Tongue Twisters What is a Tongue Twister? How are they used? Tongue twisters are sentences containing alliteration. Alliteration refers to the same phonetic sound repeated at the beginning of each word, for several words. For example, “Sally sang songs on Sundays.” repeats the “s” sound many times. Most tongue twisters use rhyme and alliteration. Rhyme is an important aspect of tongue twisters because it makes them easier to remember. Tongue twisters have also been used in scientific research as part of the effort to prove reading silently still requires speech articulation as if the words were being read aloud. Tongue Twisters are hard to say because the repetition of the same phonetic sound creates issues with pronunciation and clarity of words. Native English speakers find great fun in learning tongue twisters because many people turn them into games to see how many people can say them three times, fast. Tongue twisters are a great way to introduce the concept of alliteration and help those trying to learn English better understand the language. Practicing tongue twisters allows people who are learning English to strengthen their speech skills. The faster a person can say the tongue twister without slipping up, the stronger their language skills become. What Makes Tongue Twisters Difficult to Say Tongue twisters use a variety of techniques to make them difficult to say, in addition to alliteration.
Shifting from single sounds to double sounds, such as a shift from “s” to “sh.”
Changing the order of the sounds, because our muscle memory wants to return to the first way the words are said.
Similar yet different sounds, such as a rhyme where only the first sound changes.
Homophones, or the use of words that sound the same and are spelled differently, such as “would” and “wood.”
There are many different tongue twisters in the English language. Some of the most popular are:
“How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?”
“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 sea shells down by the sea shore.”
“A big black bug bit a big black bear, made the big black bear bleed blood. “
If two witches were watching two watches, which witch would watch which watch?”
Other tongue twisters, known as Spoonerisms in the English language, are specifically created to cause an accidental curse word to be uttered if the person reciting the rhyme slips up.
Tongue Twisters for Pronunciation Practice+ Free Mp3 Downloads
Easy Tongue Twisters Easy English Tongue Twisters + mp3 Downloads . The mp3 downloads have a higher sound quality than the online versions. The downloadable mp3 are for ESL teachers and students who want to carry the files away on PC or Ipods. 1. Big black bear : A big black bug bit the big black bear, but the big black bear bit the big black bug back!Download this mp3 1/ mp3 2 2. clam cream can: How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?Download this mp3 3. Four furious friends: Four furious friends fought for the phone.Download this mp3 4. Green glass globes: Green glass globes glow greenly.Download this mp3 5. Ice cream : I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!.Download this mp3 6. Sandwich sane witch: There's a sandwich on the sand which was sent by a sane witch.Download this mp3 7. Spell New York: Knife and a fork, bottle and a cork, that is the way you spell New York.Download this mp3 8. I saw Susie: I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop.Download this mp3 Medium Tongue Twisters- Try these slightly more difficult tongue twisters
1. Can you can a can: Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?Download this mp3
2. Copyright: When you write copy you have the right to copyright the copy you write.Download this mp3 3. Fuzzy wuzzy: Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear, Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair, Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't very fuzzy, was he?Download this mp3 4. Good cook : How many cookies could a good cook cook If a good cook could cook cookies? A good cook could cook as much cookies as a good cook who could cook cookies.Download this mp3 5. How many cans ?: How many cans can a cannibal nibble, if a cannibal can nibble cans? As many cans as a cannibal can nibble if a cannibal can nibble cans.Download this mp3 6. I have got a date: I have got a date at a quarter to eight; I’ll see you at the gate,so don’t be late.Download this mp3 7. I thought of thinking: I thought, I thought of thinking of thanking you.Download this mp3 8. one one : One-one was a race horse. Two-two was one too. One-one won one race. Two-two won one too.Download this mp3 9. Peter piper: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?Download this mp3 10. Seven slick snails: Seven slick slimy snails, slowly sliding southward.Download this mp3 11. Spell chicago: Chicken in the car and the car can go, that is the way you spell Chicago. Download this mp3 12. Thirty three thieves: The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.Download this mp3 13. Two witches, two watches: If two witches would watch two watches, which witch would watch which watch?Download this mp3 14. Understand: If you understand, say ""understand"". If you don't understand, say ""don't understand"". But if you understand and say ""don't understand"". how do I understand that you understand?Download this mp3 15. Whether the weather: Whether the weather be fine, or whether the weather be not. Whether the weather be cold, or whether the weather be hot. We'll weather the weather whether we like it or not.Download this mp3 Difficult English Tongue Twisters
