Every day we encounter a foreign language, we have to study its phonetic features. Sometimes quite complex elements require lengthy training. But there is a way to solve this problem! Tongue Twisters. They were invented not only for fun, not to break the tongue. No, to learn to “speak clearly.” Do you want to have clear, correct and fast speech, like the British?
Tongue twisters in English can be short or long, simple or complex. Before you say everything, think about what sound you would like to perfect. After all, each rhyme is individual. For example, it can be aimed at producing plosives and interdental sounds, labial and nasal, fricatives and sonorants!
The real effect will be achieved if you read them out loud and repeat until noticeable progress is made. Moreover, they are easy to remember, and after several readings, you will pronounce the “pure saying” by heart. There are special audio courses that allow you to listen to each tongue twister. In addition to all the useful things, you will give yourself a lot of pleasure with funny, “hard to pronounce” phrases.
English tongue twisters for children and adults
By quickly pronouncing words in English, children have fun, it seems to them fun game rather than a tedious learning process. For kids, choose light and small tongue twisters, which can also be used as an addition to phonetic exercises. Don’t force yourself to learn 3 pieces a day: it’s better to do one or two in a month, but master them perfectly.
Start exercising your speech apparatus every day using the following English tongue twisters with translation:
| These thousand tricky tongue twisters trip thrillingly off the tongue. | Thousands of clever tongue twisters escape the tongue. |
| The two-twenty-two train tore through the tunnel. | Twenty-two trains burst through the tunnel. |
| 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. How many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick? | Piper Peter collected a bunch of salted peppers. Piper Peter collected a bunch of collected peppers. If the piper Peter collected a bunch of salted peppers. How many salted peppers did Peter collect? |
| The great Greek grape growers grow great Greek grapes. | Graceful clusters of Greek grapes grow in the grandiose Greek vineyards. |
| There’s a sandwich on the sand which was sent by a sane witch. | On the sand is a sandwich sent by a sensible witch. |
| How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? | How much wood would a woodchuck throw if a woodchuck could throw wood? |
| William always wears a very warm woolen vest in winter. Victor, however, will never wear woolen underwear even in the Wild Wild West. | William always wears a very warm wool vest in winter. Victor, however, would never wear woolen underwear, even in the Wild Wild West. |
| I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop. Where she sits she shines, and where she shines she sits. | I saw Susie sitting in the shoe shine shop. She sits where she cleans and cleans where she sits. |
| She sells sea shells at the sea shore, the shells she sells are the sea-shore shells, I’m sure. | She sells seashells on the seashore; The shells she sells are seashells, I'm sure of it. |
| Green glass globes glow green. | Green glass of a round shape glows with greenery. |
| Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager managing an imaginary menagerie? | Can you imagine an imaginary zoo manager running an imaginary zoo? |
| Good blood, bad blood. | Good blood, bad blood. |
| I scream, you scream, all we scream for ice cream! | I scream, and you scream, we all scream: ice cream! |
| Any noise annoys an oyster but a noisier noise annoys an oyster most. | Any noise annoys the oyster, but louder noise annoys the oyster even more. |
| One smart man, he felt smart. Two smart men, they both felt smart. Three smart men, they all felt smart. | One smart man felt smart. Two smart person- felt smarter. Three smart people felt like the smartest. |
We have learned to quickly say rhymes, but we really want to know what meaning it hides. Many do not even advise looking there, calling it a thankless task. After all, a literal translation will not give anything, and some of them do not contain any meaning at all, just a collection of “nice-sounding words.” For example:
Rubber baby buggy bumpers
However, some of them carry a certain meaning. Of course, when translated it sounds the same English tongue twisters It won’t work, but you will understand what these words mean. Finding an exact Russian equivalent is difficult, because every rhyme is a “play” of English words.
These thousand tricky tongue twisters trip thrillingly off the tongue. — Thousands of clever tongue twisters escape the tongue.
How to work with tongue twisters in English?
There is nothing super new or complicated here. Just like in the Russian language: we start with simple ones, gradually increase “sound” skills and complicate the program. Remember that you first need to learn to read each pure phrase correctly, carefully pronounce each sound, then, starting at a slow pace, gradually increase the speed. But, having said it several times, do not throw the studied material into a distant drawer, repeat it again and again. This is an excellent warm-up for the speech apparatus before class.
