Our own nat- and conlang tongue twisters

[Amsel]

Very wary voles beware of very wily wolves, for nary a wily wolf will wolf down a very wary vole.

Excellent!

And if I understand correctly, it's new with you? That is, you just created it in the last two days?

Yes, that's right. Thank you.

Here's a natlang tongue twister from where I am right now (China):
四十是四十
四十不是十四
十四不是四十
十四是十四

sìshí shì sìshí
sìshí bǔ shì shísì
shísì bǔ shì sìshí
shísì shì shísì

forty is forty
forty isn't fourteen
fourteen isn't forty
fourteen is fourteen

[finlay]

There's a poem in Mandarin that's just the repeated syllable xi (or shi, forget which) in different tones. It was a bit like buffalo buffalo buffalo but actually makes some semblance of sense rather than just being one of those Example Sentences that linguists like to trot out.

[----]

There's a poem in Mandarin that's just the repeated syllable xi (or shi, forget which) in different tones. It was a bit like buffalo buffalo buffalo but actually makes some semblance of sense rather than just being one of those Example Sentences that linguists like to trot out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion-Eatin ... _Stone_Den

[Amsel]

Wer gegen Aluminium minimal immun ist, hat die Aluminiumminimalimmunität.
'Those who are minimally immune against aluminum have an aluminum-minimum-immunicy.'

This one is super. I love it.

[Jashan]

Wer gegen Aluminium minimal immun ist, hat die Aluminiumminimalimmunität.
'Those who are minimally immune against aluminum have an aluminum-minimum-immunicy.'

This one is super. I love it.

A related English one (well, kinda -- it's about aluminum) nonsense-phrase tonguetwister:

Anonymous anomalous aluminum anemone phenomenon

[Herr Dunkel]

《施氏食獅史》

石室詩士施氏，嗜獅，誓食十獅。
氏時時適市視獅。
十時，適十獅適市。
是時，適施氏適市。
氏視是十獅，恃矢勢，使是十獅逝世。
氏拾是十獅屍，適石室。
石室濕，氏使侍拭石室。
石室拭，氏始試食是十獅。
食時，始識是十獅屍，實十石獅屍。
試釋是事。


« Shī Shì shí shī shǐ »

Shíshì shīshì Shī Shì, shì shī, shì shí shí shī.
Shì shíshí shì shì shì shī.
Shí shí, shì shí shī shì shì.
Shì shí, shì Shī Shì shì shì.
Shì shì shì shí shī, shì shǐ shì, shǐ shì shí shī shìshì.
Shì shí shì shí shī shī, shì shíshì.
Shíshì shī, Shì shǐ shì shì shíshì.
Shíshì shì, Shì shǐ shì shí shì shí shī.
Shí shí, shǐ shí shì shí shī, shí shí shí shī shī.
Shì shì shì shì.

[Skomakar'n]

No translation?

[Mr. Z]

No translation?

« Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den »

In a stone den was a poet called Shi, who was a lion addict, and had resolved to eat ten lions.
He often went to the market to look for lions.
At ten o'clock, ten lions had just arrived at the market.
At that time, Shi had just arrived at the market.
He saw those ten lions, and using his trusty arrows, caused the ten lions to die.
He brought the corpses of the ten lions to the stone den.
The stone den was damp. He asked his servants to wipe it.
After the stone den was wiped, he tried to eat those ten lions.
When he ate, he realized that these ten lions were in fact ten stone lion corpses.
Try to explain this matter.


Theta posted the link to the Wikipedia article about this three posts before. And there was a translation there. And pinyin. And Cantonese, and Min, and Wu, and Hakka, and all those other Chinese varities.

[----]

I just posted a link to that not 5 posts up!

[Jipí]

I just posted a link to that not 5 posts up!

People never read the posts over the last one.

[Amsel]

There's a poem in Mandarin that's just the repeated syllable xi (or shi, forget which) in different tones. It was a bit like buffalo buffalo buffalo but actually makes some semblance of sense rather than just being one of those Example Sentences that linguists like to trot out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion-Eatin ... _Stone_Den

I showed this to my class yesterday, and for 10 minutes the place sounded as if a troupe of elephants was doing a soft-shoe dance rountine (amidst a lot of laughter). "Sher, sher, sher, sher,...."

[TomHChappell]

Well, I looked, and I didn't see anyone post this:

Q: Compadre, comprame un coco.
A: Compadre, yo no compro coco, porque como poco coco como, poco coco compro.

[jal]

Dutch:
De kat krabt de krullen van de trap.
('The cat scratches the carpet from the stairs.')

I'm familiar with the extended version "De krolse kat ..."
("The cat in heat ...")

See here for a gazillion Dutch (and other) ones.


JAL

[Skomakar'n]

Made this one in Swedish:

Få få få få, få får.
To be allowed to get to receive very few sheep.

Pronunciation of the sounds? Not hard at all. The thing is that you have to use the correct intonation for every syllable to make it become comprehensible at all (and it's obviously already a stretch). Not hard for a native, but for learners... ugh.

I listened to an Icelandic song today, where he really quickly says ég sá brjóst ('I saw breasts') followed by ég sá bjór ('I saw beer'). I keep tripping up on the last word, pronouncing it as brór, when I try to do it as quickly as he does...

[the duke of nuke]

My Akanaran conlang Woltu Falla can produce some confusing sentences:

Šaša aš-šabaš seššin siš-uššü.
['ʃaʃɐ a'ʃːabaʃ 'sɛʃːin siʃu'ʃːy]
this_one.NOM 1SG.GEN-meal favoured NULL-covet
"This thing covets my favourite meal."


