Mr Portillo does not know proper pronounciation of a town

[APOLLO]

Irlams o' th' Height, Besses o' th 'Barn, both in Lancashire and had / have railway stations. (Besses now a tram stop on the bury line). Difficult to pronounce correctly for non Lancastrians.

 

Not far from Irlams was once an old house named Sod Hall, and towards Bolton is Nob End - wonder what folks born there are known as !!!!

 

Brit15

[pH]

Some people do not know how to pronounce Scottish place names such as Wemyss Bay

 

That's the second time I've seen the pronunciation of 'Wemyss Bay' mentioned on here. I grew up less than ten miles away away from there, so I know how we pronounced it, but I would be interested to hear how you would.

[stovepipe]

Weems Bay? At least that was what I was told.

[The Johnster]

You can tell an East Anglian by how they pronounce Magdalen. I do believe that it is pronounced the same way in Oxford.... At Liverpool Street I seem to recall it being pronounced both ways (by two different announcers).

 

Beddau - one of the worst places I’ve visited, however it is pronounced (is it also the town the literally ran a Paediatrician out of town)?

 

It’s not just me: http://www.ilivehere.co.uk/beddau-welsh-for-satans-arse.html

 

 

Best, Pete.

 

IIRC the paediatrician incident was from the Dyffryn Estate on the western edge of Newport.  Beddau means 'The Graves', I've always assumed because the poor sods who live there can't get in to theirs too soon....

[The Johnster]

I made the mistake of going to Darlaston once and it was shut.....

 

You lucky devil!!!

[The Johnster]

(a) No

(b) Why do you think we built it?

 

 

To stop your slaves escaping west, of course...

[Oldddudders]

Some of my Father’s family lived in Cirencester (the others came from Ludlow) and he said they all called it Sisister - this was back in the Twenties. I think Cirencester is in a state of denial as many people now call it Ciren, which sounds chavlike to me.

 

Best, Pete.

 

In 1966/7 I went out with a girl who had rellies there. She called it Siren. 

[Oldddudders]

 (the others came from Ludlow) 

 

My - well, Deb's really - elderly grey horse was bred in Ludlow, and is now in her 36th year, which isn't too bad. 

[Welchester]

a friend of mine who used to live in Loughborough used to call it 'Low-brow'...

 

When I worked for UCCA in the early 1980s, the code for the University was LBRO, which we student temporary workers altered to Lowbrow. A document so altered was sent by mistake to the academic registrar, who replied, "We may be, but there's no need to rub it in."

[Mike Buckner]

You even get people living in places that can't pronounce the town name. Or change it to sound posher.

 

 

Shrewsbury for example. It's Shrews Bury, not Shrows Bury. The clue is in the football teams nickname.

 

 

Or Bache near Chester. It used to be pronounced Backer, now it's Bayche as in face.

 

 

Jason

In the 1960's, my local station had a sign at the exit "all tickets must be shewn". Spelt with the letter E, pronounced the regular way "shown".

[lmsforever]

In the pre ww2  days shewn seemed to be on every station .

[jessy1692]

i once cringed at hearing someone say Harrogate as "Harrow-gate"

Or to me as a native of Dewsbury exiled in Harrogate its 'Arrogut

[wombatofludham]

It's SHREWSbury for me, or to avoid confusion salop

 

As for bache I used to know a very camp hairdresser who lived near there on 'the lache' as he didn't want people knowing he lived on one of the more 'colourful' estates he used to say he lived in la-ché, similarly blacon, bla-cón

 

Euxton jn is another regualarly mispronounced one (pronounced Exton)

 

the one I can never get my head round is alrewas, is it al-re-was or ald-was

 

I used to live a few miles from Alrewas and it was always pronounced "ul-r-woz" whenever I heard it mentioned.  There again the locals referred to Uttoxeter as "Uchetta", and I'm probably one of the last people who pronounces the second month of the year as "Feb-roo-ary" so who knows.

