The sound of a ticking clock in your native language

[Gori the Grey]

Psychologists have observed that over a uniform tick-tick-tick-tick of a clock, the mind will impose an alternating rhythm.

In English, that is generally conveyed through the sounds TICK-tock-TICK-tock.

I wonder if those sounds are uniform across languages or if they differ (the way French pigs say groin-groin instead of oink-oink).

How does your native language express the alternating sounds of a clock's rhythm? Spell it out phonetically, if you think I'll need that to understand.

Thank you.

Oh, and by the way, after some answers have come in, I will have a follow-up question, so check back again.

 

[The_J]

In German it's written tick-tack, which in English is probably pronounced somewhat like tick-tawk or so. So this is pretty similar, but German and English are also very closely related languages, so it probably does not mean a lot, if no further context from other languages is there.

 

[Kyriakos]

Psychologists have observed that over a uniform tick-tick-tick-tick of a clock, the mind will impose an alternating rhythm.

In English, that is generally conveyed through the sounds TICK-tock-TICK-tock.

I wonder if those sounds are uniform across languages or if they differ (the way French pigs say groin-groin instead of oink-oink).

How does your native language express the alternating sounds of a clock's rhythm? Spell it out phonetically, if you think I'll need that to understand.

Thank you.

Yes, because the mind creates a pattern to easily account for each sound being in its own position in a progression=>thus you can realistically trace back a few of the members of the progression. It is tik-tok (or tik-tak) here too, though it might have been different a few centuries ago.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Among the youth of the world it is TikTok

 

[Valka D'Ur]

In German it's written tick-tack, which in English is probably pronounced somewhat like tick-tawk or so. So this is pretty similar, but German and English are also very closely related languages, so it probably does not mean a lot, if no further context from other languages is there.

"Tack" is pronounced like "tack" - a pin used to pin stuff to a wall or bulletin board. Short 'a' sound.

 

[Josu]

I am bilingual, in Basque we say Tak-Tak. Tic-Tac in Spanish

I wonder if those sounds are uniform across languages or if they differ (the way French pigs say groin-groin instead of oink-oink).

Basque pigs say kurrin-kurrin

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Tic-Tac in Spanish

Here, Tic-Tacs are a brand of breath mint/candy.

 

[thetrooper]

Tikk takk in Norwegian.

 

[Gorbles]

Reading this thread is giving me the almost uncontrollable urge to emphatically state for the record that I have nobody's heart, alive or otherwise, under my floorboards.

No, you can't come over. It's fine.

 

[Snowygerry]

Belgian pigs do oink oink and groink, as could be expected.

https://www.boerderij.nl/app/uploads/2021/03/002_boerderij-image-BOE009522I02.jpg

I'll have to look for clocks.

Edit, it's tic tac in French - in Flemish written tik tak. sounds the same though.

in literature they even do the speed of different clocks

tiktak..., tikketakke...;

Or large, three note clocks

bim, bam, bom

Some people study these things apparently :

Website Algemene Nederlandse Spraakkunst