Tongue Twisters
"I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!"
"I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!"
Say this word with correct stress: "important"
imPORtant
Teacher reads: "I work at a hospital on Main Street." Where would you pause?
I work at a HOSpital / on MAIN Street.
Say these two: "cash" and "catch" — what's the difference?
cash = /kæʃ/, catch = /kætʃ/ — the ending sound is different
put, but, cut, shut
put — /ʊ/. The other three are /ʌ/ even though "put" looks like it should match
"Betty bought a bit of butter, but the butter Betty bought was bitter."
"Betty bought a bit of butter, but the butter Betty bought was bitter."
Say this word with correct stress: "comfortable"
COMFtable — 3 syllables, stress on first
Teacher reads two versions of: "The problem is not the accent the problem is the attitude." Which version has better thought groups?
Version A: rushed. Version B: with pauses.
Say "ban," "van," and "fan." What sound changes?
the first consonant — /b/, /v/, /f/
blood, flood, food, mud
food — /uː/. Blood, flood, and mud are all /ʌ/
"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"
"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"
Say both and shift the stress correctly: "photograph" and "photography"
PHOtograph → phoTOGraphy
Read this sentence with correct pauses AND stress: "When I first came to this country I didn't know anyone but now I have a life here."
When I FIRST came to this country / I didn't know ANYone / but NOW / I have a LIFE here.
Pronounce all four: "thought, though, tough, through"
thought = /θɔːt/, though = /ðoʊ/, tough = /tʌf/, through = /θruː/ — all different
pint, mint, hint, print
pint — /aɪ/. The other three are /ɪ/
"The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday."
"The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday."
Say all three: "economy", "economic", "economical"
eCONomy → ecoNOMic → ecoNOMical
Say this sentence with correct pauses: "I'm not saying the system is perfect I'm saying it can be better."
I'm not saying the system is PERfect. / I'm saying / it can be BETter.
Add "thorough" and "cough" to the list. Say all six: thought, though, tough, through, thorough, cough
thought = /θɔːt/, though = /ðoʊ/, tough = /tʌf/, through = /θruː/, thorough = /θɜːroʊ/, cough = /kɒf/
steak, break, great, heat
heat — /iː/ not /eɪ/. Yes, steak/break/great all rhyme!
"She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I'm sure she sells seashore shells."
"She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I'm sure she sells seashore shells."
Say all four: "communicate", "communication", "communicative", "communicable"
comMUNicate → commuNIcation → comMUNicative → comMUNicable
Say this with correct pauses AND stress: "People ask me where I am from as if the answer is simple but the truth is I am from a place I left and a place I chose and neither one tells the whole story."
People ask me / where I am FROM / as if the answer is SIMple. / But the TRUTH is / I am from a place I LEFT / and a place I CHOSE / and NEIther one / tells the WHOLE story.
Complete the set — say all of these correctly: "thought, though, tough, through, thorough, cough, enough, bough"
thought = /θɔːt/, though = /ðoʊ/, tough = /tʌf/, through = /θruː/, thorough = /θɜːroʊ/, cough = /kɒf/), enough = /ɪˈnʌf/, bough = /baʊ/ like "bow" or "cow"
height, weight, freight, eight
height — /aɪ/. The other three are all /eɪ/.