TONGUE TWISTERS
Tongue twisters are those tricky sentences which pop up in every language, forcing the native speakers or other users to "twist" their tongues in order to say them aloud. Tongue twisters are very common in English, and these ones mentioned below are divided in three categories (easy, medium and hard) according to their level of difficulty. The easy ones are marked *, the medium ones, ** and the hard ones, ***. Now, open up your mouth and try them... but be careful not to have your tongue stuck!
* She sells seashells at the seashore.
* Conrad couldn’t cut the copybook ‘cause he caught a cold.
* Mary met Mel in the maroon melting moon.
* Some summers suffocate several somersaulting seals.
* Ants and anteaters almost abuse one another after arriving at the antnest.
* Deejay Jacob Jack Jay Jones jabbed Junior Johnson during a jam jazz session.
** Frederic’s fork frequently falls in the feeble full flat folder.
** An arrow rarely reaches a ripping rope.
** Gorgeous girls grabbed great groovy grapes from Mr. Goggles’grocery store.
** Thorns tear the thick stalks twisting totally round them.
** Vladivostok views vanishing vultures voyaging in very vaporful valleys.
** Norman Neil knew that the new Neil Nelson will kneel near Nanny Nell.
** I heard she hurt her head and that her husband hit her heart.
*** The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick.
*** The welder welded well the well where Mr. Wells welded another well well.
*** Claude crawled in the clay cleft ‘cause Cleclonis cracked the crumbling crutch.
*** Ten tiny tin thornful tigers were tanned thoroughly together with tanned tin treated top tapes.
*** Flowered flat figures fling fast forward to flying floppy fans.
VOCABULARY BUILD-UP
1. Do these tongue twisters carry a meaning? Choose one of each type (easy, medium and hard) and explain the message.
2. What’s the main purpose of tongue twisters?
3. Can you say some tongue twisters in your mother tongue?
4. Which of the above do you like better? Why?