Well! Are you ready to achieve perfect pronunciation and get rid of your accent? Then go for it! Your best helpers in this will be tongue twisters, by pronouncing which you will have fun and improve at the same time. And day after day your speech approaches ideal.
Hello my dear readers.
We all know very well that the sounds of English speech sometimes differ from Russian and do not always find analogues. And the problem of pronouncing certain sounds is faced not only by small children, for whom this is almost normal, but also by many adults who...
In connection with such an urgent problem, I have prepared a special lesson for you: tongue twisters in English. Tongue twisters for practicing sounds are waiting for you - with pronunciation and translation into Russian. At the end I added another interesting video on the topic).
Let's practice
I have no doubt that the most problematic sound for both children and adults is the interdental sound "th" . I have prepared for you several tongue twisters for interdental sounds with audio.
| These brothers bathe with those brothers, Those brothers bathe with these brothers. If these brothers didn't bathe with those brothers, Would those brothers bathe with these brothers? | These brothers bathe with those brothers Those brothers are bathing with those brothers. If these brothers had not bathed with those brothers, Would those brothers swim with those brothers? |
| I thought a thought. But the thought I thought wasn't the thought I thought I thought. | I thought a thought. But the thought I was thinking was not the thought I was thinking. |
| Thirty thousand thirsty thieves thundered through the thicket. | Thirty thousand thirsty thieves thundered through the thicket. |
The second most popular group of sounds is whistling sounds. "s" . But I won’t leave you here either. Here are simple and short phrases for you.
It is equally important to use sound correctly "sh" . Catch easy-to-learn tongue twisters.
Quite problematic sounds sometimes become "f" And "w" . But don't worry, I took care of them too.
| Four furious friends fought for the phone. | Four furious friends fought over the phone. |
| Fat frogs flying past fast | Fat frogs flew quickly past. |
| Five fat friars frying flat fish. | Five fat monks were frying flat fish. |
| There was a young fisher named Fisher who fished for a fish in a fissure. | There lived a young fisherman named Fischer who fished in an ice hole. |
| If two witches would watch two watches, which witch would watch which watch? | If sorceresses looked at two clocks, which sorceress would look at which clock? |
And last but not least the sound "j". It would seem that there should be no problems with it, but it still happens. So here are short and easy sentences for you.
| Jean jellies ginger jam in June, Jess jellies ginger jam in July. If Jean didn't jelly ginger jam in June, Could Jess jelly ginger jam in July? | Gin gels ginger jam in June, Jess gels ginger jam in July. If Jean hadn't made ginger jam in June, Would Jess have ginger jam in July? |
| Judy Jones jigs with Jim James, Jozy James lives with Job Jones. If Judy Jones didn't jig with Jim James, Could Jozy James live with Job Jones? | Judy Jones dances a jig with Jim James Josie James jives with Job Jones. If Judy Jones hadn't danced a jig with Jim James Would Josie James jive with Job Jones? |
Tongue twisters for children in video
Tongue twisters for adults and children in the video:
How to develop speech using tongue twisters
And now I want to tell you how best to work with English tongue twisters in order to achieve the effect in the shortest possible time.
- Divide the tongue twisters into sounds.
It sounds strange, of course, but it is true. Don't try to cover something that immediately causes a set of problems. Go in order. If you have problems with sound – th, then start with tongue twisters for this sound. Then, having mastered one, move on to the next group.
- Read the tongue twister carefully.
You shouldn’t immediately try to “shoot” everything that is there like a meteor. Will not work.
- Analyze each word: its meaning and sound.
This is not the most necessary part of preparation, but if you are already learning, why not memorize new vocabulary?
- And just now try to slowly read the entire tongue twister out loud.
Read the tongue twister slowly and confidently until you read it without a single mistake.
- Gradually increase your speaking rate.
And only now, when you have gone through all the stages, can you try to increase the pace of your speech and pronounce it as quickly as possible each time. But important point here it is precisely gradual.
Well, my dears, have you already tasted each tongue twister?)
And now more tongue twisters as well as live English speech from the lips of two cheerful young people in this video:
I am sure that you are obedient students. If you want to receive even more information that will help you quickly and effectively improve your English, then subscribe to my blog newsletter. Before you know it, your English will completely change in a couple of months.
