) 02:34, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

orange orange orange
orange orange orange
orange orange orange
yellow
orange you glad I didn't say orange? [[Special:Contributions/98.22.184.160|98.22.184.160]] 11:27, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

I would suggest that light/photons are the most popular way of transmitting information? to (most) humans anyway... {{unsigned ip|2a02:a468:b8cb:0:5a82:a830:1528:55af|13:15, 7 April 2026 (UTC)}}
: Only up until the last mile. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 14:15, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

Why waste time use good grammar when bad grammar do trick? [[Special:Contributions/70.40.121.82|70.40.121.82]] 15:08, 7 April 2026 (UTC)
:Cuz if you're doing too bad grammar, sometimes you'll see some sentences that triggers Uncanny Valley effect (or related stuff). (I would guess this way) [[User:Cream Starlight|Cream Starlight]] ([[User talk:Cream Starlight|talk]]) 15:25, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

::It's a reference to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bctjSvn-OC8 this scene] from the American version of The Office. [[User:MeZimm|MeZimm]] ([[User talk:MeZimm|talk]]) 16:08, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

In Cookie Clicker, there’s a news ticker message that says “Neeeeews : "neeeew EEEEEE keeeeey working fineeeeeeeee", reeeports gleeeeeeeeful journalist.” Might be a reference to that. [[Special:Contributions/185.124.31.68|185.124.31.68]] 15:41, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

Erm, isn't the current description kind of missing the point? "Grammar is one of the most popular ways to structure a language" is a tautology. "Grammar" studies how languages are structured, so ANY organization scheme of a language (from random to highly structured) would be classified as that language's grammar. Trying to say there are "other ways to structure a language" would just be a different form of grammar. Same thing with the title text. "Communication" is transmitting information from one individual to another. Any alternative to "Communication" isn't transmitting information. [[Special:Contributions/57.140.32.31|57.140.32.31]] 16:32, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

The "words order random words" part may be a reference to {{w|Nim Chimpsky}}'s sign language "sentences" like "Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you". [[Special:Contributions/193.179.120.253|193.179.120.253]] 18:22, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

I figured the EEE....EEE was referring to the screeching of a modem trying to establish communication. --[[User:Jimmosk|Jimmosk]] ([[User talk:Jimmosk|talk]]) 22:07, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

Farm Macdonald farm old farm farm had farm a, EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE [[User:King Pando|King Pando]] ([[User talk:King Pando|talk]]) 02:53, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

Somebody should make a version of scream cypher where it's E instead of A. [[Special:Contributions/216.25.182.141|216.25.182.141]] 04:43, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

Oh btw, in Chinese translation of What If? 2, the amount of E's featured in the question were 1083. I counted lol [[User:Cream Starlight|Cream Starlight]] ([[User talk:Cream Starlight|talk]]) 04:46, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

This reminds me of a linguistics forum post a professor showed my class once. "I respect Chomsky, but Universal Grammar isn't all it's cracked up to be," it read. "The best way to learn a language is through immersion!" [[User:Flipping Mackerel|Flipping Mackerel]] ([[User talk:Flipping Mackerel|talk]]) 11:46, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

I believe this is a reference to frequent weird results that Google AI mode sometimes returns after a search. I got this exact result twice. --[[Special:Contributions/82.132.222.151|82.132.222.151]] 12:42, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3229: Grammar

2026-04-08T12:41:53Z

82.132.222.151: