The North Wind and the Sun
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The North Wind and the Sun is a fable attributed to Aesop. The story concerns a competition between the North Wind and the Sun to decide who was the stronger of the two. The challenge was set to make a passing traveler uncloak. However hard the North Wind blew at the traveler, the traveler only wrapped himself tighter. But when the Sun shone with warmth, the traveler was overcome with heat and had to take his cloak off. The moral was stated at the end of the fable as:
- Persuasion is better than force. The complete moral of this is "Kindness, gentleness, and persuasion win where force fails."
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[edit] Use in phonetic demonstrations
The fable is made famous by its use in phonetic descriptions of languages as an illustration of spoken language. In the Handbook of the International Phonetic Association and the Journal of the International Phonetic Association, a translation of the fable into each language described is transcribed into the International Phonetic Alphabet. For example, the description of American English in the Handbook of the International Phonetic Association includes the following as a sample text:
Broad transcription
- ðə ˈnoɹθ ˌwɪnd ən (ð)ə ˈsʌn wɚ dɪsˈpjutɪŋ ˈwɪtʃ wəz ðə ˈstɹɑŋgɚ, wɛn ə ˈtɹævəlɚ ˌkem əˈlɑŋ ˈɹæpt ɪn ə ˈwoɹm ˈklok.
- ðe əˈgɹid ðət ðə ˈwʌn hu ˈfɚst səkˈsidəd ɪn ˈmekɪŋ ðə ˈtɹævəlɚ ˈtek ɪz ˈklok ˌɑf ʃʊd bi kənˈsɪdɚd ˈstɹɑŋgɚ ðən ðɪ ˈəðɚ.
- ðɛn ðə ˈnoɹθ ˌwɪnd ˈblu əz ˈhɑɹd əz i ˈkʊd, bət ðə ˈmoɹ hi ˈblu ðə ˈmoɹ ˈklosli dɪd ðə ˈtɹævlɚ ˈfold hɪz ˈklok əˈɹaʊnd ɪm;
- ˌæn ət ˈlæst ðə ˈnoɹθ ˌwɪnd ˌgev ˈʌp ði əˈtɛmpt. ˈðɛn ðə ˈsʌn ˈʃaɪnd ˌaʊt ˈwoɹmli ənd ɪˈmidiətli ðə ˈtɹævlɚ ˈtʊk ˌɑf ɪz klok.
- ən ˈso ðə ˈnoɹθ ˌwɪnd wəz əˈblaɪʒ tɪ kənˈfɛs ðət ðə ˈsʌn wəz ðə ˈstɹɑŋgɚ əv ðə ˈtu.
Narrow transcription
- ðə ˈnɔɹθ ˌwɪnd ən ə ˈsʌn wɚ dɪsˈpjuɾɪŋ ˈwɪtʃ wəz ðə ˈstɹɑŋgɚ, wɛn ə ˈtɹævlɚ ˌkem əˈlɑŋ ˈɹæpt ɪn ə ˈwɔɹm ˈklok.
- ðe əˈgɹid ðət ðə ˈwʌn hu ˈfɚst səkˈsidəd ɪn ˈmekɪŋ ðə ˈtɹævlɚ ˈtek ɪz ˈklok ˌɑf ʃʊd bi kənˈsɪdɚd ˈstɹɑŋgɚ ðən ðɪ ˈʌðɚ.
- ðɛn ðə ˈnɔɹθ ˌwɪnd ˈblu əz ˈhɑɹd əz hi ˈkʊd, bət ðə ˈmɔɹ hi ˈblu ðə ˈmɔɹ ˈklosli dɪd ðə ˈtɹævlɚ ˈfold hɪz ˈklok əˈɹaʊnd ɪm;
- ˌæn ət ˈlæst ðə ˈnɔɹθ ˌwɪnd ˌgev ˈʌp ði əˈtɛmpt. ˈðɛn ðə ˈsʌn ˈʃaɪnd ˌaʊt ˈwɔɹmli ənd ɪˈmidiətli ðə ˈtɹævlɚ ˈtʊk ˌɑf ɪz klok.
- ən ˈso ðə ˈnɔɹθ ˌwɪnd wəz əˈblaɪʒ tɪ kənˈfɛs ðət ðə ˈsʌn wəz ðə ˈstɹɑŋgɚ əv ðə ˈtu.
Orthographic version
- The North Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger, when a traveler came along wrapped in a warm cloak.
- They agreed that the one who first succeeded in making the traveler take his cloak off should be considered stronger than the other.
- Then the North Wind blew as hard as he could, but the more he blew the more closely did the traveler fold his cloak around him;
- and at last the North Wind gave up the attempt. Then the Sun shined out warmly, and immediately the traveler took off his cloak.
- And so the North Wind was obliged to confess that the Sun was the stronger of the two.
[edit] In comparative linguistics
It has also been proposed as a parallel text in comparative linguistics as it provides more natural language than the Lord's Prayer.
[edit] References in popular culture
- In the 1996 film, Michael, John Travolta's character tells the fable as an example of why he is on Earth.
- In the 2002 TV adaptation of the James Hilton novel Goodbye Mr Chips Katherine, Mr Chips' wife, tells the story of the Sun and the North Wind to the school's aged headmaster in an attempt to convince him that the cane did not work as a method for preventing young children misbehaving.
- The North Wind is a character in the Vertigo comic book series, Fables. In it, he is the father of Bigby Wolf, one of the main protagonists.
[edit] References
- International Phonetic Association (1999). Handbook of the International Phonetic Association. Cambridge University Press, p.44. ISBN 0-521-63751-1.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The original Greek text at Wikisource
- Linguistics Handook Downloads — Audio samples of The North Wind and the Sun in various languages, from the International Phonetic Association
