I was wondering that there are few words without vowels such as shhhh, why etc. But does any body knows what word is used to call these words without vowels?
As fas as I know, there is no term that means "a word without vowels" except the obvious: vowelless. Maybe 'consonantal', the word that describes an alphbet with no vowels. This must necessarily restrict the meaning of vowel to the letters represent vowel sounds.
C
Well, a word such as "shhh" is an onomatopoeia ("pfff", "mmmm" etc...), but some have vowels in them ("aarrgghh", "burp", so this mustn't be the answer to your question.
I think in Italy there's almost no word without vowels...
When I googled Goldmund's suggested term, the only link google could find was this thread!
I think It's called the language of Rock and roll.They write' and' by n .Word no wowel.And the bee is written by b why by y and n in a guessing game ,they are called consonnant. Shh is onomatopea.
C
Why is pronounced as "wai", so it is not vowel-less phonetically speaking. Neither is rhythm, which is pronounced 'ri-[th]&m.
Chinese does have vowel-less words, like ng.
Phonetically, so are ri (日), si (四), and shi (是) since the i represents a fricative and not a conventional phonetic [ i ]. Don't you think?
I have seen «aphthongic». It is «without vowels». It is a humorous formation perhaps.
Kind regards,
Goldmund
Phuong ninh