Siouan tongue twisters?

[Lori Stanley]

Thanks for the Chiwere chuckle, Saul!



On Sat, May 11, 2013 at 9:54 AM, Saul Schwartz <sschwart at princeton.edu>wrote:

> Hello,
>
> Just wanted to share an amusing anecdote I encountered when I was in the
> American Philosophical Society Library recently going through Gordon
> Marsh's correspondence with Franz Boas. The following is in a letter from
> Marsh, dated August 6, 1936, updating Boas on the progress of his fieldwork
> with Chiwere speakers near Perkins, Oklahoma:
>
> "I can say a few words and simple sentences and can ask for food at the
> table. The Indians get a great kick out of hearing me talk. Sometimes I
> read them parts of my text, a lot of which they have never heard, and they
> say it sounds very natural to them and they all understand it. They are
> pleased when I say 8888 for them. It is supposed to be the hardest thing to
> say and some of them say they can’t say it themselves. It is simply:
>
> kóge glelábliⁿ gléblaⁿ húyaⁿ glelábliⁿnaⁿ gléblaⁿ glelábliⁿ aglíⁿ
> glelábliⁿ."
>
> While I know that tongue twisters are a recognized form verbal play and
> source of amusement in many languages, this is the first time I've come
> across a Siouan one. If there are other examples of Siouan tongue twisters,
> I'd be interested to hear about them.
>
> Be well,
> Saul
>



-- 
Lori A. Stanley
Professor of Anthropology
Luther College
700 College Drive
Decorah, Iowa 52101
563-387-1283
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