Does "Turtle“ rhyme with “tuttle”?

[harriet_yang]

Both words are from Dr. Seuss's ABC: Ten tired turtles on a tuttle-tuttle tree.

I wonder if these two words rhyme with each other. I think they do, but not 100% sure.

 

[GoesStation]

They're weak rhymes. The vowels are different: the first syllable of turtle rhymes with "third"; the first syllable of tuttle rhymes with "nut".

 

[emsr2d2]

I wouldn't describe them as rhymes at all. "Turtle" rhymes with "hurtle".

As a general rule, Dr Seuss rhymes the last word of line 2 with the last word of line 4 of each verse.

 

[GoesStation]

I wouldn't describe them as rhymes at all. "Turtle" rhymes with "hurtle".

As a general rule, Dr Seuss rhymes the last word of line 2 with the last word of line 4 of each verse.

I misused the term "weak rhyme". According to this Wikipedia article, I meant either syllabic or forced rhyme. Dr. Seuss used this style of rhyming extensively.

 

[mattpocock]

Not quite: one's a long vowel (turtle, /ɜ/), and the other's a short one (tuttle /ʌ/).

You can feel the difference by emphasising them. On the long vowel, you emphasise the vowel itself. On the short, you emphasise the consonants around it.

 

[Tdol]

However, in a tongue twister like this, there's not much scope for emphasis, so the difference isn't that much when said at speed- it's there, though.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

In American English, turtle rhymes with fertile, girdle, myrtle, hurdle, and curdle.

 

[emsr2d2]

In BrE, it rhymes with all of those except "fertile". I don't do phonetic symbols but we pronounce that as "fir-tile"; it's two clear syllables, the second sounding exactly the same as the word "tile".

 

[emsr2d2]

Fair point. I didn't consider the "t" vs "d" difference between those.

 

[probus]

It also depends to some extent on dialect. In the speech of some American southerners "turtle" and "tuttle" sound very similar.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Fair point. I didn't consider the "t" vs "d" difference between those.

Of course not! You're British! I mean Briddish . . . .

 

[emsr2d2]

The fact that "t" and "d" sound very different in BrE makes it even more appalling that I missed them! There are some exceptions, of course. When I say "a little bit", it always sounds like "a liddle bit".

 

[andrewg927]

The fact that "t" and "d" sound very different in BrE makes it even more appalling that I missed them! There are some exceptions, of course. When I say "a little bit", it always sounds like "a liddle bit".

Yes. I have heard a British man say "see you ladder".

 

[andrewg927]

He said "see you later" but the t sounded like d. I sort of expected a pronounced T in that phrase from a British man. But I appreciate your imagination.

 

[emsr2d2]

It might sound like "layder" but not "ladder".

 

[andrewg927]

It might sound like "layder" but not "ladder".

Right. My bad.

 

[Tdol]

That would be a common pronunciation.