1. Betty butter: Betty bought some butter, but the butter Betty bought was bitter, so Betty bought some better butter, and the better butter Betty bought was better than the bitter butter Betty bought before!Download this mp3 2. Biscuit mixer: I bought a bit of baking powder and baked a batch of biscuits. I brought a big basket of biscuits back to the bakery and baked a basket of big biscuits. Then I took the big basket of biscuits and the basket of big biscuits and mixed the big biscuits with the basket of biscuits that was next to the big basket and put a bunch of biscuits from the basket into a biscuit mixer and brought the basket of biscuits and the box of mixed biscuits and the biscuit mixer to the bakery and opened a tin of sardines. Download this mp3 3. Doctor doctoring: When a doctor doctors a doctor, does the doctor doing the doctoring doctor as the doctor being doctored wants to be doctored or does the doctor doing the doctoring doctor as he wants to doctor?Download this mp3 4. Mary Mac: Mary Mac's mother's making Mary Mac marry me. My mother's making me marry Mary Mac. Will I always be so Merry when Mary's taking care of me? Will I always be so merry when I marry Mary Mac? Download this mp3 5. Nature watcher: Out in the pasture the nature watcher watches the catcher. While the catcher watches the pitcher who pitches the balls. Whether the temperature's up or whether the temperature's down, the nature watcher, the catcher and the pitcher are always around. The pitcher pitches, the catcher catches and the watcher watches. So whether the temperature's rises or whether the temperature falls the nature watcher just watches the catcher who's watching the pitcher who's watching the balls. Download this mp3 by Sharon Johnson 6. Wish to wish: I wish to wish the wish you wish to wish, but if you wish the wish the witch wishes, I won't wish the wish you wish to wish.Download this mp3
Tongue-Twisters
A tongue-twister is a sequence of words that is difficult to pronounce quickly and correctly. Even native English speakers find the tongue-twisters on this page difficult to say quickly. Try them yourself. Try to say them as fast as possible, but correctly!
A proper copper coffee pot.
Around the rugged rocks the ragged rascals ran.
Long legged ladies last longer.
Mixed biscuits, mixed biscuits.
A box of biscuits, a box of mixed biscuits and a biscuit mixer!
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper. Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled pepper? If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper, Where's the peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked?
Pink lorry, yellow lorry.
Red leather, yellow leather, red leather, yellow leather.
She sells sea-shells on the sea-shore.
The sixth sick Sheik's sixth sheep is sick. [Sometimes described as the hardest tongue-twister in the English language.]
Swan swam over the pond, Swim swan swim! Swan swam back again -
Well swum swan!
Three grey geese in green fields grazing.
We surely shall see the sun shine soon. Betty Botter had some butter, "But," she said, "This butter is bitter! "If I put it in my batter, "It will make my batter bitter! "But a bit of better butter, "That will make my batter better." So Betty Botter bought some butter Better than her bitter butter, And she put it in her batter, And her batter was not bitter. (So, it was better Betty Botter (Bought a bit of better butter.)march
Definition: In phonetics, a stop sound made by rapidly closing the vocal cords. See also:
Consonant
Stop (Phonetics)
Voice (Phonetics)
Examples and Observations:
"Glottalization is a general term for any articulation involving a simultaneous constriction, especially a glottal stop. In English, glottal stops are often used in this way to reinforce a voiceless plosive at the end of a word, as in what?" (David Crystal, A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. Blackwell, 1997)
"We often make this stop--it's the sound we make when we say 'uh-oh.' In some languages, this is a separate consonant sound, but in English we often use it with d, t, k, g, b or p when one of those sounds happens at the end of a word or syllable. . . . We close the vocal cords very sharply and make the air stop for just a moment. We don't let the air escape. "This glottal stop is the last sound of these words: o
words: light . . . flight . . . put . . . take . . . make . . . trip . . . report
o
multisyllable words: stoplight . . . apartment . . . backseat . . . assortment . . . workload . . . upbeat
o
phrases: right now . . . talk back . . . cook the books . . . hate mail . . . fax machine . . . back-breaking
You also hear it in words and syllables that end in t + a vowel + n. We don't say the vowel at all, so we say the t + n: button . . . cotton . . . kitten . . . Clinton . . . continent . . . forgotten . . . sentence." (Charlsie Childs, Improve Your American English Accent. McGraw Hill, 2004)
"Nowadays younger speakers of many forms of British English have glottal stops at the ends of words such as cap, cat, and back. A generation or so ago speakers of BBC English would have regarded such a pronunciation as improper, almost as bad as producing a glottal stop between vowels in the London Cockney pronunciation of butter . . .. In America nearly everybody has a glottal stop in button and bitten . . .." (Peter Ladefoged, Vowels and Consonants: An Introduction to the Sounds of Languages, Vol. 1, 2nd ed. Blackwell, 2005)
