Tongue Twisters!

[DiesIrae]

I remember our speech teacher using tongue twisters before just to help us with our pronunciation. I haven't done it for quite a long time now so I guess it's time to dig up the ones we've used before.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers?

If Peter Piper Picked a peck of pickled peppers,

Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

She sells seashells by the seashore.

The shells she sells are surely seashells.

So if she sells shells on the seashore,

I'm sure she sells seashore shells.

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck

If a woodchuck could chuck wood?

He would chuck, he would, as much as he could,

And chuck as much as a woodchuck would

If a woodchuck could chuck wood.

Aside from these, I've said somewhere here how rapping's been also helpful for me in improving my spoken English. Some verses can even be like tongue twisters. How about you, what's your favourite tongue twister?

[jodiann12]

Personally, I don't really like tongue twisters. I did some of these in my high school drama class. I also did some when I was in elementary school. The one that was very popular with the teachers was the ones with the "seashells." I hated that tongue twister and got sick of hearing it quite easily. 

[LauraM]

Great topic!   I'm glad to hear that tongue twisters have helped you with pronunciation.

I can see how rap lyrics would also be effective.

I think tongue twisters are fun especially the ones that are also riddle rhymes. 

Here's one that follows the same structure as the "Woodchuck" twister you mentioned.

How much myrtle would a wood turtle hurdle

if a wood turtle could hurdle myrtle?

A wood turtle would hurdle as much myrtle

as a wood turtle could hurdle

if a wood turtle could hurdle myrtle.

Here's another one:

I know a boy named Tate

who dined with his girl at eight eight.

I'm unable to state what Tate ate at eight eight

or what Tate's tête à tête ate at eight eight.

[Preya_M]

I was never fond of tongue twisters. In my elementary school, it was just another way for bullies to tease you if you couldn't say it properly and it brings back some foul memories. Now that I'm older and away from that environment, I don't mind tongue twisters but sometimes they can really get me. I've never heard of that turtle one before.

[linguaholic]

Here some Swiss-German ones:

1 Fischers Fritz fischt frische Fische,

  frische Fische fischt Fischer's Fritz.

2 Lütis Lüti lütet lüter aus Lütis Lüti lütet.

3 Dr Papscht het ds Spiez ds Späckbschteck ds schpät bschteut.

The last one is really difficult  :shy:

[linguaholic]

I would like to add a chinese one as well  :grin:

牛郎念劉娘

劉娘念牛郎

牛郎年年念劉娘

劉娘年年念牛郎

(niúláng liàn liúniáng

liúniáng niàn niúláng

niúláng niánnián liàn liúniáng

liúniáng liánlián niàn niúláng.)

[thekernel]

This is the Guinness World Record for toughest (English) tongue twister:

"The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick"

Another tough one I remember from a brain teaser book in elementary school:

"Blue black bug's blood"

[justusforus]

Never thought of a tongue twister for learning, but seeing them written out shows me the sequential thought that would go into repeating (and understanding) one for a non-native speaker.  It never ceases to amaze me who these threads make you look at things in another way you had not even considered.

[leahcim132]

Here's mine: say it 5 times fast

Upper roller

Lower roller

[pcgamer]

It's in Hindi and really famous tongue twister - "Kaccha papad, pakka papad".

[linguaholic]

It's in Hindi and really famous tongue twister - "Kaccha papad, pakka papad".

What does it mean wowtgp?

[LauraM]

This is the Guinness World Record for toughest (English) tongue twister:

"The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick"

Another tough one I remember from a brain teaser book in elementary school:

"Blue black bug's blood"

Wow, that one is difficult to say!  I can see why it would get the Guinness World Record. 

Your other example is a tough one, too. 

Here's another one: 

She is a thistle-sifter.

She has a sieve of unsifted thistles

and a sieve of sifted thistles

and the sieve of unsifted thistles

she sifts into the sieve of sifted thistles

because she is a thistle-sifter.

[SpiralArchitect]

What does it mean wowtgp?

Kachha means uncooked. Pakka HERE means cooked and I am not sure what papad would be called in English. Hope this helps.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papadum

[GetFresh]

Those are some classic tongue twisters. Here's one I always have trouble saying: "Seven selfish shellfish". It gets me every time. I can't even get it down to this day.

[Miya]

It's in Hindi and really famous tongue twister - "Kaccha papad, pakka papad".

I actually just watched a Japanese show and it had this tongue twister in it 

For those who want to actually hear how it's said:

katcha papad pakka papad kacha papita pakka papita

[linguaholic]

Yesterday in Chinese class 文言, I had the following tongue twister:

之子之之之之道，吾亦知之。

You can have a guess what this means :=) You need some knowledge of 文言 though。

[SpiralArchitect]

I actually just watched a Japanese show and it had this tongue twister in it 

The accent completely butchers the phrase. I've always been curious about how a Japanese person would sound speaking in Hindi. Now I know. 

[LauraM]

Here are a couple more.  They may seem easy, but try saying them very fast a few times.  

There was a fisherman named Fisher

who fished for some fish in a fissure.

Till a fish with a grin,

pulled the fisherman in.

Now they're fishing the fissure for Fisher.

A twister of twists once twisted a twist.

and the twist that he twisted was a three-twisted twist.

now in twisting this twist,

if a twist should untwist,

would the twist that untwisted untwist the twists?

[GetFresh]

I found another one. I can say it correctly the first time, but the more I say it I am prone to just screw it up.

"Sheena leads, Sheila needs"

[kniera]

I personally don't use music nor does or teacher, but I feel like music really helps and stated above rap may be one of the best music genres to learn it.

[zambothegreat]

The ones I have the most difficulty with are the "sh" ones like "She sells seashells...". Here's tough one:

I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop.

Where she sits she shines, and where she shines she sits.

[Monox D. I-Fly]

On 10/12/2013 at 9:19 AM, LauraM said:

I know a boy named Tate

who dined with his girl at eight eight.

I'm unable to state what Tate ate at eight eight

or what Tate's tête à tête ate at eight eight.

What is "tête à tête"?