All About Alliteration
©Judy Vorfeld
Have you ever wanted to become an expert on alliteration? If nothing else, it's such a beautiful word! Seriously, when one uses alliteration properly--especially in publications--it is subtly effective.
If you work on Web sites, e-zines, or print newsletters, this may be a good time for you to brush up on the amazing world of alliteration.
DEFINITION*:
Main Entry: al·lit·er·a·tion (pronounced uh-lit-tuh-RA-shun)
Function: noun - Date: circa 1656
Etymology: ad- + Latin littera letter
: the repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables (as wild and woolly, threatening throngs) -- called also head rhyme, initial rhyme
Generally one can use alliteration in business: in headings, headlines, and (very carefully) in letters, proposals, reports, etc.
Here's some alliteration used recently by my local newspaper, The Arizona Republic, in one day's main section:
- Gaming talks a big gamble (better than ...Gaming talks a big risk.)
- Fisher hunt feeds tales for campfire (better than ...hunt generates tales...)
- Pope asks president to spare McVeigh (better than ...Pope asks Bush to...)
- Death spurs Ecstasy debate (better than ...spurs Ecstasy wrangle...)
- Tiny tribe in Conn... (better than ...Mashantucket Pequot Tribe in Conn...)
- Mexican Congress changes (better than ...Mexican Congress shifts...)
- ...threatens power and popularity (better than ...threatens strength and popularity... or ...threatens power and reputation.)
In alliteration, the rhyming words don't need to be next to each other; they just need to be in the same grouping of words. And the words used don't need to begin with the same letter: they need to have a similar initial sound. Examples: night / knight ... no / know ... cede / seed ... cell / sell.
*By permission.
From Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary at www.m-w.com by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.
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