Pronunciation
Getting Tongue-Tied: French Virelangues (Tongue Twisters)
You’ve done it! After conquering all the common pronunciation pitfalls present in French, it is time to kick it up one last notch. Yes, that means French tongue twisters, otherwise known as “les virelangues.” Practicing tongue twisters is a great way to refine and reinforce all that you have learned. They also act as another method for learning new vocabulary and phrases that can be used in conversation.
Just like in English, French native speakers try to say these as fast as possible. This is not our aim for today’s lesson. Especially since these virelangues are difficult to master even for native speakers, your goal will be to approach these with intentionality, not speed. Getting familiar with pronouncing whole virelangues will take time and patience, so try to focus on pronouncing each word separately before pairing them together. Once you feel comfortable reading the whole virelangue, try to isolate difficult areas and repeat them until it feels more natural. Finally, once you are able to read the virelangue without mistakes, practice repeating it over and over again, slowly building speed. Before you know it, you will be the next virelangue champion!
Here are ten famous ones to get you started:
Les Virelangues: French Tongue Twisters
Listen to Track 100
1. Cinq chiens chassent six chats.
Five dogs are chasing six cats.
2. Le mur murant Paris rend Paris murmurant.
The wall walling Paris drives Paris to murmuring.
3. Les chaussettes de l’archiduchesse sont-elles sèches ? Archi-sèches!
Are the socks of the archduchess dry? Very dry!
4. Si mon tonton tond ton tonton, ton tonton tondu sera!
If my uncle shaves your uncle, your uncle will be shaved!
5. Fruits frais, fruits frits, fruits cuits, fruits crus.
Fresh fruit, fried fruit, cooked fruit, raw fruit.
6. As-tu vu le vert ver allant vers le verre en verre vert?
Did you see the green worm going towards the green glass?
7. Didon dîna, dit-on, du dos dodu d'un dodu dindon.
Dido dined, they say, from the plump back of a plump turkey.
8. Un chasseur sachant chasser sait chasser sans son chien de chasse.
A hunter who knows how to hunt knows how to hunt without his hunting dog.
9. Cinq gros rats grillent dans la grosse graisse grasse.
Five fat rats grill in the big, fatty fat.
10. Ces six saucissons-secs-ci sont si secs qu’on ne sait si s’en sont.
These six dried sausages are so dry that we don’t know if they are (sausages).