Words are divided into segments (like cadence groups, but of individual sounds)
Ex. Top (has 3 segments)
Graph (has 4 segments)
Sometimes it takes more than one letter to make a segment.
Segments are divided into vowel sounds and consonant sounds (including semivowels).
Vowel sounds: a, e, I, o, u, and sometimes y and w.
All other are consonant sounds.
Consonants come in 3 types:
1. Stop sounds (p, b, t, d, k, g)
2. Continuant sounds (produced by the steady release of the breath and position of the tongue) (n, ng, l, r, th, s, z, sh, zh)
3. Semivowels (f, h, j, l, m, n, r, s, v, w, x, y, z)
There is often a difference between the spelling or graphic of the word and the phonetics (or sound) the word makes.
Sound Imagery and Technique
Euphony & Cacophony
Euphony (good sound) refers to words containing consonants that permit an easy and pleasant flow of spoken sound.
“Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind” is euphonious.
Cacophony (bad sound) the words do not flow smoothly but rather bump or clash against each other harshly and jarringly.
“Selfish shellfish” “Toy boat” “Red leather”, “the bare black cliff clang’d round him.”
The following are all techniques of creating euphony or cacophony. These can be used to create sound imagery.
Alliteration: the repetition of the first consonant of a word, through the cadence group or line
Assonance: the repetition of a vowel sound in a cadence group or line
Consonance: the repetition of a consonant sound in a cadence group or line found within words, as opposed to the beginning of a word (see Alliteration)
Onomatopoeia: Words that look the way they sound; a word that through sound represents what it defines
Rhyme: The agreement (euphony) of two metrically accented syllables and their terminal (end) consonants
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