My 16-year old self puts on a linguist hat
Are the definitions of words partially based on phonetics? I think so. I mean, ludicrous just wouldn’t be ludicrous if it wasn’t ludicrous. Sex sounds pretty breathy, doesn’t it? Would you rather fight with a sword or a sabre? How about an epee? I think one of the best examples of this is the word “hypocrisy.” Hypocrisy is one of the most hated things in Western Society, and for good reason – it sounds despicable, and it is despicable. Say it out loud. HyPOcrisy. You really stress the 2nd syllable, and at the end it sound really shady and evil. Weird.
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