I came across an interesting question asked to a reporter in
the Charlotte Observer. Actually, I initially thought it was a really stupid question, but part of the answer surprised me. The question was:
Q. Is the name of the carnival game Whac-a-Mole derived from the word "guacamole"?
Like I said, I thought it was a stupid question. Just because the two words end in "mole," that doesn't mean they have anything to do with each other. And sure enough, the reporter, Jeff Elder, confirmed that the name "Whac-a-mole" is not, in any way, derived from the word guacamole. He called up Michael Lane, chief financial officer of Bob's Space Racers of Daytona Beach, Fla., makers of Whac-a-Mole. Lane said, "The name origin in English is a short way to describe the action of play."
But the weird part of the answer is that Guaca-mole is a trademarked name for the game in Spain, Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries. "The reason for this name, Lane says, is that pronunciation in Spanish is very similar for Whac-a-Mole and Guaca-Mole." So the two words are linked, in a roundabout way.
I say Whac-a-mole with three syllables and Guacamole with four syllables (pronouncing the "e" on the end), but I'm guessing Spanish speakers must pronounce Whac-a-mole with four syllables. And if you say it in this way, it can sound a lot like Guacamole.
Comments
I'll have to listen to some of the migrants here if I can get them to talk about the game and see how they say it. Personally, I say the "whac" part in a much different way than the "guac" part of guacamole.
The sound at the beginning of guacamole should be 'gwa'. Spanish speakers simply say it so quickly that it often sounds as if there is no 'g' in the word. Softening the 'g' is something that people who learn Spanish must practice in order to minimize their accent.
I am going to use this story in my classroom. It is amusing.
whack-a-mol
guac-a-mol
But maybe it's because in french we don't pronounce the "e" at the end.
Anyway, I ended up here taping "whack-a-mole guacamole" in google search, so it may be a stupid question, but maybe lot of people are asking it ^_^
And Oh you answered it !! :-D
The words guacamole and whack a mole are pronunced exactly the same way in spanish, but only if you don't take into account that whac a mole is a foreing word. Because in spanish, we usually read the words like they are written, so the word mole, is pronounced mole, and not moul(English.)
Electronic or old fashion wood & cardboard.