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Shibboleths are unique practices used to distinguish between different groups, often in language or pronunciation. The term originates from a biblical story. Shibboleths can take various forms, such as shared experiences or clothing. They have been used historically as passphrases and can play a subtle social and cultural role. Shibboleths can also be customs that connect people, such as college slang or school ties.
A shibboleth is a unique practice that can be used to distinguish between different ethnic, social, cultural and regional groups. Most commonly, people use this term in reference to language, talking about specific words and methods of pronunciation that are unique. However, a shibboleth can take a variety of forms, from a shared memory of a common experience such as going to the same college to a specific way of dressing.
This term has its roots in the Bible. There is a story in the Book of Judges where there is a battle between the tribe of Ephraim and the people of Gilead. The Gileadites are victorious and take control of the Jordan River to prevent the Ephraimites from crossing it. To distinguish between native Gileadites and Ephraimites pretending to be Gilead, anyone wishing to cross the river is presented with a test phrase: the Hebrew word for “brook.” The people of Gilead used a “sh” pronunciation, saying “shibboleth”, while the Ephraimites said “sibboleth”, without the soft “sh”, and they were immediately identifiable.
Any number of examples of shibboleth can be found around the world. In the Arabic-speaking world, for example, Egyptians don’t use the hard “J” sound common to other Arabic speakers, so they pronounce many keywords very differently. British speakers speak of “shed-yooling” something, while Americans “skej-ool”. People in some parts of the world abstain from eating tomatoes, viewing them with deep suspicion, while others enjoy them. In New York, you stand in line, whereas everywhere in the English-speaking world, people stand in line. Mammal owners are recognized by the common motto of pet hair on clothing, while people who have undergone the same surgery are identified by their scars.
Historically, shibboleths have often been used as a passphrase, just as in the Bible. Soldiers from the same unit, for example, might use an obscure piece of native slang like shibboleth. Shibboleths may also play a more subtle social and cultural role. For example, people with certain accents often have access to higher social circles because they share shibboleths in common with people in those circles, while people with accents associated with lower classes are excluded.
Customs are exaggerated in some quarters to make people feel more connected to each other. Many colleges and universities, for example, have unique slang terms, phrases, and other customs that graduates can use to easily identify one another. Garments such as school ties can be shibboleths, which act as secret codes to convey information without explicitly declaring it.
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