Final answer:
Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds within words that don't end with the same consonant. Words with a VCC pattern usually have a short first vowel, while those with a VCV pattern have a long first vowel, and this can change with vowels before 'r'.
Step-by-step explanation:
The pattern of repetition of vowel sounds in words that don't end with the same consonant is known as assonance. When analyzing words to find the pattern of vowel and consonant sounds, one might mark the first vowel with a 'v' and the next two letters either 'c' for consonant or 'v' for vowel. In this case, one might find a VCC pattern, where the first vowel is typically short, or a VCV pattern, where the first vowel is usually long. This distinction is particularly noticeable in words ending with '-le', where 'VCCle' indicates a short vowel and 'VCle' indicates a long vowel sound. Examples include the word 'latter' which has the VCC pattern with a short first vowel, whereas the word 'later' exhibits the VCV pattern with a long first vowel.
Vowels before the letter 'r' can have a different pronunciation compared to other vowels, as seen in the word 'dare', where the 'a' is pronounced closer to the sound [e], and differs from the 'a' in 'date', 'dame', and 'dale'.