Game show contestant can't think of any country names ending with two consonants

[mikeymikec]

http://tv.bt.com/tv/tv-news/pointle...he-shows-funniest-ever-answers-11364129949811



Major case of eye-roll from her partner ensues.

"Paris?"

For the non-Brits here, an A-level is what you pursue (typically between 16 and 18 years old) after a GCSE (the mandatory level of qualifications that kids must stay in school for). To do an A-level in Geography you had to have done a GCSE, AFAIK.

 

[Iron Woode]

so England, Ireland and Scotland didn't come to mind for her?

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

The Paris might earn an eye-roll, but it took me a good minute or so of mentally thumbing through country names before landing on Scotland. There's a lot more that end with a vowel in one of the last two, it'll probably take most people a bit of time to come up with an answer.

So yeah, that vid gets a big 'ol 'Meh' from me.

 

[mikeymikec]

It took me longer than I initially expected too. The first two I came up with were Greenland and Iceland

My wife came up with Germany (she's German).

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

It took me longer than I initially expected too. The first two I came up with were Greenland and Iceland

My wife came up with Germany (she's German).

Doesn't Y count as a vowel? Or is it some kind of English grammatical transgender?

 

[mikeymikec]

Doesn't Y count as a vowel? Or is it some kind of English grammatical transgender?

A, E, I, O and U are vowels.

In British English I've never heard of Y being referred to as a vowel. When I google it, the first result I get says that it is sometimes considered to be a vowel.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

A, E, I, O and U are vowels.

In British English I've never heard of Y being referred to as a vowel. When I google it, the first result I get says that it is sometimes considered to be a vowel.

Hrm, for some reason I have a memory in school of it being a vowel, or at least 'enough of a vowel that it counts on the test' or something.

 

[pauldun170]

Yesterday, it took me 30 seconds of self doubt wondering how to spell "fifteen" on a check while others watched
I haven't written a check in years much less in front of an audience.
Kept wanting to write fifteen but I had that Chapelle show skit stuck in my head.
Just didn't seem right to type out Fifteen with this in my head.

I'm can't judge anyone anymore.


Took me 5 seconds to run through a bunch of the *land, countries

 

[clamum]

Took me less than ten seconds or so to land on "Denmark" (by randomly deciding to go through European countries). Now I ain't trying to brag, but "Paris" is what she came up with? Should've just said "potato."

 

[mikeymikec]

Yesterday, it took me 30 seconds of self doubt wondering how to spell "fifteen" on a check while others watched

I've done that more than once before (ie. brain freeze, not specifically 'fifteen' - I remember as an adult having to ask how to spell 'four' once because my brain was apparently on holiday) Though it always gets my goat when someone doesn't know how to spell forty.

 

[OutHouse]

it took me a good minute or so of mentally thumbing through country names before landing on...

same here. now add the pressure of a game show and im sure i would have failed too.

 

[Imp]

Teenager/human under pressure and put on the spot with mind blanking... That's rare.

Took me about 30 seconds to run through some random countries in my head to think up England and Ireland.

 

[SKORPI0]

 

[Red Squirrel]

I imagine being under pressure makes it harder. Kinda like how cops ask you to recite the alphabet backwards if they think you're drunk, even not drunk that seems like a hard thing to do, especially under pressure.

 

[olds]

Hrm, for some reason I have a memory in school of it being a vowel, or at least 'enough of a vowel that it counts on the test' or something.

Don't cry about it.

 

[Mike64]

Or is it some kind of English grammatical transgender?

Basically... yes, exactly. Linguistically, it's referred to as a "semivowel", since it represents other, non-vocalic, sounds as well as vocalic ones. But since offhand I can't think of a single word in any language that uses the Roman alphabet where a final-y has anything but a vowel sound (or at least is part of a vowel diphthong), calling a final-y a "non-vowel" is really nitpicky even by my standards -- and I'll readily admit that I can be seriously-annoyingly-nitpicky where language is concerned.

As for the OP, honestly, it is pretty lame. I'd have some sympathy if she'd said "France", for example, which doesn't end in a "vowel sound" even though it does "end in a vowel". But since I imagine that at least half of all British toddlers have been thoroughly exposed to the concept that "Paris" is a "city", and the English-language names of pretty much every country anywhere near the UK except France end in consonants (assuming you consider "y" a consonant for this purpose), it's really kind of sad, however understandable brain-freeze might be in general... I mean, you have to go all the way to Austria to find the first one that has a "vowel sound" as well as an actual vowel at the end of its name, for heaven's sake, leaving a true multitude of possible correct answers - from Sweden to the north, to Spain to the south, Ireland to the west, and most everything to the east until you get all the way to freaking Austria (except of course France, where Paris is...), for God's sake...

 

[sandorski]

Yesterday, it took me 30 seconds of self doubt wondering how to spell "fifteen" on a check while others watched
I haven't written a check in years much less in front of an audience.
Kept wanting to write fifteen but I had that Chapelle show skit stuck in my head.
Just didn't seem right to type out Fifteen with this in my head.

I'm can't judge anyone anymore.


Took me 5 seconds to run through a bunch of the *land, countries

It's "Cheque".

 

[DeathReborn]

The first that came to my mind was Egypt, and I live in England...