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Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

Believe it or not, “Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.” is a grammatically valid sentence in the English language, and is used as an example of how homonyms and homophones can be used to create complicated linguistic constructs. In not so many words, it’s saying, “Bison from Buffalo, New York, who are intimidated by other bison in their community also happen to intimidate other bison in their community.”

A simplified parse tree:

buffalo

Simplified parse tree for “Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo”. Key: PN = proper noun; N = noun; V = verb; NP = noun phrase; RC = relative clause; VP = verb phrase; S = sentence.

A traditional sentence diagram:

buffalo

a. the city of Buffalo, New York, which is used as a noun adjunct in the sentence and is followed by the animal; n. the noun buffalo, an animal, in the plural (equivalent to “buffaloes” or “buffalos”), in order to avoid articles; v. the verb “buffalo” meaning to bully, confuse, deceive, or intimidate.

(via Andreas)

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