puns

This week, French gets its turn with an illustrated collection of tongue twisters or virelangues.

Tongue twisters are somewhat humorous phrases that rely on alliteration 1 Repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words or stressed syllables in close proximity. Have you ever tried the famous line “She sells seashells by the seashore”?, rapid alternation between similar but distinct phonemes 2Unit of sound, for instance /p/, /t/ or /k/., and other phonetic devices that make them fairly difficult to articulate, even for native speakers.

Due to their phonetic complexity, tongue twisters are a fun way to train your ear and pronunciation in foreign languages. They can help you differentiate minimal pairs, train muscle placement and develop clearer speech patterns.

Thanks to my friend François, you can listen to the pronunciation of each virelangue. Just click on the audio track below each illustration. Allons-y!

C’est fini! Do you have a favorite virelangue, or maybe one that is impossible to pronounce? Do you know more tongue twisters? Leave me a comment!