Why don't "tough" and "dough" rhyme?

Why don't "tough" and "dough" rhyme? - Arika Okrent

Рет қаралды 328,720

25 күн бұрын

Explore the evolution of English spelling conventions throughout history, and find out why it's such an inconsistent language.
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Spelling reformers have been advocating for changes to make English spelling more intuitive and less irregular. One example of its messiness: take the “g-h” sound from “enough,” the “o” sound from “women” and the “t-i” sound from “action,” and you could argue that “g-h-o-t-i” spells “fish.” So, how did English get like this? Arika Okrent explores the complexity of English spelling conventions.
Lesson by Arika Okrent, directed by Emily Howells, Aaron Brady.
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Animator's website: www.emilyhowells.com and aaronbrady.uk
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Пікірлер: 578

@wilconboofie6748 23 күн бұрын

In my country we have a saying; English looks like one language from afar when in-fact it’s 3 children wearing the same raincoat. ☔️ 🧥

@dat1boi727 23 күн бұрын

This is the best explanation of English I’ve ever heard of

@Becky_Cooling 23 күн бұрын

Where's that from?

@Terrorising._.Schmetterling 23 күн бұрын

that's AMAZING

@ITO_junji_Fan-zi9ss 23 күн бұрын

@@Becky_CoolingArmenia

@Becky_Cooling 23 күн бұрын

@@ITO_junji_Fan-zi9ss Ah, cool.

@lovesunnyskies 23 күн бұрын

the subtle "huh" when things got confusing killed me 😭

@ItsN3rdy 23 күн бұрын

I was like whose Gen Z a** put that in there. 😂

@OmicronOmega0 23 күн бұрын

Agreed

@littledudefromacrossthestr5755 23 күн бұрын

Fr 💀

@starmaker75 23 күн бұрын

Huh is best the way to describe the feeling when you see English spelling.

@Nosewrecky 23 күн бұрын

Huh

@ZechariahB 23 күн бұрын

My man snuck in the HUH sound effect multiple times casually in a TED-Ed video It perfectly fits

@falinestixiaolong9691 23 күн бұрын

You mean "HOUGH" ?

@hkayakh 23 күн бұрын

When the screen says ‘WTF’ there’s also one

@markjosephbacho5652 22 күн бұрын

How come I didn't notice it???

@AgentSeni 22 күн бұрын

@@markjosephbacho5652 thats what im saying lol

@fallen_angelmemesforlife9172 22 күн бұрын

@@markjosephbacho5652 it's easier to notice the first time if you have a speaker. Perchance

@airiquelmeleroy 23 күн бұрын

English is hard, though through tough thorough thought you can learn it little by little

@HeyKevinYT 22 күн бұрын

my semantic satiation instantly activated after reading that

@lolatiffhur 21 күн бұрын

Compared to other languages it’s actually pretty easy.

@legitusername-zl7to 21 күн бұрын

easier translation: "English is hard, it is difficult through the entire way but throughout your thinking you can learn it bit by bit"

@nainasingh8246 18 күн бұрын

had a seizure reading that and I can only speak English 😭

@inakuvaswaldenstrm6117 12 күн бұрын

@lolatiffhur maybe some, but if you are a native speaker, you have to remember that things might seem way easier for you than others. I have learned Spanish and it's easier. Italien is easier. You can argue that Mandarin is easier too. Dutch might be easier. I don't know a lot about other languages than that, but they are some examples

@somerandomguy___ 23 күн бұрын

I find it absolutely hilarious they decided to use the "huh??" Sound effect XDD

@kalamay 23 күн бұрын

And multiple times and in different variations too lmaoooo

@arthurdomq 23 күн бұрын

Exactly lol

@sriyashreepanda4912 23 күн бұрын

Exactly 💯

@matematixyt 23 күн бұрын

wonderful! can't get *enough* of these "english spelling is complicated but there's actually a reason behind it" typa things

@the_unknown8807 23 күн бұрын

Yep, thats how it is

@bananaforscale1283 23 күн бұрын

watch otherwords

@Rabbitforce97 23 күн бұрын

but.... there's no reason behind it? It just happened?? 4:10

@matematixyt 23 күн бұрын

@@Rabbitforce97 i didn't mean it like "we know EVERY SINGLE nook and cranny about why its like this, i meant like "oh this word was originally said how it was spelled and then OOPS great vowel shift happened."

@ILoveOrcasAndWhales 23 күн бұрын

no way matenatixxx

@Sleepyfairies 23 күн бұрын

The title made me say “tough” like “toe” just so it could rhyme with dough 😭

@adrianblake8876 23 күн бұрын

And then admitted that it was originally pronounced like that...

