Tongue-twister
31551
226046421
2008-07-16T16:16:59Z
82.20.8.105
/* Repetition */
{{Refimprove|date=July 2007}}
A '''tongue-twister''' is a phrase that is designed to be difficult to articulate properly. Tongue-twisters may rely on similar but distinct [[phoneme]]s (e.g., ''s'' {{IPA|[s]}} and ''sh'' {{IPA|[ʃ]}}), unfamiliar constructs in [[loanword]]s, or other features of a language.
The hardest tongue-twister in the [[English language]] according to [[Guinness World Records]] is supposedly ''The sixth sick sheikh's sixth sheep's sick.'' [[William Poundstone]] claims that the hardest English tongue twister is "The seething sea ceaseth and thus the seething sea sufficeth us."<ref>[http://williampoundstone.net/Ultimate.html The Ultimate<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
== Repetition ==
Many tongue-twisters use a combination of [[alliteration]] and [[rhyme]]. They have two or three sequences of [[sound]]s, then the same sequences of sounds with some sounds exchanged. One example is [[Betty Botter]] ({{audio | En-Betty Botter.ogg | listen}}):
<blockquote>
Betty Botter bought a bit of butter.<br />
The butter Betty Botter bought was a bit bitter<br />
And made her batter bitter.<br />
But a bit of better butter<br />
Makes batter better.<br />
So Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter,<br />
Making Betty Botter's bitter batter better.
</blockquote>
Some tongue-twisters are short words or phrases, which become tongue-twisters when repeated rapidly, often expressed as "Say this ten times fast!".
<blockquote>
"Wet rain." <br />
"Peggy Babcock"<br />
"Thin Thing"<br />
"French friend"<br />
"Red Leather, yellow Leather"<br />
"Unique New York"<br />
"Sometimes sunshine"<br />
"Irish wristwatch"<br />
"Toy Boat."<br />
"Flammable Flanimal"<br />
"Tight Twat"<br />
"Big whip" is another that is difficult for some people to say quickly, due to the [[lip]] movement required between the "g" and "wh" sounds.
</blockquote>
Some well-known English tongue-twisters are:<br />
<blockquote>
Billy blew a blue bubble while bouncing on a bongo. <br />
</blockquote>
"[[Peter Piper]]":
<blockquote>
Peter Piper picked a [[peck]] of pickled peppers,<br />
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.<br />
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,<br />
How many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?<br />
<br />
But if Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,<br />
Were they pickled when he picked them from the vine?<br />
Or was Peter Piper pickled when he picked the pickled peppers<br />
Peppers picked from the pickled pepper vine?<br />
</blockquote>
"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck?":
<blockquote>
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck<br />
if a woodchuck could chuck wood?<br />
A woodchuck would chuck all the wood that he could<br />
if a woodchuck could chuck wood.<br />
<br>
A woodchuck<br />
would chuck<br />
all the wood he could<br />
if a woodchuck could chuck wood.<br />
</blockquote>
"Sick hicks":<br />
<blockquote>
Six sick hicks nick six slick bricks with picks and sticks.
</blockquote>
"Sister Suzie":<br />
<blockquote>
Sister Suzie sewing shirts for soldiers<br />
Such skill at sewing shirts<br />
Our shy young sister Suzie shows<br />
Some soldiers send epistles<br />
Say they'd rather sleep in thistles<br />
Than the saucy, soft short shirts for soldiers Sister Suzie sews <br />
</blockquote>
"She sells sea shells":<br />
<blockquote>
Sister Sue sells sea shells.<br />
She sells sea shells on shore.<br />
The shells she sells.<br />
Are sea shells she sees.<br />
Sure she sees shells she sells.<br />
</blockquote>
"Night light":
<blockquote>
You've known me to light a night light<br />
on a light night like tonight.<br />
</blockquote>
or a variation:
<blockquote>
There's no need to light a night light<br />
on a light night like tonight,<br />
for a night light's a slight light<br />
an a night like tonight.<br />
</blockquote>
"Thistle sifter":
<blockquote>
Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, <br />
in sifting thousands of unsifted thistles, <br />
thrust thrice three thousand thistles<br />
through the thick of his thumb.<br />
</blockquote>
"Jello":
<blockquote>
Orange jello, lemon jello,<br />
Orange jello, lemon jello,<br />
Orange jello, lemon jello. <br />
</blockquote>
This next one won grand prize in a contest in [[Games Magazine]] in [[1979]]{{Fact|date=July 2007}}: (Contest announced in issue of November/December 1979; results announced in issue of March/April 1980).
<blockquote>
Shep Schwab shopped at Scott's Schnapps shop;<br />
One shot of Scott's Schnapps stopped Schwab's watch.<br />
</blockquote>
== Spoonerisms ==
Some tongue-twisters are specifically designed to cause the inadvertent pronunciation of a [[profanity|swearword]] if the speaker stumbles verbally (see [[spoonerism]]). An example in [[Polish language|Polish]] is ''ząb, zupa zębowa, dąb, zupa dębowa'' (''a tooth, tooth soup, an oak, oak soup''). The word ''dąb'' forces an unsuspecting victim to further utter ''dupa dębowa'' (''oak [[arse]]'').
