Tongue-Tying Twisters

Your tongue is an important part of your oral health. It’s useful for tasting, swallowing, chewing, cleaning your teeth, and speaking. Almost half of the bacteria in your mouth and 90 percent of your taste buds live on the surface of your tongue. Although your tongue is the most flexible muscle in your body, sometimes it doesn’t shift fast enough, leaving you tongue-tied.

A tongue twister is a phrase or sequence of words that uses alliteration and rhyme. It is often difficult to pronounce quickly without blundering. Certain sound sequences require your tongue to change positions very quickly, and when trying to repeat the phrase your tongue begins to slow down. Some tongue twisters are used for games to produce amusing results and confusion. They can be used as a competition to see how many times you can repeat the phrase quickly without stumbling.

Tongue twisters are also used for articulation and learning purposes. Public speakers and actors may repeat an alliterated phrase several times to get their tongue flowing so they don’t flub their lines. People with speech difficulties may also use tongue twisters to practice their pronunciation and certain sounds.

Here are a few fun tongue twisters to loosen up your mouth.

  • “Betty and Bob brought back blue balloons from the big bazaar.”
  • “Better better butter Brad’s bread.”
  • “The blue bluebird blinks.”
  • “Ed had edited it.”
  • “Fat frogs flying past fast.”
  • “Kris Kringle carefully crunched on candy canes.”
  • “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.”
  • “Red leather, yellow leather.”
  • “She sells seashells on the seashore.”
  • “Six sharp smart sharks.”
  • “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?”

A healthy mouth can make speaking and other functions easier. Visit Dr. Stewart to make sure you’re keeping your tongue, cheeks, teeth, gums, and everything else in your mouth healthy. Contact our dentist office in Livonia, MI, at (734) 425-4400 to schedule an appointment. We welcome families from the surrounding areas of Farmington Hills, Plymouth, Novi, Dearborn, Redford, and other nearby communities.