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Lesson Transcript

Intro

Hi, everyone, welcome back to Top Words, I’m Lindsay from FrenchPod101.com. Today we're going to be talking about tongue twisters. Tongue twisters are called virelangue in French.
TONGUE TWISTER 1
The first one is ...
[Normal] Seize chaises sèchent. [Slow] Seize chaises sèchent.
"Sixteen chairs are drying."
Tongue twisters are phrases that are difficult to say, so they're a really great way to practice your pronunciation.
Try to repeat them as much as you can, Seize chaises sèchent, Seize chaises sèchent, Seize chaises sèchent….
TONGUE TWISTER 2
The next tongue twister is...
[Normal] Les chaussettes de l'archiduchesse sont-elles sèches? Archi-sèches! [Slow] Les chaussettes de l'archiduchesse sont-elles sèches? Archi-sèches!
This literally means “Are the archduchess's socks dry? Extremely dry!"
Les chaussettes de l'archiduchesse sont-elles sèches? Archi-sèches!
This tongue twister is probably the most famous and everyone in France knows it, so try to learn it!
TONGUE TWISTER 3
The next one is very difficult!
[Normal] Un chasseur sachant chasser doit savoir chasser sans son chien. [Slow] Un chasseur sachant chasser doit savoir chasser sans son chien.
It means “A hunter who can hunt should be able to hunt without his dog."
Un chasseur sachant chasser doit savoir chasser sans son chien.
TONGUE TWISTER 4
Next up is...
[Normal] Suis-je bien chez ce cher Serge? [Slow] Suis-je bien chez ce cher Serge?
"Am I at dear Serge's place?"
I didn't know this one! I’ll try to say it quickly, it's almost impossible!
Suis-je bien chez ce cher Serge?, Suis-je bien chez ce cher Serge?, Suis-je bien chez ce cher Serge?….
TONGUE TWISTER 5
On to the next one!
[Normal] Je veux et j'exige d'exquises excuses. [Slow] Je veux et j'exige d'exquises excuses.
The literal meaning is "I want and demand exquisite apologies."
Try repeating it!
Je veux et j'exige d'exquises excuses., Je veux et j'exige d'exquises excuses., Je veux et j'exige d'exquises excuses!
TONGUE TWISTER 6
The next one is very nice!
[Normal] Si ton tonton tond ton tonton, ton tonton sera tondu par ton tonton. [Slow] Si ton tonton tond ton tonton, ton tonton sera tondu par ton tonton.
It means "If your uncle shaves your uncle, then your uncle will be shaved by your uncle."
It is the repetition of sounds that makes the pronunciation so difficult. Tonton means "uncle" and tondu means "shaved."
TONGUE TWISTER 7
On to the next one!
[Normal] Les vers verts levèrent le verre vert vers le ver vert. [Slow] Les vers verts levèrent le verre vert vers le ver vert.
"The green worms raised the glass towards the green worm."
This doesn’t make sense, but works very well as a tongue twister!

Outro

Okay, that's all for this lesson. Which tongue twister did you like more? Leave us a comment letting us know. And we'll see you next time!
À bientôt!

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