In the meantime, I say goodbye.
Until we meet again, my dears.
Read the best quotes in English -
Find out about the most popular English sayings -
I offer you a selection of more than 50 English tongue twisters. Of these, 21 have voice acting. All tongue twisters for children and adults, for different levels: from beginner to advanced. We start with not the most difficult phrases. Tongue twisters are aimed at practicing the pronunciation of different sounds: TH, L-R, S-SH-CK, D-J, TW, etc. This is a very useful English pronunciation practice for those who want to get closer to the accent of native speakers.
How to train
- Start slow.
- Read the entire sentence clearly, every word.
- Repeat the tongue twister faster each time, maintaining clarity of pronunciation.
- On audio, the announcer reads the tongue twister, first slowly, then quickly.
- Try to repeat after a native speaker.
- Be sure to record yourself on audio and compare your progress after 30-50 attempts to pronounce one tongue twister.
3. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.
6. A big black bug bit a big black dog on his big black nose.
12. Fresh fried fish, fresh fried fish, fried fresh fish, fresh fried fish.
16. Give papa a cup of proper coffee in a copper coffee cup.
17. The big bug bit the little beetle, but the little beetle bit the big bug back.
18. Whether the weather is warm, whether the weather is hot, we have to put up with the weather, whether we like it or not.
19. Eleven elves licked eleven little liquorice lollipops.
21. Is it this that those these and a or for when then I eat cake.
Slim slam slap.
Toy boat. Toy boat. Toy boat.
Truly rural.
Good blood, bad blood.
Rolling red wagons.
You know New York,
You need New York,
You know you need unique New York.
Quick kiss. Quicker kiss. Quickest kiss.
Thin sticks, thick bricks.
Six thick thistle sticks.
Quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly.
Kiss her quick, kiss her quicker, kiss her quickest.
My cutlery cuts keenly and cleanly.
Literally literary.
Larry sent the latter a letter later.
Lucy lingered, looking longingly for her lost lap-dog.
Lovely lemon liniment.
Fred fed Ted bread and Ted fed Fred bread.
Tongue twisters for practicing the sound [b]:
- The big black bug bit the big black bear, but the big black bear bit the big black bug back!
- A big black bug bit a big black dog on his big black nose!
- Busy buzzing bumble bees.
- A big black bear sat on a big black bug.
- Betty Botter bought some butter but she said the butter"s bitter.
- If I put it in my batter it will make my batter bitter.
So, she bought some better butter, better than the bitter butter and she put it in her batter and her batter was not bitter.
So "twas good that Betty Botter bought some better butter.
Tongue twisters for practicing the sound [k]:
- How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?
- 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.
Tongue twisters for practicing the sound [p]:
- 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? - Pirates Private Property
- Elizabeth's birthday is on the third Thursday of this month.
- The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.
- There those thousand thinkers were thinking how did the other three thieves go through.
- I thought…I thought of thinking of thanking you.
- Nothing is worth thousands of deaths.
Tongue twisters for practicing sound:
- I wish you were a fish in my dish.
- I shot the city sheriff.
I shot the city sheriff.
I shot the city sheriff.
Tongue twisters for practicing the sound [f]:
- There was a fisherman named Fisher who fished for some fish in a fissure.
Till a fish with a grin, pulled the fisherman in.
Now they"re fishing the fissure for Fisher. - Four furious friends fought for the phone.
- Love"s a feeling you feel when you feel you"re going to feel the feeling you"ve never felt before.
- I am not a pheasant plucker,
I'm a pheasant plucker's son
but I"ll be plucking pheasants
When the pheasant plucker's gone.
Tongue twisters for practicing the sound [d]:
- Did Doug dig Dick"s garden or did Dick dig Doug"s garden?
Tongue twisters for practicing the sound [t]:
What a terrible tongue twister,
What a terrible tongue twister...- Two tiny tigers take two taxis to town.
- I know a boy named Tate who dined with his girl at eight eight.
I"m unable to state what Tate ate at eight eight or what Tate"s tete a tete ate at eight eight. - To begin to toboggan first, buy a toboggan.
But do not buy too big a toboggan!
