Thursday, August 28, 2008

Twist Your Tongue!



Tongue Twisters are excellent for sharpening enunciation -- to give a statement or speech that explains something clearly. They make your lips, jaw, and tongue exercise and increase your ability to articulate. These exercises are very simple and can be interesting and fun!


Tongue Twisters For: B, P, M, and W

These consonants demand Active Lips! Say "Boom". Explode that "b". Bring those lips down hard, quick, and sharply for B, P, M. For the W, pucker the lips.

FOR B: A big black bug bit a big black bear, made a big black bear bleed.
FOR P: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where is the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
FOR M: Military malarkey makes monstrous madmen into maligned martyrs.
FOR W: If a woodchuck would chuck wood, how much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck would? But if a woodchuck would chuck wood, how much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could and would chuck wood?

Th (thing) and TH (thou)

Touch the tip of the tongue to the rim of the upper teeth. The tongue tip should protrude ever so lightly.

FOR TH: Theophilus Thistle, the thistle sifter, sifted a sieve of unsifted thistles. If Theophilus the thistle sifter sifted a sieve of unsifted thistles, where is the sieve of sifted thistles Theophilus the thistle sifter sifted?
What dost thou think of those that go thither?

S, Z, and WH

These sounds require extremely tenuous coordination. To pronounce "S", you raise your tongue, groove it, and arch it toward the hard palate. Force the breath through the narrow fissure. The same for the "Z" -- except it is vocalized. For "Sh" and "Zh" the fissure is broader. For "Wh" purse the lips as you blow the breath through the extended fissure.

FOR S: Suzy Schell sells sea shells by the seashore.
FOR Z: Moses supposes his toeses are roses, but Moses supposes amiss. For Moses knows his toeses aren't roses as Moses supposes.
FOR WH: What whim led Whitney White to whittle near a wharf where a whale might wheel and whirl?

T, D, N, L, and R

A lazy tongue will get you in trouble with these twisters. The first four of these consonants are made alike. Your tongue should snap as a whip. The tip of it should SHARPLY TOUCH the hard palate-- just above the upper teeth.

On the R, he entire tongue arches itself along the roof of the mouth-- without touching it.

FOR T: Thomas Tattertoot took taut twine to tie ten twigs to two tall trees.
FOR D: Double bubble gum bubbles double. Non double bubble gum doesn't bubble double.
FOR N: A snifter of snuf is enough snuff of a sniff for the snuff-sniffer.
FOR L: Likeable Lillian loves lovely luminous aluminum linoleum.
FOR R: Around the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran.


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