― MarkH (MarkH), Saturday, 13 September 2003 20:56 (twenty years ago) link
― MarkH (MarkH), Saturday, 13 September 2003 20:57 (twenty years ago) link
― Ed (dali), Saturday, 13 September 2003 20:58 (twenty years ago) link
― Ed (dali), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:00 (twenty years ago) link
― oops (Oops), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:01 (twenty years ago) link
I wonder whether Leicester and Towcester were ORIGINALLY pronounced as spelt and only became Lester and Toaster over the centuries?
It's odd how Boise is pronounced the same way as the guy in Only Fools & Horses who's married to Marlene.
― MarkH (MarkH), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:04 (twenty years ago) link
― MarkH (MarkH), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:07 (twenty years ago) link
― RJG (RJG), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:09 (twenty years ago) link
― MarkH (MarkH), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:13 (twenty years ago) link
― MarkH (MarkH), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:15 (twenty years ago) link
― Ed (dali), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:17 (twenty years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:18 (twenty years ago) link
― Ed (dali), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:22 (twenty years ago) link
― MarkH (MarkH), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:25 (twenty years ago) link
― C J (C J), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:41 (twenty years ago) link
― C J (C J), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:43 (twenty years ago) link
there doesn't seem to be consensus abt Shrewsbury
SHREWS or SHROWS?
actually, mark s to thread!
― MarkH (MarkH), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:44 (twenty years ago) link
― David. (Cozen), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:46 (twenty years ago) link
Shiphay near Torquay is 'shippy'.
― MarkH (MarkH), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:49 (twenty years ago) link
Ip-seh-lan-tee
― Kingfish (Kingfish), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:56 (twenty years ago) link
― ailsa (ailsa), Saturday, 13 September 2003 22:23 (twenty years ago) link
― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Saturday, 13 September 2003 22:32 (twenty years ago) link
Scotland is full of place names like this, but I don't think of many of them as being strangely pronounced as I'm used to pronouncing them the way they are meant to be pronounced, and the spelling seems incidental.
Does that last paragraph make sense? It doesn't look right written down, but I know what I mean.
― ailsa (ailsa), Saturday, 13 September 2003 22:38 (twenty years ago) link
― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Saturday, 13 September 2003 22:51 (twenty years ago) link
― RJG (RJG), Saturday, 13 September 2003 23:02 (twenty years ago) link
― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Saturday, 13 September 2003 23:04 (twenty years ago) link
― j.lu (j.lu), Saturday, 13 September 2003 23:04 (twenty years ago) link
― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Saturday, 13 September 2003 23:09 (twenty years ago) link
I pronounced Guerneville as Gurney-ville once because I had heard that's how the locals say it, but when someone repeated the name they used Gwairn-ville (French-ish). I detected some scorn.
And finally, many months ago I remember someone being gently mocked here for not knowing how to pronounce Leicester ("How else would you pronounce it?), and now even the Brits admit it's not as one would guess.
― nickn (nickn), Sunday, 14 September 2003 00:15 (twenty years ago) link
Burgundy: bur-GUN-deeChartres: CHAR-ters. Actually, the /r/s are not really pronounced, but they're there in spirit.New Orleans: noo OR-lins (there are a lot of ways to say this, but the point is the contrast with --Orleans (as in Orleans Avenue or Orleans Parish): or-LEENS)Calliope: CAL-ee-opeTerpsichore: TERP-suh-coreMetairie: MET-uh-ree, sometimes MEH-treeTchoupitoulas: chop-uh-TOOL-iss, although this one is famous for its variation from neighborhood to neighborhood (which is the case with a lot of New Orleans street names)Bonnabel: BON-uh-buhl. Rhymes with "Carnival" as pronounced by Bostonians.And Tulane is TOOlane, not tooLANE, unless you're a student there.
― Tep (ktepi), Sunday, 14 September 2003 00:16 (twenty years ago) link
― nickn (nickn), Sunday, 14 September 2003 00:55 (twenty years ago) link
(Of course, for years I thought "choir" was a synonym of "quire.")
