Definition:
Excessive repetition of the same vowel or consonant sound.
Repetition of the same sense is tautology. Repetition of the same sound is tautophony.
See also:
Etymology:
From the Greek, "same" + "sound"Examples and Observations:
- "Alliteration is the repetition of several similar sounds in sequence, which is itself an example of alliteration. The late Spiro Agnew, who was Richard Nixon's first vice president, was famous for a speech in which he criticized pessimists for being 'nattering nabobs of negativism.'
"New York Times columnist William Safire, who at that time was a speech writer in the Nixon White House, claims to have originated that phrase, and I assume it served its purpose. Alliteration, however, is difficult to read and may cause even a seasoned speaker to stumble. Occasional alliteration included on purpose is fine, but alliteration that is accidental can be troublesome. I might have said that a good speech writer will 'always avoid any accidental alliteration.' Try reading that aloud."
(Richard Dowis, The Lost Art of the Great Speech. AMACOM, 1999) - "Anon comes Pyramus, sweet youth and tall,
And finds his trusty Thisby's mantle slain;
Whereat, with blade, with bloody blameful blade,
He bravely broach'd his boiling bloody breast;
And Thisby, tarrying in mulberry shade,
His dagger drew, and died."
(William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 5, Scene 1) - "The unpleasant effect of tautophony will be readily perceived in the following sentences: 'The general ordered the captain to order the soldiers to observe good order.'--'We went in an enormous car.' By a substitution of synonyms . . . we avoid the unpleasant repetitions in these passages, and increase their strength: 'The general directed the captain to command the soldiers to observe good order.'--'We went in a large car.'"
(G. P. Quackenbos, Advanced Course of Composition and Rhetoric, 1889)
Pronunciation: tah-TOF-eh-nee
Also Known As: cacophony