Too big a toboggan is too big a toboggan to buy to begin to toboggan.
Tongue twisters for practicing the sound [w]:
- 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.
- While we were walking, we were watching window washers wash Washington"s windows with warm washing water.
- If two witches would watch two watches, which witch would watch which watch?
Tongue twisters for practicing the sound [tw]:
- A twister of twists once twisted a twist;
A twist that he twisted was a three-twisted twist;
If in twisting a twist one twist should untwist,
The untwisted twist would untwist the twist.
Tongue twisters for practicing the sound [m]:
- 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?
Tongue twisters for practicing the sound [s]:
- When I was in Arkansas I saw a saw that could outsaw any other saw I ever saw, saw.
If you"ve got a saw that can outsaw the saw I saw saw then I"d like to see your saw saw. - Six slimy snails sailed silently.
- Singing Sammy sung songs on sinking sand.
- There once was a man who had a sister, his name was Mr. Fister. Mr. Fister's sister sold sea shells by the sea shore.
Mr. Fister didn't sell sea shells, he sold silk sheets. Mr. Fister told his sister that he sold six silk sheets to six shieks.
The sister of Mr. Fister said I sold six shells to six shieks too! - Sally sells sea shells by the sea shore. But if Sally sells sea shells by the sea shore then where are the sea shells Sally sells?
Tongue twisters for practicing the sound [i:]:
- The queen in green screamed.
- I eat eel while you peel eel.
And :
- The owner of the inside inn was inside his inside inn with his inside outside his inside inn.
Tongue twisters for practicing sound:
- What noise annoys an oyster most?
A noisy noise annoys an oyster most. - A noise annoys an oyster, but a noisy noise annoys an oyster more!
Tongue twisters for practicing the sound [ou]:
- If you notice this notice, you will notice that this notice is not worth noticing.
Tongue twisters for practicing sounds and [a:]:
- 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 what you understand. Understand!? - Come, come,
Stay calm, stay calm,
No need for alarm
It only hums
It doesn't harm.
Tongue twisters for practicing various sounds:
Spread it thick, say it quick!
Yellow butter, purple jelly, red jam, black bread.
Spread it thicker, say it quicker!
Yellow butter, purple jelly, red jam, black bread.
Don't eat with your mouth full!- Dr. Johnson and Mr. Johnson, after great consideration, came to the conclusion that the Indian nation beyond the Indian Ocean is back in education because the chief occupation is cultivation.
The Greek was driving through the river, he sees the Greek in the river crawfish... It’s funny, and most importantly, it’s not difficult to pronounce the tongue twister in this form. But if we ask you to voice everything that we have prepared today, then difficulties may arise.
You need tongue twisters for fluent and fast English speech, so that you cannot be distinguished from native speakers. By pronouncing them as often as possible, your tongue will definitely not become your enemy. Get ready to stretch it, because today we present to you the twenty most insidious tongue twisters in English. Let's take a look inside! C'mon.
In fact, tongue twisters don't twist your tongue,they twsit your brain. All conversations are quite a difficult event for our body as a whole. Judge for yourself - when we speak, we must coordinate the movements of the lips, tongue, jaw and larynx, etc. So, our brain, to help us in this complex matter, sorts sounds, for the pronunciation of which the muscles must move in a special order.
Sometimes the difficulty with pronunciation is that the speech part of our brain sets specific rules and places for the different sounds we make. Everything is laid out on the shelves (for normal people).
Thus, sometimes when sounds come out of your mouth, such as sibilant "ss" and "sh", or others that you use the same part of your mouth to pronounce (for example, resting the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth for "tee" sounds ” or “dee”), the brain can get confused and cause us to “stumble over” when pronouncing words. That's the way the ball bounces...
Can you repeat these English tongue twisters?
"Tongue twisters are hard because the representations inthe brain greatly overlaps." (c) Edward Chang (University of California, San Francisco).
“Tongue twisters are difficult because the images in the brain overlap a lot with each other.” (c) Edward Cheng (neuroscientist at the University of California, San Francisco).
Now that you know how it works, check how quickly you can pronounce the following tongue twisters. Just don't break your tongue!
- Red lorry, yellow lorry.
- I wish to wash my Irish wristwatch.
- How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?
