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> Anyone who thinks English has "no proper rules" clearly has never had the joy of learning English as a second language.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophony#Ablaut-motivated_comp... and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduplication#English

Tic Tac Toe is the one that I remember most easily...

> Examples include: bric-a-brac, chit-chat, clip-clop, ding-dong, flimflam, flip-flop, hip-hop, jibber-jabber, kitty-cat, knick-knack, mishmash, ping-pong, pitter-patter, riffraff, sing-song, slipslop, splish-splash, tick-tock, ticky-tacky, tip-top, whiff-whaff, wibble-wobble, wishy-washy, zig-zag.

Saying any of those in the wrong order sounds wrong to a native ear.

It even shows up in Live, Laugh, Love.

And then there's adjective order... https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/...

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If people want a language with "proper rules"... head over to conlangs. https://youtu.be/x_x_PQ85_0k https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ithkuil is my favorite (I've got a copy of the grammar guide that is on my shelf of random things next to Random Numbers by the RAND corporation).



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