From: Gary Tefft / locustent@aol.com
Location: Menomonee Falls, WI
Date: 29 Oct 1998
Time: 23:23:40
Certainly, sibilance is a hissing sound, as in the letters "S" or "X" and alliteration is the repitition of a sound, or the recurrance of the same letter at the beginning of words in succession. Hence, Salt Shaker is an example of sibilant alliteration. Alliteration gives a sing-song rhythm to words that alone might be quite ordinary or even awkward or abrupt. "Salt Shaker" trips off the tongue more lightly and brings forth a mental image more quickly than "Pepper Shaker", don't you think?
A more extreme example sibilant alliteration is: Susie sells sea shells, down by the sea shore.
-Gary-