TONGUE TWISTERS - TRABALENGUAS
In English we have many phrases called "tongue twisters" because they are phrases that require us to quickly change the position of our tongue in order to accurately pronounce the words. These may be as short as a two-word phrase "toy boat" or a longer phrase such as "The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep is sick".
Spanish of course is no different. The word "trabalengua" comes from the verb "trabar" (to jam) and the noun "lengua" (tongue). Trabalenguas are not only fun, but are a good way to learn how to pronounce a language.
As such the trabalenguas are put in an order to emphasize the pronunciation of a certain letter, letter combination (such as "rr") or two letters contained within a word (such as the letters, "p" and "l" in the word "Pablo").
Although the words in a trabalengua (whether in Spanish or in English) do not necessarily have to make sense a rough translation is available on each page should you wish to see it. Some trabalenguas are complete nonsense (such as the English "rubber baby buggy bumpers") and no translation is provided.
Below is a sample trabalengua. You need to press the button to listen to the trabalengua. If you wish to see the translation press the "with translation" button. If you wish to hide the translation press the "without translation" button.
Cómpadre, cómpreme un coco,
cómpadre, no compro coco
porque como poco coco como
poco coco compro.
Cómpadre, cómpreme un coco,
cómpadre, no compro coco
porque como poco coco como
poco coco compro.
Colleague, buy me a coconut, colleague, I will not buy a coconut,
because as I eat very little coconut, I buy very little coconut.