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Do you think Tongue twisters are a linguistic fun and game and serve a practical purpose for language and speech development? Give some examples.

Tongue twisters are spoken wordplay that are fun to recite and are a great tool to aid children’s language development. Attempting to recite a tricky rhyme or tongue twister as fast as possible without tripping over your tongue is a great challenge and one can’t help but smile and enjoy the race to get it right. Tongue twisters usually rely on alliteration – the repetition of a sound starting with a similar letter - with a phrase designed such that it is made very easy to slip (hence the fun).

 

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Question added by Shahul Hameed Mohammad , Human Resources Generalist (HR Generalist) , S A CO
Date Posted: 2016/04/23
ahmed abdallah
by ahmed abdallah , Language Instructor , King Saud University

YES ... YES

Tongue twisters

Tongue twisters are fun to practice your pronunciation because they use sound sequences that are often difficult to say quickly. They are a great way to practice and improve pronunciation and fluency. They can also help to improve accents by using alliteration, which is the repetition of one sound. They’re not just for kids, but are also used by actors, politicians, and public speakers who want to sound clear when speaking.

The King's Speech  is a movie about King George VI who, to cope with a stammer, sees an Australian speech and language therapist. Among the exercises he used to help the king was the use of Tongue twisters .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9QB1AMavZ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opkMyKGx7TQ

She sells seashells by the seashore.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?

Three free throws

A tricky frisky snake with sixty super scaly stripes

Not these things here, but those things there

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa8nkPkWoWA

https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/ar/tongue-twisters/three-free-throws

https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/ar/tongue-twisters/tricky-frisky-snake

https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/ar/tongue-twisters/these-things

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Trq3cHLBBw0

 

 

 

Susan Marx
by Susan Marx , Chief Executive Officer (CEO) , AIM

Tongue twisters are fun. They do help and serve a purpose. They help with pronunciation. Some examples of tongue twisters I use for my students are: She sells sea shells at the seashore. Or Peter Piper picked a pack of pickled peppers. If Peter Piper picked a pack of pickled peppers how many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick? Or How much wood could a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood? As a game the students say the tongue twister slow, as they practice they say it faster. They try to say them as fast as they can without making a mistake.

Ghada Eweda
by Ghada Eweda , Medical sales hospital representative , Pfizer pharmaceutical Plc.

Agree with professionals answers. Thanks

Pradeep Sharma
by Pradeep Sharma , English Language Training Instructor , King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah (KSA)

Yes, they are, and they do help grasp the differences of a few sounds (In every language) and sometimes used to explain some grammar points as well. In English language many are well-known. Examples:

1. Becky brought some butter/the butter was bitter/to make the bitter butter better Becky brought some better butter. (emphasis on /b/ sound, but at the same time one learns the differences of a few vowels, i.e., /e/, /i/, etc.)

2. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

3. She sells sea-shells at a shiny sea shore. (the difference of /s/ and /sh/).

4. Can you can a can as a canner can can a can? (emphasis on different meanings of 'can')

 

There are more than fifty tongue twisters in English. You can search the Net if you like more examples. 

I apologize for the answer, I leave the answer to experts specialists in this field

Ahmad Saleh
by Ahmad Saleh , Part-time English Teacher , ITA

I think that one mistake native English educators make is assuming that everything that works for them will necessarily work for speakers of other languages when learning English.Using tongue twisters is one example. Practicing them in the classroom, though fun and exciting, always brings chaos and students start to lose interest, especially when they realise that the sentences and phrases are meaningless or silly!

Rasha Maarabouni
by Rasha Maarabouni , Executive Registrar , Lebanese International University

 Students will learn the language in a fun way through the tongue twisters.

For example: 

  1. 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

    But a bit of better butter will make my batter better

    So ‘twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter

  2.  Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t fuzzy, was he?

  3. I saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen

ghazi Almahadeen
by ghazi Almahadeen , Project Facilitator , Jordan River Foundation

Thanks for the invite .......... agreed with colleagues answer

Ahmed Mohamed Ayesh Sarkhi
by Ahmed Mohamed Ayesh Sarkhi , Shared Services Supervisor , Saudi Musheera Co. Ltd.

yes i'm agree                   .

مها شرف
by مها شرف , معلمة لغة عربية , وزارة التربية السورية

I agree with experts answers, Thanks for the invitation. 

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