Fascinating!

bednobs | 22:00 Tue 16th May 2023 | ChatterBank

25 Answers

following a q on university challenge yesterday, i have been looking up the order of adjectives - a grammar rule that native english speakers always follow even if they don't know it. the rule is that multiple adjectives are always ranked accordingly: opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose.
so you would never say the little poor dog - only the poor little dog. Another example, you would never say the leather brown walking scruffy shoes, you would say the scruffy brown leather walking shoes.

that led me (via an article) to the rule of ablaut reduplication, which the vowels have to come in a certain order (I then A then O) so you wouldnt say zag zig or raff riff, but zig zag and riff raff.
this isnt a question, but, as i said fascinating (to me at least!)

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Togo

This exceeding trifling witling, considering ranting criticising concerning adopting fitting wording being exhibiting transcending learning, was displaying, notwithstanding ridiculing, surpassing boasting swelling reasoning, respecting correcting erring writing, and touching detecting deceiving arguing during debating.

That^^ is a completely grammatically correct sentence, it actually means.

This very superficial grammatist, supposing empty criticism about the adoption of proper phraseology to be a show of extraordinary erudition, was displaying, in spite of ridicule, a very boastful turgid argument concerning the correction of false syntax, and about the detection of false logic in debate.

Togo

I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you
On hiccough, thorough, laugh and through?
Well done! And now you wish perhaps
To learn of these familiar traps?

Beware of heard, a dreadful word,
That looks like beard and sounds like bird,
And dead: it’s said like bed, not bead,
For Goodness’ sake, don’t call it deed!
Watch out for meat and great and threat,
They rhyme with suite and straight and debt.

A moth is not a moth in mother
Nor both in bother, broth in brother,
And here is not a match for there,
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear,
And then there’s does and rose and lose-
Just look them up: and goose and choose.

And cork and front and word and ward
And font and front and word and sword.
And do and go and thwart and cart-
Come, come, I’ve hardly made a start!
A dreadful language! Man Alive,
I’d mastered it when I was five.