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Alliteration

Alliteration in a speech language is the repetition of the same consonant sounds or letters in a sequence of words, usually at the beginning of a word. For example, to free a feline family from falling into freedom forever.

Alliteration in Sign Language Poetry

An equivalent to alliteration in sign language does exist. Instead of using sound phonemes in a speech language, parameters (or "manual phonemes") are used in rhyme.

Handshape Alliteration

Dr. Clayton Valli paralleled the concept of handshape rhyme in ASL to the concept of alliteration in English. He described it, "Alliteration may be the repetition of the first sound of several words in a line, compared to the handshape rhyme, that is, the repetition of the handshape of several signs in a line." [1]

[1] Valli, Clayton. Poetics of American Sign Language Poetry. Doctoral dissertation, The Union Institute Graduate School. June 1993. P. 113.