@reya..4668 23 күн бұрын

Same

@jim6038 23 күн бұрын

Ken ia Keno?

@KrisJairedDeCastro 23 күн бұрын

While me pronouncing dough as duff to rhyme with tough lol

@jangzhang7323 23 күн бұрын

English: There has to be a way to blame this hot mess on the French.

@FlopgamingOne 23 күн бұрын

i love the french

@1monki 22 күн бұрын

Mon dieu!

@demonthegamer3624 23 күн бұрын

I can't believe that one of the most respected educational channels in youtube would put the "HUH?" sound effect in their videos

@alfonsoribada9607 23 күн бұрын

2:27 It's the subtle WTF for me. 😂

@thelocalgoose 23 күн бұрын

holy- I didn't notice that! That's WILD

@shivamsolanke4660 17 күн бұрын

WTF - Wow that's Fun

@elenavinod2301 16 күн бұрын

saw it tooo 😂

@cormacsmithy3975 23 күн бұрын

0:20 Lmao one of the protestors holding a sign saying "Have I nothing better to do?" 😂

@aidahanwar7311 23 күн бұрын

the baby's sign saying "language is arbitrary, change my mind" SENT ME HAHAHHAHA

@novemberninth4392 20 күн бұрын

I love the one saying "silent letters are dum", that is SO smart

@ethan________ 23 күн бұрын

can we just take a moment to appreciate how insane the animation and visual storytelling is?

@orfikstudios 16 күн бұрын

Yes!

@octopus-7 23 күн бұрын

I always wondered why English pronunciation rules were a bit difficult, and now I hope this video provides an answer.

@LightBlueVans 23 күн бұрын

“making it especially tough” absolutely adorable dough ball ☺️ i adore the printing press animation, that was lovely

@Becky_Cooling 23 күн бұрын

To anyone who has learnt English as a second language: Well done! English isn't easy, even if (like me) you've spent your whole life speaking it!

@jimmyseavp 23 күн бұрын

literally, i admire people who speak more than one languages and/or english

@ITO_junji_Fan-zi9ss 23 күн бұрын

Why are you monolingual? So sad

@benjaminb5889 23 күн бұрын

My first language is french so I know that spelling can be a nightmare 😂 (I also speak german and a bit of italian).

@starmaker75 23 күн бұрын

To be fair, being a native speaker, they a lot of stuff in English that go "HUH?"

@chiragsharma5624 23 күн бұрын

@@jimmyseavp i can speak 3

@DIOsNotDead 23 күн бұрын

gotta love the "huh" sound effect being used like thrice in this video lol

@topi1374 23 күн бұрын

omg I never realised until now that "daughter" with the guttural "ch" sounds like "Tochter", the german word for it thank you!

@b.a.erlebacher1139 23 күн бұрын

German underwent a consonant shift, part of which was d shifting to t. The youtube channel RobWords has a neat video about how to read German without knowing German by unshifting the consonants to make it look more like English.

@ntlrdm 23 күн бұрын

'Tough, Trough, Through, Though, Thorough, Thought' and 'Pause, Pores, Paws, Pours' are 2 examples of why English probably looks confusing and doesn't make much sense to non-native speakers. I also find it silly a lot of the time as a native speaker, and it makes it even more apparent as I have 2 native languages and my second language although complex and difficult to learn, has many rules that give it structure and order. Since it isn't based on other languages if you understand the rules you will know the pronunciation and often be able to deduce the meaning of some words just by reading them. Something interesting though, in defence of English as a language, is an example the Spanish language writer J. L. Borges brought up once in an interview which also demonstrates the complexity and nuance of English. Having roots in Germanic and the Latin language means that for many ideas or examples you may have, you often can find words that have different meaning and nuance, which can express a subtle or important difference and distinction in the idea, object, or situation you are describing. The examples he gave were the words 'fraternal' and 'brotherly' or 'regal' and 'kingly' which all have different meaning, as well as the use of 'Holy Spirit' and 'Holy Ghost', which in a poem would evoke a different feeling, as the former is a light Latin word and the latter is a dark Saxon word, as he described them. Other examples he gave were the freedom and adaptability of verbs and prepositions such as 'laugh off', 'dream away', or to 'live something down', 'live up to something'. Maybe it's the chaos and nonsensical things sometimes about English that also bring the best out of it too.

@coleashraf9621 23 күн бұрын

At 4:09 the “hus” pronunciation reminded me of how we tend to pronounce house in Scotland. I guess because Scots and Scottish English have retained more Germanic roots?

@penand_paper6661 23 күн бұрын

Actually, yes.

