English tongue twister

Betty Botter

Betty Botter bought some butter. “But,” she said, “this butter’s bitter; If I put it in my batter, It will make my batter bitter; But a bit of better butter Will but make my batter better.” So she bought a bit of butter Better than the bitter butter, And made her bitter batter better. So it was better Betty Botter Bought a bit of better butter.

Notice the sounds

/b//ɪ//ɛ//æ//ʌ/

Compare the vowels in bit, better, batter and butter while keeping /b/ steady. Use your normal accent for the middle consonant of Betty, bitter and butter; it may sound like a quick tap in American English.

Words in this expression

Source

Delight and Power in Speech, Leonard G. Nattkemper and George Wharton James (1919), articulation exercises

Public domain in the United States; the pinned source includes the Project Gutenberg license.

Pronunciation notes and explanations are editorial.