Mēles mežģi

From ‘Around the rugged rock, the ragged rascal ran’ to ‘red leather, yellow leather’, one aspect of mastering a language is being able to master its tongue twisters. They are always decidedly odd sentences:

• Combien de sous sont ces saucissons-ci? Ces saucissons-ci sont six sous (French): “How much are these sausages here? These sausages here are six cents”.


• Zwei schwarze schleimige Schlangen sitzen zwischen zwei spitzen Steinen und zischen (German): “Two black slimy snakes sit between two pointed stones and hiss”.

Other favourites in the European arena include:

• Měla babka v kapse brabce, brabec babce v kapse píp. Zmáčkla babka brabce v kapse, brabec babce v kapse chcíp (Czech): ”Grandma had a sparrow in her pocket and the sparrow made a sound. Grandma pressed the sparrow and it died”.


• Als vliegen achter vliegen vliegen, vliegen vliegen vliegensvlug (Dutch): ”If flies fly behind flies, flies will fly like lightning”.


• Król Karol kupił Królowej Karolinie korale koloru koralowego (Polish): ”King Karl bought Queen Caroline coral-colored bead”.


• Far, Får får får? Nej, inte får får får, får får lamm (Swedish): ”Father, do sheep have sheep? No, sheep don't have sheep, sheep have lambs”.


• W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie (Polish): "In the town of Szczebrzeszyn a beetle buzzes in the reeds".
  
  

  As for the English language, we are provided with the following:

• How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? A woodchuck would chuck all the wood that he could if a woodchuck could chuck wood
• Sister Sue sells sea shells. She sells sea shells on shore. The shells she sells. Are sea shells she sees. Sure she sees shells she sells
• You've known me to light a night light on a light night like tonight. There's no need to light a night light on a light night like tonight, for a night light's a slight light on tonight's light night

Some short words or phrases ‘become’ tongue-twisters when repeated, a number of times fast (try it!):

• Thin Thing
• French Friend
• Red Leather, Yellow Leathe
• Unique New York
• Sometimes Sunshine
• Irish Wristwatch
• Big Whip

Do you know an interesting tongue twister in your language? Let us know!