Word of the Week: Sibilance

noun   phonetics   literary or specialized uk  /ˈsɪb.ɪ.lənts/ us  /ˈsɪb.ɪ.lənts/

the fact of making a “s” or “sh” sound

SOURCE: Cambridge Dictionary

It’s funny because the word sibilance almost describes itself, creating a hissing sound as it rolls off the tongue.

Does this make the word sibilance a form of onomatopoeia? IE – the act of creating or using words that include sounds that are similar to the noises the words refer to¹

One could say that a sentence such as the one in the image: “the starry sky sparkles as a ship sails by a swirling sea snake,” is both alliterative and sibilant. It is also a bit of a tongue twister. Like, “she sells sea shells on the sea shore.”

Literary Device

Sibilance as a word can simply refer to a hissing sound itself. More often though it used as a literary device, where sibilant sounds repeat in a sentence like the examples above. It is not so much about the use of the letter ‘S’ but the repetition of the ‘S’ sound. Sometimes the letter ‘S’ doesn’t make the hiss sound but more a of a ‘Z’-like’ buzz – as in ‘doesn’t’ or ‘hasn’t’. There is some debate as to whether these sounds should be counted as sibilant; likewise with letters and sounds such as ‘th’ and ‘f’ (as in the word ‘fifth’).

Sibilance as a description

“[…] a sudden unwelcome influx of distant, almost alien, memories surfaced in her mind; far away days of long forgotten youth; a kiss beneath a lamp-lit cobbled street; the thunderous sound of a broken heart, beating rapidly over the loud psssshhhht sound of a train arriving at a platform.”

OR

“[…] a sudden unwelcome influx of distant, almost alien, memories surfaced in her mind; far away days of long forgotten youth; a kiss beneath a lamp-lit cobbled street; the thunderous sound of a broken heart, beating rapidly over the sharp sibilant announcement of a train arriving at a platform.” ²

Both these examples describe the same memory. The first example however, attempts to spell out the sound the reader should imagine; whereas the second suggests the sound in the metaphorical voice of the train coming to a standstill. I think this works better in amplifying the atmosphere of the memory. I’d certainly say the second sentence! But which do you prefer?

1. Onomatopoeia The Cambridge Dictionary, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/onomatopoeia ↩︎
2. Wherefore Sings the Blackbird by Laura A Coats, 2024 link: Wherefore Sings the Blackbird ↩︎