What is a Tongue Twister?

"A tongue-twister is a phrase that is designed to be difficult to articulate properly.  Tongue-twisters may rely on similar but distinct phonemes (e.g., [s] and [sh]), unfamiliar constructs in loanwords, or other features of a language."  Source:  Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"

Basically, a tongue twister is an attempt to recite a tricky rhyme or phrase as fast as possible without tripping over the verbal challenges and hurdles lurking within those tongue-tying sentences.  All that sounds pretty complicated, but the bottom line is that tongue twisters are lots of fun!  Try saying these tongue twisters three times in a row as fast as you can:

The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick.
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Freshly-fried flying fish.

Tongue twisters exist in every language, and there are lots of well-known ones in English.  They are created by combining the effects of alliteration (repetition of a sound), particularly of similar but not identical sounds, with a phrase designed such that it is made very easy to slip (perhaps making a Spoonerism) accidentally, these sentences and poems can be guaranteed to provide us with lots of fun and laughter.  [A "Spoonerism" is a tongue twister specifically designed to cause the inadvertent pronunciation of a swearword if the speaker stumbles over the words.  You won't find any of these at BlackDog!]

Tongue twisters also serve a practical purpose in practising pronunciation.  English tongue twisters may be used by students learning English to improve their accent.  They may be used by actors trying to develop a particular accent.  Also, they are frequently used by speech therapists to help those with speech difficulties.  Some of the tongue twisters on BlackDog were contributed by a speech therapist.

When tongue twisters are used for these more serious reasons, they are divided into categories classifying them by the particular vowel or consonant sounds being practiced.  For example, the Peter Piper twister practices the 'P' sound.

What's the hardest tongue twister?  According to Guinness World Records, the hardest tongue-twister in the English language is:  "The sixth sick sheikh's sixth sheep's sick."

See BlackDog's Tongue Twisters

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