- Send toast to ten tense stout saints’ ten tall tents.
- Six sick hicks nick six slick bricks with picks and sticks.
lorry- truck
wrist watch- wrist watch
stout- strong, durable, dense
tents- tents
clam- mollusk, shell of a mollusk
cram- crowd, push, squeeze in, cram
cream can- milk can
hick- farmer, collective farmer, hillbilly, redneck, Puerto Rican
nick- cut, trim, make a mark
slick bricks- slippery bricks
picks and sticks- pointed tools, picks
We decided not to bother with translating sentences, since there is no important, no deep meaning (for example, one of the most difficult patters (about a sick sheep) sounds like this: “ The sixth sick sheik "s sixth sheep"s sick”, and translates as: “The sixth sheep of the sixth sick sheikh is sick” (Weeeeeeeeeell?) Therefore, we suggest concentrating on pronunciation. First, try to pronounce all the tongue twisters in turn and not get lost. And then, say each of them 10 times, without hesitation. It"s a challenge now. And it"s on!
Watch these guys try to break their tongues in the video below and let it inspire you.
By the way, quite recently (November 12th) the International Day of
tongue twisters Have you tried to tie your tongue in a knot on this day? In addition, a little later (November 14), in addition to the official heroes of the occasion, everyone upset and dissatisfied with their languages could also celebrate International Speech Pathologist Day.
Researchers from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA) created the most difficult tongue twister in the world and forced poor students to take part in terrible experiments (they had to say it as many as 10 times). According to scientists, not a single person in the world can pronounce this tongue twister, and some even stop speaking for a while! Yes of course. What do they know about a cap that is not sewn in the Kolpakov style!
So, an American tongue twister about a boy who poured out curdled milk and pulled out a cod. This tongue twister looks like this:
- Pad kid poured curd pulled code.
During the study, subjects were also asked to repeat the phrase: “the top cop saw a cop top,” which also caused them to become confused. The entire process was audio-recorded by sadistic linguists to compare and analyze speech errors. The problem mainly arose because the speaker was trying to pronounce 2 different sounds simultaneously. For example, he pronounced “tkop”/“ktop” or “tuh-kop” instead of “top”. Common situation?
What do you know about Peter Piper? The one that started it all. About Peter, who picked out a variety of pickled peppers to fortify himself. And this, by the way, was a real person who was famous for his exquisite taste in spices, as a result of which he was immortalized. He was a gardener of French origin and had only one hand, so gardening was a rather difficult process for him. Piper loved to get his spice seeds while at the forefront of attack and the roar of a cannonball. Yes, he was a pirate. So, when a nutmeg fell into his hands (i.e., in his hand), he composed these lines: “ Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers».
- If two witches were watching two watches, which witch would watch which
watch? - The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.
- You know New York, you need New York, you know you need unique New York.
- He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.(Stephen King)
- 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.
- If you must cross a course cross cow across a crowded cow crossing, cross the cross coarse cow across the crowded cow crossing carefully.
- Can you can a canned can into an uncanned can like a canner can can a canned can into an uncanned can?
- Brisk brave brigadiers brandished broad bright blades, blunderbusses, and bludgeons — balancing them badly.
- Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager managing an imaginary menagerie.
Thieves- the thieves
thrill- to thrill, to shiver
thrust- rest against something (with your fists against the wall) push, climb, crawl through, rub in
crowded- crowded; jam-packed; full; filled
course- well
coarse- big step, rough, large, raw
can- tin can, container, can of preserves, preserve
brisk- agile, lively, strong, fresh
brandish- swing a sword (threateningly)
broad- wide, extensive, rough
blunderbuss- tromblon, blunderbuss (short-barreled shotgun with a bell)
bludgeon- club, weapon, drum
menagerie- menagerie, traveling circus
What? Not enough for you? How about this popular Polish tongue twister: W Szczebrzeszynie chrzaszcz brzmi w trzcinie. How do you say it? We can't hear you!
If you were able to overcome all the tongue twisters from our list, then do not be offended when you are reproached for speaking without bones. Be proud of that! Cuz you got the skill now! Now go and challenge someone ;)
Stay classy and speak in a quality manner. Do it fast and surprise people with your English!
A large and friendly EnglishDom family.
