Eeny Meeny Miney Moe

"Am I a real tiger or just a group of words? Let's see... eeny, meeny..."

Once we begin learning English we must be aware that we are not only learning a language but also are acquiring all the cultural content that is linked to it. So just knowing the grammar and having a certain number of words to call vocabulary is not enough. There are other things we have to learn. Just ask yourself how many songs in English you know, how many riddles, how many jokes, how many sayings, how many tongue twisters, how many lullabies. Very few or none?
Certainly, all that is useless knowledge for ultimately you do not need any of it, but still in terms of understanding what is behind that which is your target language, to have a more complete perfect vision of those who create it, then it is healthy to know. A good starting point is something as trivial as to learn how to say DE TIN MARIN DE DO PINGÚE  (I'm not really sure if it's spelled that way in Spanish anyway). Here two versions:


Eeny, meeny, miney, moe,
Catch a tiger by the toe.
If he hollers, let him go,
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.

Eeny, meeny, miney, moe 
Catch a baby by the toe
 If it squeals let it go
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.

The first one is more popular than the second. Actually, there are several more versions  and one of them even has a racist side to it. Still all part of a good research and a healthy and wealthy learning process.

Comments

Rosario León said…
Ir reminded me of a character on a game that’s call Annie an says Eeny, meeny, miney, moe! Sometimes I feel like there are things that you just can’t translate exactly and that’s kind of amazing. It makes the language special!
July 10, 2021 at 10:13 AM
Manuel Erazo said…
To be honest even in Spanish I don't know that much about sayings,riddles or tongue twister because people don't use it daily, only my mom use to say saying when she wants to give me an advice but then people don't use it.Nevertheless it is good to know because in that way we enrich our knowledge.
July 10, 2021 at 10:17 AM
Carlos León Moran said…
I have read and listened to some tongue twisters, jokes and other things, but I don't learn them. I think it's something that we don't use on a daily basis and that's why they don't stick in my mind. But with songs it is something different, as I listen to them daily and even to sleep, and so I do learn them and sing them. It is something like passive and active knowledge, I guess.
July 10, 2021 at 11:50 AM
Anonymous said…
It is true that learning a language is not only to learn several words, grammar and so on, but also learn about the culture of the country.
July 10, 2021 at 1:38 PM
Evelin Arellano said…
Now I've seen everything.
I know that is important to know the grammar and rules when you are learning another language, but sometimes is boring. I don't know many of tongue twisters, riddles or some of those things, but I know some of idiomatic expressions such as; break a leg or keep an eye on.
And yeah you are right because if we really love the language that we are learning we search more and more, It could be about culture, traditions, foods and also religion. When we learn another language is not just to speak, it's to know another part of the world.
July 10, 2021 at 1:59 PM
Ericka Zambrano said…
I'm gonna be honest with you, I don't know why while I was reading the tittle, I thought in Justin Beiber ( maybe because he was my dark stage hahaaha) and If I am not mistaken, he has a song with this tittle .Well, by hook or by crook, I extremely love these types of posts, I enjoy reading about sayings, riddles or tongue twister; they are very interesting.
July 10, 2021 at 2:09 PM
LILIANA EDITH ROMERO MEDINA said…
It is curious to know that when we learn an idiom, we not only learn its grammatics if we realize we unconsciously include ourselves in their culture, sometimes our mothers have sung us music in English to sleep or calm us down and we are recorded, an example I did not know that the song "of tin marim of two pingues" had two versions.
July 10, 2021 at 2:24 PM
Mendoza Párraga Martha said…
I don't really like riddles, sayings, and things like that, but I think it's a good tool to improve fluency when we speak and to improve memory.
July 10, 2021 at 6:38 PM
Johanna Arteaga said…
I was familiar with the first part of the rhyme because I have seen it several times in TV series and movies, so I made myself the idea that that was the full version. My bad, I didn't research more about it. I think it is interesting to know more about these details of the English language.
July 10, 2021 at 7:00 PM
Suleyka Tello Bermudez said…
It is absolutely true, English is not only learning a language, but it is also learning about the culture and civilization of the country.
Having a better vocabulary and grammar helps a lot when learning the language.
July 10, 2021 at 11:07 PM
Kymberlyn Carriel said…
I agree, learning English is not just memorizing certain vocabulary and knowing grammar, this includes much more.
Talking about tongue twisters, riddles and sayings I consider that they help us in a certain way to improve our level of English, therefore it must be of great importance within our learning process.
July 11, 2021 at 10:24 PM
Unknown said…
Dave Criollo
When I was a kid I was good at telling riddles and riddles but now that I'm older I don't remember many of them. I only know a few in English.
July 12, 2021 at 1:23 PM
Joselyne Fernández said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
July 12, 2021 at 2:37 PM
Joselyne Fernández said…
Great knowledge, I really like reading these blogs, they enrich us a lot. Well, I think is important to learn all that You mentioned, even though sayings, riddles, tongue twister or whatever don't be said daily, but it would be interesting knowing in English overall, maybe as Spanish speaker You could impress to others.
July 12, 2021 at 2:40 PM
Ginger Nicole Alvia González said…
I already knew it, because there is a song from Justin Bieber which is called eenie meenie and when I was at high school I looked into the meaning.
July 12, 2021 at 9:13 PM
Saraí Pesantes Parreño said…
I absolutely didn't have an idea how to say 'De Tín Marín De Do Pingüe' in English. But, when I read the title, a song popped up in my mind. Have you ever listened to 'Eenie Meenie' by Justin Bieber? Well, back then in 2011, he realised that song feat Sean Kingston. I don't know why, but when I read this article title, that song started reproducing in my head, so I looked for the lyrics, and guess what? Yeah, it has a verse with one of the versions of Eeny Meeny Miney Moe.' Hilarious!
July 12, 2021 at 9:20 PM
Ferruzola Martínez Rita said…
You're right learning a language is not only about vocabulary and grammar. It's understanding where it comes from, their cultural meaning. Nevertheless, I love this because it helps me to grow my knowledge about it.
July 13, 2021 at 1:01 PM
Briggitte Vera said…
As you expected, I dont' know many riddles, jokes, sayings or tongue twisters, even in Spanish. But I think learning them is important. As you said, they are part of the culture.
July 15, 2021 at 11:09 PM
Alejandra Del Valle said…
I knew eeny meeny miney moe. I learned it from a movie I think. And it was interesting to me because I used to use this rhyme the most with my little cousins to pick the seeker, and I was always "Moe". But I didn't know the complete verse apparently. And yes, it is important as well to know at least a few jokes, even if they're not that funny.
August 17, 2021 at 7:25 PM
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