 

I seem to recall "Salop" became frowned upon as an abbreviation for Shropshire in the 1970s when it emerged it is similar to a swear word in French.

[melmerby]

 

 

I seem to recall "Salop" became frowned upon as an abbreviation for Shropshire in the 1970s when it emerged it is similar to a swear word in French.

But Salop is derived from an earlier rendition of the name before "Shrewsbury" became the norm

Something like "Salopisberie", I've also seen another something like "Sciropisburgh". Old names of places are quite often many and variable and also occasionally more like the local pronunciation than the modern rendering.

 

e.g. Birmingham is known as Brummagen and an older version of the name is Bromwicham.

Quite where that came from one wonders as the root is Beorma + inga + ham (the hamlet of the people of Beorma, where Beorma is a personal name) and is much closer to the modern name.

 

Re Cambridge (came bridge) there is another in Gloster which AFAIK is pronounced camm-bridge.

 

Keith

[pH]

Weems Bay? At least that was what I was told.

Maybe, but the more usual local pronunciation was Wims Bay.

[jessy1692]

Anyone care to know local pronunciation of Slaithwaite?

Always a good one to catch southerners out

James

[Fat Controller]

I used to live a few miles from Alrewas and it was always pronounced "ul-r-woz" whenever I heard it mentioned.  There again the locals referred to Uttoxeter as "Uchetta", and I'm probably one of the last people who pronounces the second month of the year as "Feb-roo-ary" so who knows.

 

I seem to recall "Salop" became frowned upon as an abbreviation for Shropshire in the 1970s when it emerged it is similar to a swear word in French.

'Salop' is not so much a swearword, as a derogatory comment on someone's character ('salope' if female) It does make me wonder about the origin of 'salopettes', the dungaree-type garments worn by skiers.

Near to Uchetta, you'll find 'Roaster', and it's JCB factories.

'Lough' as used in Northern Ireland, is pronounced as per the Scottish, at least if the pronunciation of 'Carlingford Lough' on the Inshore Forecasts of the BBC is to be depended upon.

[trisonic]

My - well, Deb's really - elderly grey horse was bred in Ludlow, and is now in her 36th year, which isn't too bad. 

 

I’ve never been to Ludlow! Somebody told me that it’s “quite nice”. A quarter of  the family buggered off to the ’States between 1901 and 1924.

 

On the other hand I have been to Sisister. Ahead of their time if they had Chav’s in the sixties........

 

Let’s see I moved here in 1989 (although I thought it was for six months at the time) - every time I go back to the UK I’m surprised by just how street language has changed. My cousin who retired from MI5 frequently ends sentences with the rising cadence  “yeah”. Which is common in Cop Speak and Australia - but I was astounded it had reached 5. The other one who had been in MI6 looked down his nose when I mentioned it to him.

Similarly no one I knew used the term: “Slapper” (derogatory of certain women) before I left.

 

Best, Pete.

[Edwardian]

I’ve never been to Ludlow! Somebody told me that it’s “quite nice”. A quarter of  the family buggered off to the ’States between 1901 and 1924.

 

On the other hand I have been to Sisister. Ahead of their time if they had Chav’s in the sixties........

 

Let’s see I moved here in 1989 (although I thought it was for six months at the time) - every time I go back to the UK I’m surprised by just how street language has changed. My cousin who retired from MI5 frequently ends sentences with the rising cadence  “yeah”. Which is common in Cop Speak and Australia - but I was astounded it had reached 5. The other one who had been in MI6 looked down his nose when I mentioned it to him.

Similarly no one I knew used the term: “Slapper” (derogatory of certain women) before I left.

 

Best, Pete.

 

There is a rising cadence? At the and of each sentence? Or phrase?  Which makes everything sound like a question?

 

It seems quite popular? In Australia and America? But most kids over here do it too?