Huh, I seem to have been the first to do one in a conlang. *feels sheepish*

[----]

Colloquially in my conlang Kinál, the schwa is often dropped in favor of fortition of surrounding phonemes, which can rarely result in things like
Kqʼqʼánřukutqu.
[kʰqʼqʼɴχʷkʷtʰqʷʰ]
You (plur.) did not push it the boat hard enough (to move it).

[Herr Dunkel]

My Akanaran conlang Woltu Falla can produce some confusing sentences:

Šaša aš-šabaš seššin siš-uššü.
['ʃaʃɐ a'ʃːabaʃ 'sɛʃːin siʃu'ʃːy]
this_one.NOM 1SG.GEN-meal favoured NULL-covet
"This thing covets my favourite meal."


Huh, I seem to have been the first to do one in a conlang. *feels sheepish*

Another poster already did it, except worse
APADEW

ħɜħɛħ'ɜ:ħɛħ'?

Why are you thirsty?

ħɜħ-ɛħ'ɜ:-ħɛħ'?
SPEC.INTRR-thirst-2SG.SUBJ ?

The IPA's the same as the text because I haven't come up with a decent orthograpgy

[Shm Jay]

It's from αρχαικός, so 1) you'd be writing archæc if you wanted to use an æ, .

Actually it is completely wrong to use æ here because the word is ar|cha|ic /ɑɹ|ˈkej|ɪk/ and not */ɑɹˈkik/.

Skomakaren, we are telling you as native speakers: don’t spell English words with æ unless a respected dictionary says the spelling with æ is a valid and current alternative.

[Šm Mepuyoš ab Duhen]

Croatian-srdačni pozdravi
Pronounced like /srdatʃni pozdraʋi/
Too much consonant clusters for me.

[Herr Dunkel]

Croatian-srdačni pozdravi
Pronounced like /srdatʃni pozdraʋi/
Too much consonant clusters for me.

That's weak.

Try /'ɔpskr̂:bʎ/
Note: the /r̂:/ is the nucleus, not the vowel.
Serbocroatian is a tonguebutcherer.

[Solarius]

My new conlang:
In the orthography:

Code: Select all

Obõheh obohe bõhoh bohoh ohobõ Oboheh ohboh ohehoboh oh bõbo

In the colloquial pronunciation:

Code: Select all

omõːeː oboːeː mõːoː boːoː oːomõ omõːeː ohboː oːeːomõː oː mõbo

h is frequently lenited away in between vowels.

[Hakaku]

A few from Okinawan:

目屋ぬ新家や見物
miiyaa-nu miyaa-ya miimun
"The eye doctor's new house is quite the sight."

歌歌てぃうったてぃうたてぃ
'uta 'utati 'uttati 'utati
"sing a song and get tired on purpose."

菓子くゎっくゎちくゎっちいさびら
kwaashi kwakkwachi kwacchii sabira
"Let's hide the sweets and have a feast."

[caedes]

Bavarian

D’Kellnerin hats Bsteck zspät bstellt.
The waitress ordered the cutlery too late.
[d̥kœnɐrɪn hɒts b̥ʃtɛk t͡sʃpɛt b̥ʃtœt]*
~ MisterBernie

The Swabian version of this one how I would pronounce it:

Dr Baabschd had s Spätzlesbschdegg zschbääd bschdelld.
The pope ordered the cutlery for the Spätzle too late.
[d̥ˤɑ̆ˤ b̥ʌːb̥ʒ̥‿tʰad̥‿z̥ ˈʒ̥b̥ɛd̥͡z̥lɐz̥ˌb̥ʒ̥d̥ɛg̥ d̥͡z̥ʒ̥b̥ɛːd̥ b̥ʒ̥d̥ɛld̥]

[Herr Dunkel]

Bavarian

D’Kellnerin hats Bsteck zspät bstellt.
The waitress ordered the cutlery too late.
[d̥kœnɐrɪn hɒts b̥ʃtɛk t͡sʃpɛt b̥ʃtœt]*
~ MisterBernie

The Swabian version of this one how I would pronounce it:

Dr Baabschd had s Spätzlesbschdegg zschbääd bschdelld.
The pope ordered the cutlery for the Spätzle too late.
[d̥ˤɑ̆ˤ b̥ʌːb̥ʒ̥‿tʰad̥‿z̥ ˈʒ̥b̥ɛd̥͡z̥lɐz̥ˌb̥ʒ̥d̥ɛg̥ d̥͡z̥ʒ̥b̥ɛːd̥ b̥ʒ̥d̥ɛld̥]

...And my version:

D'Keynarn hatz Bsteck zspät bsteyt. (D’Kellnerin hats Bsteck zspät bstellt.)
The waitress ordered cutlery too late.
[d̥(z̊)ke͡ɪnarn hɑt͡s b̥ʃtɛk d̥͡z̊ʃpæt/d̥͡z̊ʃpɛt b̥ʃte͡ɪt]

It seems my main difference from MrBernie's Bavarian is that we vocalise our || l || differently. I have a strong /l/ > /e ~ ɪ/
Hey, MrBernie, do you have initial voiceless/fortis > voiced/lenis?

[Nortaneous]

Hoanu:
Jöjöiñöh tsjħötsawh.
[χʷχʷiɴʷˀ t͡sχxʷt͡sawˀ]
"The angry man got killed on me."