@PokhrajRoy. 23 күн бұрын

Moral of the Story: Never underestimate tough dough

@olivia-fz8dn 23 күн бұрын

As a native English speaker, I always figured it had to do with the word’s original origins, but this video makes it much more clear!

@jessicadecuir5622 20 күн бұрын

One good thing about English spelling: “queue” is certainly worth more points when playing Scrabble than “q.”

@geezotics 23 күн бұрын

It’s 9AM just took a blinker and I’m locked tf in for the day. Thank you for the education I didn’t know I needed 😂🙏🏽

@PokhrajRoy. 23 күн бұрын

0:03 This quote is brilliant!

@Santiino 23 күн бұрын

Can you explain? English is not my first Language

@lovwanshichetan 22 күн бұрын

@@Santiinodouble "o" in blood & flood sounds "uh" but in food it's "u" only i.e bluhd, fluhd, fu:d and similarly in mould, "oul" sounds like "owl" unlike in should & would where it sounds "u" only i.e mowld, shud, wud. Quote is used basically targeting the chaos in English regarding it's pronunciation, words & rules which applies to one or some case but not all or many.

@cay6578 10 күн бұрын

@@lovwanshichetanoh.. i thought it would have like a metaphor under it with the mix of the wordplay😭

@stefansauvageonwhat-a-twis1369 23 күн бұрын

2:25 I was not expecting the "Huh" sound effect here lol

@Twas-RightHere 23 күн бұрын

Another cheeky one at 4:55. They're like little easter eggs, I love it.

@user-cg3ww4gc2v 23 күн бұрын

@@Twas-RightHere i just commented that here hahaha

@Irondragon1945 23 күн бұрын

and at 2:51

@johnny_boi5456 23 күн бұрын

Also WTF is spelled out

@Becky_Cooling 23 күн бұрын

the animation is soooooo cute!

@sanvijain5354 23 күн бұрын

The animation quality is just amazing!!! Brilliant job 👏 😍

@justinehercthehuman 23 күн бұрын

Didn't notice the initials at 2:23 paired with the HUH sound effect lmao.

@re_animatedabby6791 18 күн бұрын

Lol love the little bread 🍞 with the rolling pins at the end! So cute! Should be a digital phone wallpaper!

@luizapalavizini2949 23 күн бұрын

In my country most people consider english grammar easy or a little chalenging, but everybody thinks the writing makes no sense

@Passion84GodAlways 23 күн бұрын

2.25 was a HILARIOUS (and unexpected) touch!!! 😫😆😂🤣🤣

@yellowstarproductions6743 23 күн бұрын

2:25 i agree

@Passion84GodAlways 23 күн бұрын

@@yellowstarproductions6743 😆

@junjunjamore7735 22 күн бұрын

I didn't even notice! 😂

@PokhrajRoy. 23 күн бұрын

0:53 ‘Ghoti’ also refers to Bengalis who do not originate from what we now call Bangladesh.

@BloodAniron 23 күн бұрын

And also the utensil

@The_Observer_god 23 күн бұрын

You know that English is completely broken when* Go = go So = so To = tuuuuu.............

@daveharrison84 23 күн бұрын

part of the vowel shift

@MrsJudithWright 23 күн бұрын

Great to have such a clear and upbeat lesson on why English is such a difficult language to learn for non native speakers. Never knew I was interested in this until this lesson.

@narnia4703 23 күн бұрын

All the little faces on inanimate objects. 😆 The animation is amazing!

@virendrasahani6871 23 күн бұрын

Beautiful explanation. Thanks for sharing.

@CalpolMeister 23 күн бұрын

2:26 HUH

@matvejkopyl6347 23 күн бұрын

4:56 HUUUHH

@Stratelier 23 күн бұрын

Don't think we didn't see what you did with the three manuscripts at 2:25 !

@strange_and_magnificent 23 күн бұрын

Love your animation, as always.

@TY-bd8bo 23 күн бұрын

Congratulations on 20M subscribers!

@antonfeirer3408 23 күн бұрын

As someone who speaks German, learning English was pretty easy once I accepted that some things just were the way they were and couldn't be changed. Happens in German all the time :D

@thenovicenovelist 23 күн бұрын

German is one of the languages I'm trying to learn. So far, the hardest thing seems to be the gendered articles because I haven't figured out the tricks for determining when to use der, die, das, etc. when it comes to things that normally don't have a gender in English. In Spanish, there are rules that work the majority of the time (o/a = el/la, with a few exceptions). But I haven't figured out those rules for German articles yet.

