DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SAYING, A RIDDLE AND A TONGUE TWISTER - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The differences between a saying, a riddle and a tongue twister range from their use to their structure, since in reality they are three types of short texts that are very different from each other.

It should also be noted that all three present certain local variations, even when it comes to places that share the same language.

As for the similarities, they tend to have a popular origin and are widely used in education.

According to experts, they are not only useful to stimulate children's minds or to improve their pronunciation, but when parents say them, they also reinforce emotional ties with their children.

Main characteristics of the proverb, the riddle and the tongue twister

These three types of phrases often share a popular origin. Two of them are verbal games -the riddle and the tongue twisters-, while the sayings have been defined as extracts from popular wisdom.

Riddles

Riddles are a kind of game in which, through a series of more or less obvious clues, the answer must be discovered.

They usually have a popular and traditional origin and have different formats, although they generally use rhyme to make it more melodious.

These sayings pose the riddles in an ingenious way, although their answers, when finally discovered, often seem obvious.

They have been traditionally used as a method of entertainment, especially for children who also learn new words and different ways of using them.

Examples of riddles

Although of popular origin, they were already used by an author as important as Homer in The Odyssey, when the Sphinx puts Odysseus as a condition that he succeeds in achieving his purpose. It read:

- What is the animal that walks on all fours in the morning, two at noon and three at night?

The answer is the man, who crawls as a child, when he grows up he walks on his two legs and in old age uses a cane to help himself.

Other more popular ones are:

- It appears from the front, from the sides, from the back, you are careless for a moment and it lifts your skirt: the wind.

- In the sea I do not get wet, in the embers I do not burn, in the air I do not fall and you have me on your lips: the letter A.

Tongue twister

Also known as tongue twisters, tongue twisters are small texts that, due to their characteristics, are difficult to pronounce.

Whether it's from repeating certain complicated sounds or using difficult words, repeating them correctly takes practice and repetition.

Apart from their recreational use, tongue twisters are widely used in education, especially when the child has a problem with the pronunciation of a phoneme. Even speech therapists have incorporated them into their strategies to improve diction.

They are usually funny phrases, so as not to end up boring and, in this way, not to abandon it at the first difficulty.

Examples of tongue twisters

- If Samson doesn't season his sauce with salt, it comes out bland; Samson's sauce is bland if he seasones it without salt.

- Three sad trapeze artists with three chopped rags make gruesome traps because they climb the trapeze by rags and not by ropes.

Sayings

Sayings have always enjoyed a very good reputation as a sample of popular wisdom.

Contrary to the two previous genres, its function is not to entertain, but to transmit the knowledge acquired during the story.

This is why they usually deal with very practical topics, such as the weather, although there are also many that deal with the character of people.

They are usually presented in the form of a short text, often with a rhyme that achieves a rhythmic effect to better remember them.

They are resourceful and always end up getting a message across. Of course, because there are so many, they are often contradictory to each other. For example, you may find some who encourage you to get up early and others who say that this is not so important.

Examples of sayings

- Who gets up early, God helps.

- Not by much getting up early it dawns earlier.

- Although the monkey dresses in silk, the monkey stays.

References

1. Sánchez, Karen Johana. Rounds, riddles and tongue twisters stimulate children's intellectual capacity and strengthen the affective bond. Retrieved from abcdelbebe.com
2. Educational Portal. Riddles, sayings and tongue twisters. (September 5, 2005). Obtained deportaleducativo.net
3. Wikipedia. Tongue-twister. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org
4. Literary devices. Definition of Proverb. Retrieved from literarydevices.net
5. Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. Riddle. (April 6, 2006). Retrieved from britannica.com