General Information about Item:

• Tongue Twister
• Language: Spanish
• Country of Origin: Colombia
• Informant: Juanita Morales
• Date Collected: 10-4-18

Informant Data:

• The informant is Juanita Morales. She was born April 22, 1999 in Laseigha, Colombia. She came to the United States when she was nine and is now an American citizen. She is currently a sophomore at Dartmouth College. She is a Spanish native speaker and speaks with her family in Spanish. Most of her family still resides in Colombia and she retains a close connection with the culture.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: Tongue Twisters in Spanish speaking countries are used in a similar way and in similar places as other cultures. Tongue Twisters are most common with children who are taught them in order to learn difficult sounds and methods of speaking. These tongue twisters can be used as entertainment for children during playtime or be part of a tongue twister contest where students compete be able to speak it the fastest or the best at speaking it are some of the most popular uses. Spanish language has many difficult sounds and words with many consonants that have to be said rather fast.
• Social Context: This is an extremely common Spanish language tongue twister. There is no specific group that this is said by, but it is extremely common to hear young children on playgrounds challenging each other to say it to show off to their friends and classmates. It is found in numerous Latin American countries, including Colombia and Mexico.

Item:

• Original Spanish: En tres tristes trastos de trigo, tres tristes tigres comían trigo. Comían trigo, tres tristes tigres, en tres tristes trastos de trigo.
• Translation: In three sad plates of wheat, three sad tigers ate wheat, (they) ate wheat, three sad tigers, in three sad plates of wheat.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Tongue Twister

Full Interview:

Informant’s Comments:

• The very similar words make it difficult and enjoyable to say.

Collector’s Comments:

• Both of my interviewees knew this tongue twister by heart and they enjoyed saying it faster and faster together after the first interview.

Collector’s Name: Caroline Atwood

Tags/Keywords:

• Tongue Twister
• Spanish
• Colombia