AMDO TIBETAN TONGUE TWISTERS

Abstract

Tibetan tongue twisters are a distinctive and significant part of Tibetan oral folk literature. They are made up of words and phrases related to what people see and experience in daily life. These words are strung together and are difficult to articulate rapidly and fluently, often because of a succession of questions and/ or similar consonantal sounds. This article sheds light on this poorly studied, vanishing, aspect of Tibetan tradition by focusing on tongue twisters that were once popular in Pha bzhi (Hayu 哈 玉 ), a subdivision of Skya rgya (Jiajia 贾 加 ) Administrative Village, Skya rgya Township, Gcan tsha (Jianzha 尖扎) County, Rma lho (Huangnan 黄南) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Mtsho sngon (Qinghai 青海) Province, PR China.