@dayanaparedes7362 23 күн бұрын

This video blew my mind in ways I didn't expect it would 🤯

@Crichi404 23 күн бұрын

the "huh" sound took me out, I didn't expect it to be in a Ted Ed vid 😭

@tozboz1018 23 күн бұрын

2:26 HUH 2:52 H U H 4:56 H U H

@chialuenlis5931 22 күн бұрын

Thanks

@sphakamisozondi 23 күн бұрын

02:26, that "huh" meme has made it into a Ted video 😂

@gustavocarvalholoboleite3526 23 күн бұрын

Hey Ted -ed sugestion to next history video about Los Angeles ritos of 1992

@dorians2138 23 күн бұрын

It's funny how in many countries such a thing as a spelling bee wouldn't even be posible because everything is written exactly how it sounds

@lawrenceheyman435 22 күн бұрын

What an amazing video. Congratulations to all involved

@gailaltschwager7377 23 күн бұрын

Thank you!

@suprememaxpayne 23 күн бұрын

The "un peu" to "la vache" scale is a nice touch

@anelauhaneailana1899 17 күн бұрын

Have often said that English is one of the most difficult languages. This is a brilliant explanation of why

@GregorWSky 23 күн бұрын

Maybe it's time to create an “Easy English" where everything makes sense

@drewdabbs418 23 күн бұрын

Not really possible. Too many different countries speaking it and too many dialects

@gabrielas7596 23 күн бұрын

Thank you Ted-Ed ! Now please do the same with the Spanish, French, and Portuguese languages !

@bobthegoat7090 22 күн бұрын

It is fascinating when you encounter Old-English words that sound familiar in your language. I am from Denmark, where we still say "hus" like he pronounced it in the video. It is a real shame we didn't keep this standardization. Almost weird germanic languages grew farther apart in the modern day. However, now that English has the same role as Latin and French played many centuries ago, we may end up changing our own languages as all European countries steadily embrace English. Still, I am all for simpler spelling that conveys how they sound.

@adnankarimsampd3504 20 күн бұрын

Everything aside the visual representations are so good💟

@alkistisvas9341 22 күн бұрын

Excellent. Thank you

@khanes5376 22 күн бұрын

Gotta love what the large letters spell out at 2:24.

@liandremarcoricafort6606 23 күн бұрын

Why should it always make sense when humanity itself sometimes don’t

@titilayoshitta3940 20 күн бұрын

Congratulations on 20 million subscribers

@Sevara0806 23 күн бұрын

As a person who learned english intentionally,,l didn't even notice anything wrong/weird when learning it.I just got used to it as l listened and read

@ChincerDante 23 күн бұрын

as someone that comes from a language that is very phonetic , i always found spelling bees fascinating , it does feel english doesnt even need to use strange words from other languages just to fill a spelling bee, thanks to the "inconsistencies" in its spelling vs pronunciation. in spanish you can fabricate a word and the spelling more or less would make sense

@Maus-nc8jo 19 күн бұрын

As a German this makes so much sense now. Like for example daughter is translated to Tochter in German. Today both words sound very different. But the german ch makes exactly the sound the gh was once supposed to make before it was dropped in English. When you prounounce daughter with the original sound the th is supposed to make it sounds very similar to the german sound of the word. The same logic can be applied to laugh and lachen in german.

@r.s.9239 23 күн бұрын

2:52 Ted ed stop I’m dying why are you using this sound effect😂

@YourLocalWarGorilla 23 күн бұрын

2:25 I never thought ted ed would do this

@michaelcarbone6101 19 күн бұрын

I’ve been spelling it fish all my life. I’m not changing now!

@LEFT4BASS 21 күн бұрын

The way we know a lot of old pronunciations is because the lack of standardized spelling left many people writing words as they were spoken. Being unstandardized actually tells us a lot about our linguistic past.

@nerdlingeeksly5192 23 күн бұрын

I would like to point everyone to a Gallagher video where he tackles the flaws in the English language.

@royyu594 23 күн бұрын

This video is great!

@Mayflower09 23 күн бұрын

Ted ed I love your videos!!❤❤

@thepessimist9641 23 күн бұрын

English is a fascinating language!

@sametcalsknn 17 күн бұрын

nice explanation thanks

@chickenfish15 23 күн бұрын

The "ghoti" thing doesn't really work for me because otherwise I'd pronounce it as "fœush"...

@fleek6319 15 күн бұрын

great animation, thank you

@jesstheghost61 21 күн бұрын

loving the duolingo sound effects

@pinkgreenmelon2209 23 күн бұрын

English is so reasonably complicated. It reminds me of how hard spelling bees were when the words were actually so simple.

@cesarparra6025 23 күн бұрын

A series of videos about languages would be nice, like the top 10 most spoken, one down nine more to go?

