2006-11-12 00:52:21 · 19 answers · asked by Tj 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
I can't believe two people have suggested 'plywood' and 'any' as possible words without vowels!!!!
Where do we find these people????
2006-11-12 12:43:49 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Please refer to an answer to a similar question by a
Bruha in October
Best Answer - Chosen By Voters
FIRST, those who think the answer is a word with a y or w are mistaken.
The y in "sky" and "try" IS a vowel (not just a 'sorta-vowel', a real one!), so that won't work.
The problem is the same with "cwm" (a Welsh word pronounced "coom") in which the w is functioning as a vowel.
Actually, functions as a vowel much more often than as a consonant, and w can be the equivalent of u (mostly in the combinations aw, ew, ow, which are equivalent to au, eu, ou)..
(compare http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fx...
The basic rule is this -- y or w at the BEGINNING of a syllable areused as conanants, in the middle of end of of syllables they mark VOWELS.
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There ARE words without vowel SOUNDS (and in which none of the letters indicates a vowel). They are various "interjections", such as the following:
brr
grr
bzz [though more often written "buzz"]
tsk
shh
hmm
psst
mm-hmm
Several of these, as you can see, fit your three-letter limit. I believe "nth" is the only other one in English.
For a fun list of other words without vowels --mostly one-time inventions by individual authors-- check out http://www.oneletterwords.com/consonant/... (Warning -- it may be that the author may mistakenly include some words in which w and especially y are used as vowels, but still a fun read.)
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In one sense a word like "nth" is cheating. Though we write it without a vowel, we pronounce it WITH a vowel SOUND (as if it were "enth"). Similarly, "brr" is often pronounced as "burr" and "grr" may slip in a vowel sound (to rhyme with "her"). And "tsk", if pronounced as originally intended, is spoken hardly anything like it is written.
The very BEST then, are "hmm" [and "mm-hmm"] (both best spoken without ever opening your mouth) and "shh".
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Finally, about the idea that "you can't SAY a word without a vowel!" Not quite true. It's more accurate to say you can't pronounce a word without a "continuant", that is, a sound in which air is allowed to continue moving (as opposed to "stops" -- b, d, g, k, p, t -- which stop the air flow). Vowels are the most common and useful of the continuants but there are many others. The favorites for interjections and imitative sounds (like the list above) are m, r and the sibilants (that is, "s"-sounds - s, z, sh).
2006-11-12 09:02:38 · answer #2 · answered by Gordon T 1 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Ok, sometimes "y" is a vowel, but we will ignore that rule for this question :-)
Some English words with no vowels are:
hymn
myth
sylph
syzygy
These are all English. There are, I am sure, many words in Polish, Czech, etc. that are lacking vowels.
2006-11-12 08:55:34 · answer #3 · answered by elcie 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
In the Croatian dictionary yes there are,
vrt-garden
vrh-top
krv-blood
srp-moon like
mržnj-hatred
2006-11-12 08:55:19 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
yes, the word 'dry' is a word without a vowel in the dictionary.other examples are 'sky', 'fly' and 'why'.
2006-11-12 08:57:37 · answer #5 · answered by patu_great 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Rhythms
2006-11-12 08:53:52 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Yes...
cwm, for example, is a "steep-walled semicircular basin in a mountain"
There are many more, and they have nothing to do with the letter Y. Like ... hm and pfft.
2006-11-12 08:56:45 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Nth was the first to come to mind.
2006-11-12 08:56:35 · answer #8 · answered by Patricia S 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i dont think so because sometimes y is a vowel
2006-11-12 08:54:48 · answer #9 · answered by xobeccaxo 4 · 2⤊ 3⤋
Same as last week - rhythm
2006-11-12 09:25:27 · answer #10 · answered by Dover Soles 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