… is a well known tongue twister, but it occurred to me that it might be twisting more than just one’s tongue. If you’re like me (and most people) you probably can’t say it much more than twice without screwing up, and if this is the case I invite you to try the following experiment:

Imagine someone speaking to you, someone with perfect enunciation (eg an actor, presenter etc), and imagine them saying that phrase, quickly and clearly, five times in a row. Starting now.

…

Any luck? It turns out this is something I can not do. In my head, even Stephen Fry says "Red leather yellow leather red lella yella lala…" If this tendency is normal (as I kind of hope it is) it seems to me a striking indication of a direct link between speech and thought– it’s almost enough to make me want to go back to university and finish my semiotics degree.