Our *illustrious Faldage was the inspiration for this thread with his nicely put:
"...quoted guest's quote..."
Repeat three times quickly, rinse and spit.
nice one, eta
Toy boat
looks easy don't it? try saying out loud, three time!
To help out their tragically non-rhotic guest, my friends in San Marino made me practice this tongue twister:
Trentatre trentini entrarono trotterellando
in Trento, tutti e trentatre trotterellando.
After mastering that one, my nonna then rattled off half a dozen others that she had to learn at school, each one designed to practice a certain consonantal construction. I was very taken with the idea of using tongue twisters for a practical purpose, rather than simply for amusement. I did, however, decline to attempt any of the additional ones demonstrated for me.
the classic one for practices enunciation in NY is
I slit a sheet,
A sheet I slip
Upon a slitted sheet i sit..
that last word,sit, tends to get a sh sound that doesn't belong there.
A box of biscuits
A box of mixed biscuits
And a biscuit mixer.
This was a favorite when we were children, and I can still do it without saying "biksit".
The Leith police dismisseth us.
Supposedly, this was a popular test for drunks which, in those days and I ain't saying anything about nowadays, would have been appropriate in Leith.
a popular test for drunks
If you can say it you're drunk?
And two from my mother's old elocution book.....
If moses supposes his toeses are roses, then Moses supposes erroneously
and.....
imagine an imaginary menagerie manager managing an imaginary menagerie
"dismisseth" is hard enough to say
A box of biscuits
A box of mixed biscuits
And a biscuit mixer.
My mother's version had it
..Six boxes of biscuits
..six boxes of mixed biscuits
..and one biscuit mixer.
and as often as not it came out "bisket misker"
She also had just plain "rubber buggy bumper." I tried to expand that, wound up with a "really rugged rigid rubber baby buggy bumper" but decided that the rhythm actually made it easier to say correctly
And of course there is the classic "She sells sea shells by the sea shore."
The hardest one I know, producing an effect similar to the English "red lorry, yellow lorry" when repeated, is:
Blaukraut bleibt Blaukraut und
Brautkleid bleibt Brautkleid.
- Semper quis saudum rogat.
Try this one:
"I'm not a pheasant plucker,
I'm a pheasant plucker's son,
And I'm only plucking pheasants
Till the pheasant plucker comes."
I managed five once.
oh yes, and the old classic of:
red lorry
yellow lorry
although, if you were brought up with trucks instead of lorries it's probably not one you'd come across - after the second or third time you suddenly realise you're talking about lollies instead of lorries!
I'm only plucking pheasants
hah, one of my favourites too Pfranz! Funnily enough I learnt a small variation on that which runs And I'll keep on plucking pheasants... which I think is good since the [k] sound kernocks with the others in an inspiring konfusion!
[starting to catch up in W & F e]
The Leith police dismisseth us. Ohh, ooh! I got to GO to Leith! (Hi, Jo!)
And, and, there was sunshine on Leith when I was there,
just like the song!!! I was SOOOOOO happy!
And I'll bet that your description of it won't be quite as long as Leith Walk ...
