A palindrome is a word, phrase, (or even a number) that can be read the same way in either direction (left to right to right to left) and have the same meaning.  Palindromes exist in many languages and they can be a a lot of fun!

There are some common palindromes in English that are words, but there are also some famous palindrome phrases that I have listed below.  Let’s take a look at some of these palindromes.  Remember what makes these words unique, and what makes them palindromes, is that they are the same word or phrase whether you read them forward or backwards.

Example words:
civic, radar, level, rotor, kayak, race car, madam, toot, boob, pop and noon

Example names:
Ana, Anna, Bob, Elle, Emma, Eve, Hannah, Otto

Example phrases:
A man, a plan, a canal, Panama.
Madam, I’m Adam.
Never odd or even.
Rise to vote sir.
So many dynamos..

Now here is a real example, an entire song in English that is made up of palindromes!  This is a song written by the singer Weird Al Yankovic, spoofing* the singer Bob Dylan.  The artist Weird Al is most famous for his songs that are spoofs.  The lyrics for the song are displayed in the video so you should be able to follow along.  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nej4xJe4Tdg

*spoofing (to spoof) = a gentle satirical imitation; a light-hearted parody

If you can think of any English palindromes help keep this conversation going by posting your palindrome as a comment to this post or on the English Language Transparent Language Facebook page.