Learn some Greek tongue twisters
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Intro |
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| Michael: What are some Greek tongue twisters? |
| Chrissi: And are many Greek words hard to pronounce? |
| Michael: At GreekPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Sasha Lee is interested in tongue twisters. She asks her friend, Frosso Giannitsanou, to tell her one. |
| "Can you tell me a tongue twister in Greek?" |
| Σάσα Λι: Μπορείς να μου πεις έναν γλωσσοδέτη στα ελληνικά; (Borís na mu pis énan glosodéti sta eliniká?) |
| Dialogue |
| Σάσα Λι: Μπορείς να μου πεις έναν γλωσσοδέτη στα ελληνικά; (Borís na mu pis énan glosodéti sta eliniká?) |
| Φρόσω Γιαννιτσάνου: Μια πάπια, μα ποια πάπια; Μια πάπια με παπιά. (Mia pápia, ma pia pápia? Mia pápia me papiá.) |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Σάσα Λι: Μπορείς να μου πεις έναν γλωσσοδέτη στα ελληνικά; (Borís na mu pis énan glosodéti sta eliniká?) |
| Michael: "Can you tell me a tongue twister in Greek?" |
| Φρόσω Γιαννιτσάνου: Μια πάπια, μα ποια πάπια; Μια πάπια με παπιά. (Mia pápia, ma pia pápia? Mia pápia me papiá.) |
| Michael: "A duck, but which duck? A duck with ducklings." |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: In this conversation, we hear Σάσα Λι make a request, "Can you tell me a tongue twister in Greek?" |
| Chrissi: Μπορείς να μου πεις έναν γλωσσοδέτη στα ελληνικά. (Borís na mu pis énan glosodéti sta eliniká?) |
| Michael: Then, Φρόσω Γιαννιτσάνου responds with the tongue twister, |
| Chrissi: Μια πάπια, μα ποια πάπια; Μια πάπια με παπιά |
| Michael: which translates in English to "A duck, but which duck? A duck with ducklings." |
| Michael: In Greek, just like in English and many other languages, tongue twisters are a fun way to practice your pronunciation with these silly phrases that often use alliteration to keep you on your toes and twist your tongue in knots. When you're first learning a language, and even when you reach a more advanced level, tongue twisters are a great way to perfect your enunciation. Challenge yourself by speeding up the tongue twister every time or compete against a friend to see how many times you can repeat the phrase without making a mistake. |
| Michael: Let's look at a few other Greek tongue twisters and their translations. Then, pause to try them out yourself. |
| Michael: Here's the first tongue twister: |
| Chrissi: Καλημέρα καμηλιέρη - Καμηλιέρη καλημέρα (Kaliméra kamiliéri kamiliéri kaliméra) |
| Chrissi: Καλημέρα καμηλιέρη - Καμηλιέρη καλημέρα (Kaliméra kamiliéri kamiliéri kaliméra) |
| Michael: This translates to "Good morning camel herder, camel herder good morning." |
| Michael: And here's the second tongue twister: |
| Chrissi: Μια τίγρη μα ποια τίγρης - Μια τίγρη με τρία τιγράκια (Miá tíyri ma piá tíyri ‘ miá tíyri me tría tiyrákia) |
| Chrissi: Μια τίγρη μα ποια τίγρης - Μια τίγρη με τρία τιγράκια (Miá tíyri ma piá tíyri ‘ miá tíyri me tría tiyrákia) |
| Michael: "A tiger, but which tiger, a tiger with three tiger cubs." |
| Michael: Can you think of any other tongue twisters? Consider practicing a new tongue twister each week to make pronunciation practice in Greek fun and easy to do! |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let's review. I will say the English translation, and then you try to say the equivalent Greek. Chrissi will then model the correct answer and you can repeat after her, with the focus on your pronunciation. |
| Do you remember how Sasha Lee says "Can you tell me a tongue twister in Greek?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Chrissi as Sasha: Μπορείς να μου πεις έναν γλωσσοδέτη στα ελληνικά; (Borís na mu pis énan glosodéti sta eliniká?) |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Chrissi as Sasha: Μπορείς να μου πεις έναν γλωσσοδέτη στα ελληνικά; (Borís na mu pis énan glosodéti sta eliniká?) |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Chrissi as Sasha: Μπορείς να μου πεις έναν γλωσσοδέτη στα ελληνικά; (Borís na mu pis énan glosodéti sta eliniká?) |
| Michael: And do you remember how Frosso Giannitsanou says, "A duck, but which duck? A duck with ducklings." |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Chrissi as Frosso: Μια πάπια, μα ποια πάπια; Μια πάπια με παπιά. (Mia pápia, ma pia pápia? Mia pápia me papiá.) |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Chrissi as Frosso: Μια πάπια, μα ποια πάπια; Μια πάπια με παπιά. (Mia pápia, ma pia pápia? Mia pápia me papiá.) |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Chrissi as Frosso: Μια πάπια, μα ποια πάπια; Μια πάπια με παπιά. (Mia pápia, ma pia pápia? Mia pápia me papiá.) |
| Cultural Insight |
| Michael: Did you know that one of the longest words ever to appear in literature is Greek? |
| Chrissi: Αριστοφάνης (Aristofánis), one of the top Greek comic playwrights of antiquity, in his comic play "Assemblywomen" (Εκκλησιάζουσες, Eklisiázuses), made up a very interesting compound word to describe all the foods that were available in the feast that takes place at the end of the play. |
| Michael: Pronouncing this word is definitely a tongue twister as it consists of 171 letters, it takes up 7 whole lines in the play, and, in 1990, it made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest word ever to appear in literature. Are you ready to hear it? |
| Chrissi: λοπαδο-τεμαχο-σελαχο-γαλεο-κρανιο-λειψανο-δριμ-υπο-τριμματο-σιλφιο- |
| καραβο-μελιτο-κατακεχυ-μενο-κιχλ-επι-κοσσυφο-φαττο-περιστερ-αλεκτρυον- |
| οπτο-κεφαλλιο-κιγκλο-πελειο-λαγῳο-σιραιο-βαφη-τραγανο-πτερύγων. |
| (Lopado-temaho-selaho-galeo-kranio-lipsano-drim-ipo-trimato-silfio-karavo-melito-katakehi-meno-kihl-epi-kosifo-fato-perister-alektrion-opto-kefalio-kiglo-pelio-lagoo-sireo-vafi-tragano-pterígon) |
| Michael: This word describes a fictional fricassee dish or perhaps many dishes that include limpets, fillets of ray and school shark, a sour sauce from fish heads, a sauce from honey, goat cheese, and the now-extinct silphium which is a type of fennel, poured over seafood or fowl. Wood dove, common pigeon, rooster, turtledove, hare in molasses sauce, and partridge meat. What a feast, huh?! |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Chrissi: Γεια χαρά! (Ya hará!) |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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