Why 'tock-tick' Doesn't Sound Right To Your Ears - Site Title

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Vin_cent Uncategorized January 19, 2019February 4, 2019 1 Minute

Ever wondered why we say tick-tock, not tock-tick or king-kong not kong-king; ding-dong .not dong-ding? Turns out it’s one of the written rules of English that English speakers know without knowing.

The rule, explains a BBC article, is: “if there are three words then the order has to go I, A, O. If there are two words the first is I the second is either A or O. “Mish-mash, dilly-dally, chit-chat, Shiloh-shally, hip-hop, tip-off, ping pong, ding dong”

There’s another unwritten rule at work in the name Little Red Riding Hood, says the article.

“Adjectives in English absolutely have to be in this order: opinion-size-age-shape-colour-origin-material-purpose-noun so you can have a lovely little old rectangular green French silver whittling knife. But if you mess with that word in the slightest you’ll sound like a maniac”

That explains why we say “Little green men” not “green little men,” but “big bad wolf” sounds like a gross violation of the “opinion-size-noun” order. It won’t, though if you recall the first rule about the I, A, O order.

That rule seems inviolable: “All four of a horse’s feet make exactly the same sound but we always say clip-clop never clop-clip.”

This rule has a technical name if you care to know it – the rule about reduplication- but then life is simpler knowing that we know the rule without knowing it.

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Published by Vin_cent

The conception of brilliance. View all posts by Vin_cent

Published January 19, 2019February 4, 2019

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2 thoughts on “Why ‘tock-tick’ doesn’t sound right to your ears”

  1. Know without knowing, what a paradox 😂, awesome 💯

    LikeLiked by 1 person

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  2. If only we cared about english 😂

    LikeLiked by 1 person

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