Tongue Twisters

Mini Fact: Tongue twisters aren’t only fun; they also help improve reading skills.

Have you ever heard someone say, “She sells seashells by the seashore”? If so, you might have then decided to say it yourself.

This is known as a tongue twister, a phrase which can be difficult to say. Tongue twisters serve many purposes, including strengthening reading skills, clarifying word pronunciation and helping stretch the muscles we use to speak.

Tongue twisters can also be fun and educational, and The Mini Page learns more about them this week.

Sounds

A tongue twister is defined by a series of sounds or words that are often difficult to pronounce when recited, or said, together quickly. They use something called alliteration, which is the repetition of the same sound. An example is: “Cooks cook cupcakes quickly.” Once you say this one out loud, you’ll probably notice the “k” sound being repeated. That’s alliteration.

Benefits

Scientists have found that tongue twisters kick-start the brain.

Practicing tongue twisters can be a fun thing to do with friends, and saying them also improves our vocabularies. While tongue twisters can be a challenge, when recited correctly, they help people focus on sounds and the pronunciation of words and phrases.

Tongue twisters help with reading skills and have also been shown to assist people with speech difficulties.

By practicing saying these phrases over and over, we’re strengthening the muscles in our tongues and mouths.

History

“She sells seashells by the seashore” might be a tongue twister, but it’s also based on a real woman. In England during the 1800s, a woman named Mary Anning collected and sold seashells.

As a girl, Mary collected, labeled and recorded details about seashells. She later went on to discover many fossils, including dinosaur remains.

The history of tongue twisters goes back a few hundred years, as teachers would use them to teach their pupils, or students, how to pronounce phrases. The first book about them is called “Peter Piper’s Practical Principles of Plain and Perfect Pronunciation” by John Harris.