Hello!
Tongue twisters have been around for years, challenging us to contort our lips and tongues by trying to pronounce the almost impossible.
To make a good tongue twister, you must string together words that are similar but not quite the same, and then make sure they make sense. Such as Sharing crazy crossword clues should cause a classic crisis. Okay, not that much sense maybe.
Drama teachers often use tongue twisters to teach clear enunciation, getting their would-be actors to say Stu chews shoes, should Stu choose the shoes he chews? or Inexplicably mimicking him hiccupping.
Two of the best-known tongue twisters have true stories behind them.
She sells seashells on the sea shore was inspired by Mary Anning, who lived in Dorset and collected shells and fossils from the beach, which she sold to make a living, and she could identify all the various species.
In 1811, she and her brother discovered the fossilised remains of a dinosaur in a seaside cliff, causing excitement in the scientific world. She later discovered several more prehistoric specimens and has been credited by modern scientists as the founder of Modern Palaeontology.
Pierre Poivre was an 18thC French merchant and horticulturist trying to gain access to the spices that were imported from the Far East. The Dutch spice trade companies sold spices at a high cost and discouraged their customers from growing their own spices by deliberately rubbing lime onto the seeds, a process called pickling.
Pierre, known in English as Peter Piper, would steal spices (known as peppers) to grow in his own garden, and make the spices more affordable and available to the common populace. Hence the tongue twister Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper.
Happy Tongue Twisting!
