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Find short Ukrainian tongue twisters to practice pronunciation visualisation

Find short Ukrainian tongue twisters to practice pronunciation

Sharpen Your Ukrainian Accent: Speak Clearly and Confidently: Find short Ukrainian tongue twisters to practice pronunciation
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Here are some short Ukrainian tongue twisters (скоромовки) to practice pronunciation:

  1. Карл у Кларки украв корали, а Клара у Карла украла кларнет.
    (Karl u Klarky ukrav koraly, a Klara u Karla ukrala klarnet.)
    ”Karl stole corals from Klara, and Klara stole a clarinet from Karl.”
    This is challenging due to the repetition of “к” (k) and “р” (r) sounds. 5

  2. Шла Саша по шосе і сосала сушку.
    (Shla Sasha po shose i sosala sushku.)
    ”Sasha walked along the highway and sucked on a drying bread ring.”
    Focuses on alternating “ш” (sh) and “с” (s) sounds quickly. 5

  3. Білий бичок, білий бичок, білий бичок біля броду.
    (Bilyi bychok, bilyi bychok, bilyi bychok bilia brodu.)
    ”White bull, white bull, white bull near the ford.”
    The repetition of “б” (b) and “ч” (ch) sounds with similar vowels is tricky. 5

  4. Тридцять три кораблі лавою лавилися.
    (Trydtsyat try korabli lavoi lavylysia.)
    ”Thirty-three ships floated in a lava stream.”
    Emphasizes “тр” (tr) and “л” (l) sounds repeatedly. 5

  5. Сів шпак на шпаківню, заспівав шпак півню:
    „Ти не вмієш так, як я, - так, як ти, не вмію я!”
    (Siv shpak na shpakivnyu, zaspivav shpak pivnyu: “Ty ne vmiyesh tak, yak ya, - tak, yak ty, ne vmiyu ya!”)
    ”A starling sat on the starling-house and sang to the rooster: ‘You cannot sing as I do, I cannot sing like you do!’”
    This involves rapid repetition of sibilant sounds. 9

These tongue twisters are excellent for mastering Ukrainian pronunciation, especially the unique consonant clusters and soft-hard consonant contrasts. It’s recommended to start slowly and then gradually increase speed when practicing.

References

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