― Tep (ktepi), Sunday, 14 September 2003 00:58 (twenty years ago) link
― Trayce (trayce), Sunday, 14 September 2003 01:06 (twenty years ago) link
― nickn (nickn), Sunday, 14 September 2003 01:18 (twenty years ago) link
― Jeff Wright, Sunday, 14 September 2003 01:43 (twenty years ago) link
― the surface noise (electricsound), Sunday, 14 September 2003 01:52 (twenty years ago) link
(That's not quite "not pronouncing it as it's spelled," but it's "not pronouncing it as you'd expect.")
― Tep (ktepi), Sunday, 14 September 2003 02:10 (twenty years ago) link
― kirsten (kirsten), Sunday, 14 September 2003 02:14 (twenty years ago) link
― Tep (ktepi), Sunday, 14 September 2003 02:16 (twenty years ago) link
― M Matos (M Matos), Sunday, 14 September 2003 02:17 (twenty years ago) link
No one ever says "brisbayne" unless theyre an american tourist =)
― Trayce (trayce), Sunday, 14 September 2003 03:45 (twenty years ago) link
― tokyo rosemary (rosemary), Sunday, 14 September 2003 03:51 (twenty years ago) link
― donna (donna), Sunday, 14 September 2003 05:01 (twenty years ago) link
― smoky topaz (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 14 September 2003 05:03 (twenty years ago) link
― sand.y, Sunday, 14 September 2003 05:16 (twenty years ago) link
― C J (C J), Sunday, 14 September 2003 06:44 (twenty years ago) link
― Ed (dali), Sunday, 14 September 2003 06:48 (twenty years ago) link
― C J (C J), Sunday, 14 September 2003 06:53 (twenty years ago) link
― Jeremy (Jeremy), Sunday, 14 September 2003 07:32 (twenty years ago) link
― David. (Cozen), Sunday, 14 September 2003 09:23 (twenty years ago) link
Anywhere in the Western Isles that now uses the Gaelic spelling - Steornobhagh (formerly Stornoway), for example.
― caitlin (caitlin), Sunday, 14 September 2003 10:22 (twenty years ago) link
Strathavon
I forgot about that. Actually spelt Strathaven < /pedant>, it's pronounced Straven.
― ailsa (ailsa), Sunday, 14 September 2003 10:54 (twenty years ago) link
― Mary (Mary), Sunday, 14 September 2003 11:04 (twenty years ago) link
― Mary (Mary), Sunday, 14 September 2003 11:06 (twenty years ago) link
― Ed (dali), Sunday, 14 September 2003 11:06 (twenty years ago) link
― mei (mei), Sunday, 14 September 2003 16:24 (twenty years ago) link
I think someone's been winding you up.
― N. (nickdastoor), Sunday, 14 September 2003 22:39 (twenty years ago) link
― Orbit (Orbit), Sunday, 14 September 2003 22:41 (twenty years ago) link
Where in Maryland are you from? Supposedly in the classic Maryland accent it's "Bawl-mer Mer-y-lin."
― j.lu (j.lu), Sunday, 14 September 2003 22:49 (twenty years ago) link
Once in awhile you'll hear (local) people get into fights over whether it's "loose-ee-anna" or "weeze-ee-anna," which is just weird :) I think it's a Shreveport-and-points-north vs. New Orleans-and-points-south thing.
― Tep (ktepi), Sunday, 14 September 2003 23:01 (twenty years ago) link
That pronunciation was explained to me by an old highschool friend from North Carolina (who HATED the way we foreigners pronounced it Mary-Land). The way he pronounced it, the second and third vowels should probably be schwas, "Merələnd"
― Jeremy (Jeremy), Sunday, 14 September 2003 23:15 (twenty years ago) link
― Orbit (Orbit), Sunday, 14 September 2003 23:20 (twenty years ago) link
― phil-two (phil-two), Sunday, 14 September 2003 23:24 (twenty years ago) link
― Emilymv (Emilymv), Sunday, 14 September 2003 23:31 (twenty years ago) link
Spokane = "spo-CAN" (not "spo-cane")Puyallup = "pee-yallup"Issaquah = "issa-kwah"Mukilteo = "muckle teo"
Oregon (these are VERY IMPORTANT! You could be arrested in the state otherwise)
Oregon = "Ori-gan" (not "Ore-GONE")Willamette = "wi-LAM-met" (not "Willa-met")
― donut bitch (donut), Sunday, 14 September 2003 23:43 (twenty years ago) link
― the surface noise (electricsound), Sunday, 14 September 2003 23:47 (twenty years ago) link
― Tep (ktepi), Monday, 15 September 2003 00:00 (twenty years ago) link
Isn't Puyallup something closer to "pwee-all-up"? Except maybe two syllables?
