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5.3.3.1.3 Multisyllabic rhyming sequence
Some sequences of syllables exhibit what I am calling multisyllabic rhyming
sequence. In such instances, more than one syllable is rhymed. True rhyme, as defined by
Turco above, occurs when two or more onsets vary while everything after the onsets
remains the same. In a multisyllabic rhyming sequence, more than one syllable in the
rhymed lines has varying onsets. This is best understood by means of an example. The
lines in (160), from Sindî’s Bîrewerîa Barzanî Yê Nemir, ‘Memories of Immortal
Barzanî,’ exhibit a representative example of a multisyllabic rhyming sequence. The
sounds entering the rhyming sequence are in italics. First, the penultimate syllables of ru
and su rhyme according to Turco’s definition of true rhyme. The final syllables of the
lines, jin and cin, also exhibit true rhyme. Potentially, the poet has carefully chosen these
words here to capitalize on the phonetic similarity between the sounds j and c. Both
consonants are voiced. One slight difference is that j is post-alveolar and c is palatal. The
other difference is that j is a fricative and c is an affricate. (Refer to § 5.3.3.1.5 for
information on articulatory features.)
(160) ayeta Kursî ji berkir me―ciḧêl u pîr u jin (BS1:9, 10)
me du’a bu şev u rujan ji mezar u Înis u cin
Another multisyllabic rhyming sequence in the same poem consists of gelî bûn
and girî bun, shown in example (161). The vowels e and i that follow g are relatively
close to one another, exhibiting vowel feature rhyme, which I discuss in § 5.3.3.1.5.2. In
the following syllables, lî and rî, also rhyme. The consonantal onsets l and r are similar in
that both are voiced and alveolar. The only difference is that the first is a lateral
approximate while the second is a flap. This example is a more complex multisyllabic
rhyming sequence. While the consonantal onsets in these and the following examples do
not qualify as consonant feature rhyme (see § 5.3.3.1.5.1), as the sound similarities are the
onsets―not the codas―the word choices do seem intentional on part of the poet,
exhibiting poetic artistry. Also italizicized are the final four syllables in each line. These
too demonstrate multisyllabic rhyming sequence where each syllable rhymes or comes
close to rhyming.