Question.

[conuly]

Words that sound alike at the end (end, send, bend; can, ban, ran; book, nook, crook) are said to rhyme. Words that sound alike at the beginning (see, saw, summer; less, land, loop; hope, hop, horoscope) are said to alliterate. What about words that only sound different in the middle? Groups like book, bake, bark. Or cap, keep, cop. Or gout, got, gut. Don't they get a cool word too?

Comments

[acaciah.livejournal.com]

I believe "minimal pairs" would cover that. :D [/speech path]

[conuly]

But that also covers "book, nook, cook" and "bake, bane, bail".

[cumaeansibyl.livejournal.com]

"Consonance" is the repetition of consonant sounds without requiring them to be at the beginning of the word (alliteration), which isn't quite the word you wanted but it's close. (The vowel equivalent is "assonance.")

Regional accent difference...?

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

Okay, that's strange... Perhaps it's because of our regional accents, but the words you cited as being similar in the middle aren't for me -- the sounds seem completely different. (They wouldn't rhyme for me if put on the ends of words, either.)

Or there's something funky with my brain, which is possible. :)

Re: Regional accent difference...?

[conuly]

What I said is that they're similar everywhere but the middle. So bake and beak, for example, both start and end with the same sounds, but have a different sound in the middle.

[pyrokinesis.livejournal.com]

Well, rhyme as I know it only really covers the end syllable, so I think those still fall under alliteration.

[conuly]

But why isn't there a third word?

[ahsirakh.livejournal.com]

As cumaeansibyl mentioned above, the closest word we use for it is "consonance".

[stagemanager.livejournal.com]

This is your chance to make up a new word. Use your powers wisely, grasshopper.

[leora.livejournal.com]

I believe they count as "slant rhyme" but I'm not positive. Slant rhyme always confused me.

[marveen.livejournal.com]

Just as an aside, it may interest you to know that alliteration is sometimes referred to as "front-rhyming".

Is consonance anywise related to "assonance"?

[acaciah.livejournal.com]

I believe "minimal pairs" would cover that. :D [/speech path]

[conuly]

But that also covers "book, nook, cook" and "bake, bane, bail".

[cumaeansibyl.livejournal.com]

"Consonance" is the repetition of consonant sounds without requiring them to be at the beginning of the word (alliteration), which isn't quite the word you wanted but it's close. (The vowel equivalent is "assonance.")

Regional accent difference...?

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

Okay, that's strange... Perhaps it's because of our regional accents, but the words you cited as being similar in the middle aren't for me -- the sounds seem completely different. (They wouldn't rhyme for me if put on the ends of words, either.)

Or there's something funky with my brain, which is possible. :)

Re: Regional accent difference...?

[conuly]

What I said is that they're similar everywhere but the middle. So bake and beak, for example, both start and end with the same sounds, but have a different sound in the middle.

[pyrokinesis.livejournal.com]

Well, rhyme as I know it only really covers the end syllable, so I think those still fall under alliteration.

[conuly]

But why isn't there a third word?

[ahsirakh.livejournal.com]

As cumaeansibyl mentioned above, the closest word we use for it is "consonance".

[stagemanager.livejournal.com]

This is your chance to make up a new word. Use your powers wisely, grasshopper.

[leora.livejournal.com]

I believe they count as "slant rhyme" but I'm not positive. Slant rhyme always confused me.

[marveen.livejournal.com]

Just as an aside, it may interest you to know that alliteration is sometimes referred to as "front-rhyming".

Is consonance anywise related to "assonance"?