― Chris P (Chris P), Monday, 15 September 2003 00:21 (twenty years ago) link
as long as it's not "Pooya Lip", I think anything goes for Puyallup.
― donut bitch (donut), Monday, 15 September 2003 00:46 (twenty years ago) link
― ron (ron), Monday, 15 September 2003 05:45 (twenty years ago) link
― ron (ron), Monday, 15 September 2003 05:46 (twenty years ago) link
Peabody (massachusettes) = (pronounced) PEEB-dee
...where did teh 'o' go?
― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 15 September 2003 05:48 (twenty years ago) link
Other favourites from the Celtic fringes: Mousehole Quernmore.
― Tim (Tim), Monday, 15 September 2003 07:49 (twenty years ago) link
Whatstandwell - whazzel
Belvoir - Beaver
― chris (chris), Monday, 15 September 2003 08:18 (twenty years ago) link
― gareth (gareth), Monday, 15 September 2003 08:20 (twenty years ago) link
this fact was used by the writers of my uni newsletter who had a character called Belvoir the Bursar's Beaver whose pic would appear in each issue with a speech bubble saying something mundane but useful, e.g. Belvoir the Bursar's Beaver Says "Don't Forget to Return Your Library Books Before the End of Term".
― MarkH (MarkH), Monday, 15 September 2003 08:25 (twenty years ago) link
― chris (chris), Monday, 15 September 2003 08:36 (twenty years ago) link
dorset street in dublin is pronouced door-SET but i thought that this was the only place in the world this happened.
― angela (angela), Monday, 15 September 2003 08:41 (twenty years ago) link
― angela (angela), Monday, 15 September 2003 08:42 (twenty years ago) link
― robster (robster), Monday, 15 September 2003 09:28 (twenty years ago) link
Druid Hill Park in Baltimore is pronounced Droodle Park. There is a lovely town northeast of there called Havre de Grace, pronounced Haverr duh Grayce. Taliaferro as Tolliver is fairly common throughout Maryland and Virginia.
― Colin Meeder (Mert), Monday, 15 September 2003 11:04 (twenty years ago) link
― Rob M (Rob M), Monday, 15 September 2003 11:16 (twenty years ago) link
being one of said locals (lived there first 20 odd years of my life) i can confirm this 8)
andy
― koogs (koogs), Monday, 15 September 2003 12:03 (twenty years ago) link
― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Monday, 15 September 2003 12:09 (twenty years ago) link
Damm those tricky French.
My favorite was Robbie Street in Halifax, pronounce it like the name and no one will know what your talking about since to them its always been ROWbe threet.
― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Monday, 15 September 2003 12:53 (twenty years ago) link
― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 15 September 2003 14:37 (twenty years ago) link
― teeny (teeny), Monday, 15 September 2003 14:43 (twenty years ago) link
Plaistow - PLAH-stowHighgate - High-gt (with the schwa as in Harrogate rather than the "ei" in Moorgate, Aldgate, or even Watergate)Holborn - HOE-bnMarylebone - Marlybone
And as a TEFLer, I take evil pleasure in hearing students and tourists confused by "Tott-num" Court Road and "Lester" Square !
― darren (darren), Monday, 15 September 2003 17:29 (twenty years ago) link
― ailsa (ailsa), Monday, 15 September 2003 17:54 (twenty years ago) link
― Mary (Mary), Monday, 15 September 2003 21:05 (twenty years ago) link
― Dada, Monday, 15 September 2003 21:07 (twenty years ago) link
― joni, Monday, 15 September 2003 21:18 (twenty years ago) link
― MarkH (MarkH), Monday, 15 September 2003 22:07 (twenty years ago) link
Some places in Northern Ireland -
Lough Neagh = Lock Nay Biggest lake in the British Isles, fact fans.Doagh = DokeCoalisland = Cull-EYE-lun to the localsArmagh = Arr-MAHOmagh = OH-maCastlereagh = cassel-RAYBallymoney = BALLAH-moneyBallymena = BALLAH-meena
BUT
Ballyclare = BALLEE-clare
― Crackity (Crackity Jones), Friday, 4 March 2005 11:41 (nineteen years ago) link