@walkwiithme 21 күн бұрын

That's so interesting!!

@justinehercthehuman 23 күн бұрын

Imagine traveling into the far future and then you see they fixed the English language and our present films and literature are then treated like how we treat the old language used by Shakespeare and the likes.

@invalidaccount6147 23 күн бұрын

English is new language that's why it didn't get much time to evolve. So, the older languages from India China are well evolved and hence well defined. This must be the case.

@Kamado4949 23 күн бұрын

Animation is so cool!

@josemanuelburgara1680 23 күн бұрын

Arika Okrent , I knew it sounded familiar, she is the author of the book highly irregular

@aaronsz6749 20 күн бұрын

Me as a non-native English speaker was very easy to understand and learn English grammatically but when it came to speaking, pronunciation was and still is very hard to understand.

@brunohannud 21 күн бұрын

Its simple grammar rules and fantastic possibilities makes British English the most indicated language as a first language, one's own language coming in once basic English becomes Universal.

@tovarishcheleonora8542 16 күн бұрын

English and "simple grammar" in one sentence without negation? wow Then i guess having 12 tenses (JUST WHY 12 AND NOT 2 OR 3?) and nightmarishly more irregular words than regular words are nowadays counted as "simple"..........

@lindseyfishead2181 12 күн бұрын

no way i just wanted a ted ed video that includes the "HUH" sound effect multiple times

@user-bp4nv3qp4d 23 күн бұрын

I love your astounding video TED ED 💛💙

@daffy1981 23 күн бұрын

Such a nice animation :)

@OHPIKACHUKACHU 16 күн бұрын

FASCINATING!

@paytonturner1421 23 күн бұрын

When it comes to spelling, I'm terrible at it and I need help from technology to spell the words that I can't spell. I can agree upon the point that English is a very difficult language when it comes to spelling. Sounding out words won't help me at all. You probably need to guess the letters.

@silverleaf15 23 күн бұрын

Can someone pls explain why colonel is pronounced like kernel?

@b.a.erlebacher1139 23 күн бұрын

I think it started off as coronel, having something to do with a special hat or crown. It still has the r in some languages, IIRC, Spanish. I'd like to know why lieutenant, literally 'place holder', is pronounced as it is spelled in the US (lootenant), but leftenant in the UK.

@natheriver8910 23 күн бұрын

Very interesting 👏 👏 👏 👏

@turtlepro1511 22 күн бұрын

Hey VSauce, Micheal here. That reference was great... or was it? *Moon men plays*

@AntTonyLOLKID 23 күн бұрын

I remember someone saying "English is easy if you know the history of the words" which makes it comparable to Chinese... (but Chinese memorises characters itself, rather than history of words)

@Totally_not_ratzanna 5 күн бұрын

2:25 the "WTF really got me💀💀

@jessicadecuir5622 23 күн бұрын

Some words also change pronunciation depending on context. For example, “The king had to lead the people with a lead sword.”

@anoriolkoyt 23 күн бұрын

Another "indirect" aspect is the culture's literary tradition. English literary tradition is realtively young, compared to French and Latin. So gor thr French, even today, their language is something at the core of their culture and as such, everyone outside the academic world takes an interest in its evolution. For the English world, we see our language as more of a "tool". Its why we are so flexible and improvisational with it. For example, French imported the word "weekend". There was a huge debate whether there ahould be a dash or not (weekend, or week-end). Im living in France and i was asked my opinion since im American. My response: "who TF cares?". English being so loose on its rules its one of its strengths, im my opinion. Its also why sci-fi and fantasy is much more "palatable" in English... Its interesting and fun to invent words. The French tend to have a resistance to this. For example, in Harry Potter, Rowling inventes the term "deathly hallows", which is a clever invention. The French translation calls them "reliques" (relics). Less fun.

@DuyNguyen-ks8dc 23 күн бұрын

the animator went nuts over this topic XD the transitions, the scenes, it's all so random and chaotic lol somewhat like Bocchi the Rock! Huhhhhh 🙀🙀

@mst671 23 күн бұрын

when I learnt writing English, for some words I memorised how to pronouce it in my language, so in my head when writing beautiful I think "Be-au-ti-ful" or for language "lan-gu-a-ge"

@wholesand 22 күн бұрын

Should a spelling reform take the old spelling and change it a little to fit the modern pronunciation in a phonetic way?

@latercube5884 23 күн бұрын

Everyone: Why is English spelling so weird? French: Uhhh

@lizzmurray5846 20 күн бұрын

Imagine if they also delved into the dialectical differences and the different spellings and grammar structures depending on the country you’re in, probably be a 2 hour long video