Are you feeling a little tired and drowsy in this terrible summer heat? Me too! I decided to try a few English tongue twisters (早口言葉）, to wake up your mind and your mouth. When I first learned Japanese tongue twisters, they were really good for practicing pronunciation, and learning about similar sounding Japanese. For example:
庭には二羽鶏がいる。 (niwa ni wa niwa niwatori ga iru) “There are two chickens in the garden.”
or even better,
にわの庭には二羽の鶏
バスガス爆発。 (Basu gasu bakuhatsu) ”Bus gas explosion.”
となりの客はよく柿食う客だ.。 (Tonari no kyaku wa yoku kaki kuu kyaku da) The guest next door is a guest who eats a lot of persimmons.
So today. here are a few English tongue twisters for you to try. Next time we meet, show me how well you can say them!
- Rubber baby buggy bumpers.
- Silly Sally sells seashells by the seashore. (good for practicing “S”)
- He threw three free throws. (for practicing “th”) also,
- Thirty-three thin thermometers.
- Free fried fish at Friday’s fish fry.
Let’s try two long ones: (I love these two!)
6. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
A woodchuck, would chuck, as much wood as a woodchuck could, if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
7. 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?
The most difficult tongue twister in English, good luck.
8. The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick. (I still can’t say this one).
9. If two witches would watch two watches, which witch would watch which watch? (good for “W” sound)
10. A big black bug bit a big black bear.
But where is the big black bear that the big black bug bit?
How is your tongue feeling now? Take a drink and try again.