 

It is quite difficult for some old fogies such as myself to cope with. To our ears it suggests that interlocutor is unsure of what he or she is saying and is constantly seeking reassurance, whereas, I am told, it is more to do with the speaker seeking to establish that the listener has understood what is said to him or her.

 

Bl**dy annoying, either way.  

 

BTW, Ludlow is well-worth a visit, IMHO

[griffgriff]

The pronouciation of Toton confused me when I was a small lad. I used to wonder why the LMR kept their freight engines just outside the New Forest!

[Gwiwer]

Woolfardisworthy. At least the village sign helps pronunciation.

 

Which one?  For such an unusual name there are two.  That nearer to Hartland is "Wool-zee" (as in the car for those with longer memories) while the one closer to Tiverton is "Wool-z-ree".

 

LISS-card is heard too often when L'SKARD is correct.  RED-ruth is stressed the other way but more often just DROOTH locally.  Most Cornish names prefixed St. have the "saint" rendered as "Sn" as in Snerth (St. Erth) , Snizzey (St. Issey), Snozzle (St. Austell), S'nTETH (St. Teath).  

 

I learned Slaithwaite as "Sleth-it" and can usually offer a comprehensible (and sometimes correct) rendering of Welsh names though I do stumble in Scotland at times.  Mull-GUY isn't a chap from some western isle, he lives just west of Glasgow (which is apparently Glez-gee to many) and it took me some time to establish that Chatelheraux was "SHAT-ler-oh"  

 

Now who's brave enough to take on Perranzabuloe or Marazanvose?

[Edwardian]

I’ve never been to Ludlow! Somebody told me that it’s “quite nice”. A quarter of  the family buggered off to the ’States between 1901 and 1924.

 

On the other hand I have been to Sisister. Ahead of their time if they had Chav’s in the sixties........

 

Let’s see I moved here in 1989 (although I thought it was for six months at the time) - every time I go back to the UK I’m surprised by just how street language has changed. My cousin who retired from MI5 frequently ends sentences with the rising cadence  “yeah”. Which is common in Cop Speak and Australia - but I was astounded it had reached 5. The other one who had been in MI6 looked down his nose when I mentioned it to him.

Similarly no one I knew used the term: “Slapper” (derogatory of certain women) before I left.

 

Best, Pete.

 

That reminds me, when we lived abroad, my wife worked with an American colleague and friend.  There was no chance of maternity leave, so our son lived under her office desk in a Moses Basket.

 

Shades of the Brittas Empire if anyone remembers that?

 

Anyway, apparently "b*gger" is/was not an expletive with much currency in the States.  Considering what it means, it is surprising, perhaps, how mild and relatively harmless its use has become. Generally, we use it to mean something approximating to "nuisance", but never mind.

 

So, said American became fascinated by the word, and spent countless time repeating the word "B*gger" to our baby son in the hope, vain as it turned out, that this would be his first word.  Full marks for effort, though.

 

By the way, I hate to break it to all you good folk Stateside, but you do realise that for all these years you have been pronouncing Pittsburgh completely wrong?

[bike2steam]

e.g. Birmingham is known as Brummagen and an older version of the name is Bromwicham.

Quite where that came from one wonders as the root is Beorma + inga + ham (the hamlet of the people of Beorma, where Beorma is a personal name) and is much closer to the modern name.

My dear ol' mum, rest her soul, like her family were/are 'Black Country' to the core they always referred to Birmingham as 'Brummagum' ( soft 'g').

 

Re Cambridge (came bridge) there is another in Gloster which AFAIK is pronounced camm-bridge.

 

In a similar-ish vain, down 'ere in Dorset we have a Gillingham, but different to the Kentish one that is pronounced with a 'soft' G ( as in German), the Dorset one is a 'hard' G ( as in gun).

 

So give people a little lee-way, we can't be perfect every time.

[peanuts]

very suprised that leominster hasnt popped up yet 

[Chris116]

very suprised that leominster hasnt popped up yet

 

It has now!