An [[English language|English]] example of this sort:
<blockquote>
I'm not the [[pheasant]] plucker, I'm the pheasant plucker's mate,<br />
And I'm only plucking pheasants 'cause the pheasant plucker's late.<br />
I'm not the pheasant plucker, I'm the pheasant plucker's son,<br />
And I'm only plucking pheasants till the pheasant pluckers come.
</blockquote>
Or another:
<blockquote>
I'm a sheet slitter<br />
If sheets need slitting,<br />
Sheets I slit.
</blockquote>
Or another:
</blockquote>
I'm a sock cutter
and I cut socks.
</blockquote>
And Another
<blockquote>
Fuzzy Wuzzy<br />
Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear<br />
Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair <br />
Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't fuzzy,<br />
was he?<br />
</blockquote>
== Loanwords and other language elements ==
Certain [[loanword]]s contain unfamiliar constructs, which are used in tongue-twisters. For example, [[Finnish language|Finnish]] ''strutsin perhe'' (''the family of an ostrich'') has the [[consonant cluster]] "str", whereas such consonant clusters do not occur in native Finnish words. Repeated, this might be pronounced as "strutsin perse" ("ostrich's arse").
Other features of language can make for tongue-twisters; for instance, the [[Czech language|Czech]] ''[[strč prst skrz krk]]'' (stick a finger through the throat) relies on the absence of vowels, although [[syllabic consonant|syllabic r]] is a normal Czech sound.
== Non-English ==
There are tongue twisters in every [[language]]. An example of a ''[http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabalenguas#En_espa.C3.B1ol trabalenguas]'' (as it is called in [[Spanish language|Spanish]]) is "Rosa reza por la raza rusa, pero para, porque para pura risa por la raza rusa reza Rosa" which roughly means "Rose prays for the Russian race but stops because laughing is what Rose does when praying for the Russian race."
One [[Japanese language|Japanese]] twister (attempted by child genius [[Chiyo Mihama]] in the [[Anime]] series ''[[Azumanga Daioh]]'') is ''Basu Gasu Bakuhatsu, Busu Basu Gaido'', meaning "Bus Gas Explosion, Ugly Bus Guide." Another (as heard on ''[[Please Come Home... Mr. Bulbous]]'') is ''Tonari No Kyaku Wa Yoku Kaki Kuu Kyaku Da'', meaning "The customer next to me eats a lot of persimmons (or oysters)".
An example in [[Polish language|Polish]] is "Król Karol kupił królowej Karolinie korale koloru koralowego" (King Charles bought Queen Caroline a coral colour necklace). And other like: "W Szczebrzeszynie [[chrząszcz]] brzmi w trzcinie" (In Szczebrzeszyn a beetle buzzes in the reed) or "Stół z powyłamywanymi nogami" (Table with legs broken out).
In [[Scouse]], the dialect of the English city of [[Liverpool]], it is common to say ''They do, though, don't they, though''. In Scouse this is easy as all of the diagraphs 'th' are pronounced as a 'd', but saying it quickly in Standard RP or GA ([[:image:GA they do though don't they though.ogg|hear GA]]) can be very difficult.
In the Philippines, popular tongue-twisters spread. These are: "Minikaniko ni Moniko ang makina ng minika ni Monika", "Botika, Bituka, Butiki" and the one word, "Nakakapagpabagabag".
In [[Czech Language|Czech]] is well known the: Tři sta třicet tři stříbrných stříkaček stříkalo přes tři sta třicet tři stříbrných střech. Which means 333 silver syringes squirted over 333 silver roofs.
The most famous [[French language|French]] twister (called ''"virelangue"'') is certainly ''"Un chasseur sachant chasser doit savoir chasser sans son chien"'', meaning "a hunter who knows how to hunt knows how to hunt without his dog".
The [[sign language]] equivalent of a tongue twister is called a finger fumbler. According to Susan Fischer, the phrase ''Good blood, bad blood'' is a tongue-twister in English as well as a finger-fumbler in [[American Sign Language|ASL]].<ref>http://www.umich.edu/~archive/linguistics/linguist.list/volume.2/no.251-300</ref>
== References ==
<references />
== See also ==
* [[spoonerism]]
* [[malapropism]]
==External links==
{{wikiquote|Transwiki:List of tongue-twisters|Tongue-twisters}}
{{Commonscat|Tongue twisters}}
* [http://www.uebersetzung.at/twister/index.htm 1st International Collection of Tongue Twisters] – 2712 examples in 107 languages as of September 4, 2006
[[Category:Word games]]
[[Category:Tongue twister]]
[[ay:Laxra chinja]]
[[ca:Embarbussament]]
[[cs:Jazykolam]]
[[de:Zungenbrecher]]
[[el:Γλωσσοδέτης]]
[[es:Trabalenguas]]
[[eo:Langrompilo]]
[[fr:Virelangue]]
[[fy:Tongbrekkerssechje]]
[[ko:발음하기 힘든 한국어 문장]]
[[it:Scioglilingua]]
[[he:משפט שובר שיניים]]
[[hu:Nyelvtörő]]
[[lt:Greitakalbė]]
[[nl:Tongbreker]]
[[ja:早口言葉]]
[[no:Tungekrøll]]
[[oc:Viralenga]]
[[pl:Łamaniec językowy]]
[[pt:Trava-línguas]]
[[ru:Скороговорка]]
[[simple:Tongue-twister]]
[[tr:Tekerleme (edebiyat)]]
[[wa:Toitche-linwe]]
[[zh:绕口令]]