Alliteration can be as simple as two paired words that start with the same sound: “tongue twist,” “loose lips,” or “Peter Piper. " Make the alliterative string even harder to say by adding more words: “tricky tongue twist,” “last loose lips,” or “Peter Piper picked. " Make sure that the alliterative words make sense together! A good tongue twister is more than just a string of random words and syllables. Seek to set down a sensible sentence.
Consider the tongue twister “Shelley sells seashells by the seashore. " The repetition of the “ell” sound in “Shelley,” “sells,” and “seashells” is a prime example of consonance, and it is part of why the phrase is so hard to say. [2] X Research source If possible, put the consonant sounds right next to each other. The closer together the syllables, the more difficult the tongue twister. For instance, “s” sounds can be hard to pronounce in rapid succession.
Consider the tongue twister “Men sell the wedding bells. " The short “-e-” sound repeats throughout the phrase: Men sell the wedding bells. “[3] X Research source
Try to say “Irish wristwatch. " This tongue twister is hard because “rish” is consonant with “wris,” and the addition of the “sh” sound confuses the two “ris” sounds.
Try to say “Theophilus Thistle, the thistle sifter, sifted a sieve of unsifted thistles. " Try to say “The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick. "
Where did this person go? What did this person do? When did this person do this thing or go to this place? Why did this person do this thing?[5] X Research source
Bear in mind that some people have more trouble pronouncing certain syllables than others. A hard tongue twister for one person might be easy for another. Always be respectful of speech impediments!
