Tongue Twisters

绕口令，动动舌头乐趣多。Tongue exercises can be fun.

People of all ages love to have fun with language. Tongue twisters are one of the most common ways to play with words. So what's a tongue twister? It's a phrase, sentence or short story that is difficult to pronounce. That is because it uses many similar vowels and consonants. Try to say the tongue twister quickly, and your tongue is sure to get tangle up.

The best-known tongue twister in English was  first published in a pronunciation book in 1813:

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Author Alvin Schwartz suggests that one of the most difficult tongue twisters in English is Peggy Babcock. Can you say that five times fast? Here are some other "simple" tongue twisters: She sells seashells by the seashore.

Unique New York.
Toy boat.
Real rear wheel.
Good blood, bad blood.
Red leather, yellow leather.

One of the masters of creative word play was Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. Many of Dr. Seuss' books contain tongue twisters, especially the classic story Fox in Socks. The book has so many difficult tongue twisters that it begins with a warning: Take it slowly. This book is dangerous! Try to say this selection from the book:

Luke Luck likes lakes.
Luke's duck likes lakes.
Luke Luck licks lakes.
Luke's duck licks lakes.
Duck takes licks in lakes.
Luke luck likes.
Luke Luck takes licks in lakes duck likes.

As Dr. Seuss asks, "now is your tongue numb"? Tongue twisters appear in nearly every language of the world. In Spanish, the word for tongue twisters is trabalenguas. It means an obstacle for the tongue. Tongue twisters can certainly get your tongue tangled up. Still, they're great for practicing pronunciation and improving fluency in a language. So if a tongue twister twists your tongue, untwist your tongue and try again.

Grammar Tips:
One of the masters of creative word play was Theodor Geisel, better know as Dr. Seuss.
"better know as" =" whom most people know as."
One of the masters of creative word play was Theodor Geisel, whom most people know as Dr. Seuss.
"better known as"-

Vocabulary Tips:
vowel - "a", "e", "i" , "o", "u" and sometimes "y" those letters. 母音，母音字母
*There are two vowels in the word "woman".
consonant- any letter besides vowel letters. 字音，字音字母
*He often mixes up the consonants "r" and "l".
pronunciation (n) - the way  you say words. 发音（名词）
*There are two types of pronunciations for the word "potato".
pronounce (v) - pronounce a word to improve or practice your pronunciation. 发音（动词）
*Some French words are very difficult to pronounce. 很难发音
leather (n)-皮革，皮的。place "leather" in front of "noun", leather 变成“形容字”
*These boots were made of leather.皮革制造的
*a leather (adj) jacket (n)
*a leather (adj) handbag
*leather (adj) pants
*a leather (adj) sofa.
"simple" means "short", it also means "easy".
*Here are some "simple" tongue twisters- there are  some "short one", "look not hard at all" tongue twisters, but they are not easy to say.
numb-麻木，发麻，“b”不发音
*After sitting on my feet for 30 minutes, my feet had gone totally numb.
*Sandra was numb with fear during the earthquake.
obstacle-障碍，阻碍
*Stage fright is Laura's biggest obstacle in her acting career.
*For physically challenged people, there are a lot of obstacles to overcome just to get from place to place. 残障人士
fluency -流利，流畅 fluent (adj)-流利的
*She speaks Spanish with fluency.
*Fluency in English is one of the job's requirements. 在那个语言上用“in”
*The boy is fluent in three languages.
Chat Room:
Tongue twisters are one of the most common ways to play with words.
tongue twisters -饶舌，
play with words - 玩文字游戏。
a play on words /pun - 一个“字”或“词” 有“双关语”的意思。如：
dough -面团，也是“金钱”及“现金”的意思。
Rolling in the Dough （面团）-  在面团里滚。
Rolling in the Dough  （金钱，现金）- 在钱堆里翻滚， 意指“很有钱的意思”
Rolling in the Dough is a "play on words"; is also called "pun".
tongue twisters is not a "play on words"不是双关语, is "play with words". 只是在字的发音上找乐子。
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twist your tongue-让你的舌头卷绕打结
twist your words-曲解，扭曲某人的话。
I don't like Peter because he tends to twist people's words.
arm-手臂
twist one's arm -把某人手臂扭到背后成不舒服姿态。意即“强破某人做不想做的事。”


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