Pronunciation of railway associated words.

[melmerby]

6 minutes ago, VIA185 said:

...but isn't it spelt Hyacinth Bucket? (CJL)

On that theme Mrs Cadogan from the Irish RM (Cader Gorn)

[Jeremy Cumberland]

40 minutes ago, melmerby said:

Torpenhow (Cumbria) - but never on a railway.

Let's not forget Aspatria.

 

There's a tale I heard tell long ago, before I lived in Cumbria, of a porter at Aspatria addressing the passengers of a terminating train.  At the first class compartments, he said "Ha-spay-tri-uh. Please alight here." At the second class compatments he said "Spay-tri-uh all change," and at the third class compartments he said "Spi-at-tri. Get out!"

 

Actually, the version I heard had "Spatty" rather than "Spiatry", but I think that must be a mistake. I've never heard it called Spatty.

[Dave John]

I have a vague memory of a cartoon of the seaside postcard variety in which an attractive young lady asks a station porter,

 

" Am I alright for Chorleywood? "

 

To which the porter replies,

 

"Not'arf miss.    Oi Charlie, there is a lady looking for you "

 

Odd memories.... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[melmerby]

19 minutes ago, Jeremy C said:

Let's not forget Aspatria.

 

There's a tale I heard tell long ago, before I lived in Cumbria, of a porter at Aspatria addressing the passengers of a terminating train.  At the first class compartments, he said "Ha-spay-tri-uh. Please alight here." At the second class compatments he said "Spay-tri-uh all change," and at the third class compartments he said "Spi-at-tri. Get out!"

 

Actually, the version I heard had "Spatty" rather than "Spiatry", but I think that must be a mistake. I've never heard it called Spatty.

It was just ass-pay-tree-uh, the few times I heard it whilst living in Keswick. (kess-ick or kes-wick?)

 

Back down here in the midlands, railway station.

Alcester: All-sester, Al-sester or Allsta?

Cirencester (Siren-sester or Sister, or once I heard sis-sister?)

Warwick: worrick or war-wick?

 

Off topic

Incidentally Dionne Warwick (War-wick) was originally Warrick pronounced Worrick! until she replaced and r with a w)

 

[Coppercap]

In the course of my job I controlled (well, tried to..) telecomms engineers in South West England. One day we had a Scottish sales operative asking if we had an engineer free to do a job at Tones. Tony Who? When he eventually spelled it out we told him it was pronounced Tot-ness. But he was adamant the second T was silent (why?), and as there wasn't a double S at the end it couldn't be pronounced "Tot-neSS". We still did the job, and forever after we all jokingly referred to the Devon town as "Tones"! (Other places acquired 'jokey' names, but "Tones" was our favourite!).

[pete_mcfarlane]

My policeman brother tells of how an American asked him how to get from Nottingham to 'Luwger-burr-ewger'. Luckily it's just down the A60 from here. 

[New Haven Neil]

Cambois near Blyth always pops up - 'Cammis'.

[New Haven Neil]

Closer to current home is Barregarroo. 'B'garro'. 

[Nearholmer]

Claughton  = Claw-ton. I know one of Sir Gilbert’s grandsons and that’s how he pronounces it.

 

”Bulleid rhymes with succeed; Maunsell with cancel.”

 

That’s according to Bulleid’s son in the biography he wrote in the 1970s and great nephew of the great man who I met.

[rogerzilla]

Yup, the "u" in Maunsell is silent.  Just to add to the confusion between Richard E L Maunsell and Richard Mansell!

Edited November 24, 2022 by rogerzilla

[Martino]

If you go to New Orleans in the US, they have a street called Burgundy.  Not said how you would in France but Bur-GUN-dee.  Chartres Street is not as the French would have it but Charters.

…and New Orleans itself?  NewOrlins not New Orle -ans and certainly not Norleens! 

[Ohmisterporter]

2 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

Claughton  = Claw-ton. 

 

Now that Christmas carol makes sense; we have not mispronounced it all these years, simply mis-spelt it.

 

The cattle are laughing

The baby awakes.

[br2975]

10 hours ago, Ohmisterporter said:

Watching Father Brown yesterday when the principal actor spoke about repairs to the clerestory in his church. I have always pronounced this cle-rest-ory and heard other people doing likewise. Mark Williams pronounced it clear story. So which is correct?

Some years ago, when there were many fewer RMwebbers, we had a debate about the pronunciation of well known railway characters Bulleid and Maunsell. There are no doubt other personalities and equipment terms that mis-pronunciation can be applied to. Anyone have other words in mind?

 

P.S. Sorry this is a bit of a ramble; I am just getting over a migraine that left me struggling to compose a sentence.

.

My father was a cabinet maker / joiner and rebuilt several 'clear stories' in older buildings

[br2975]

What about Welsh place names ?

.

Where there is

.

(i) The correct Welsh pronunciation

(ii) The 'bastardised' local pronunciation

(iii) The way the poor saes (English) visitors try to pronounce it

.

I give you a few for starters

.

Penycoedcae

Ynysybwl

Radyr

Tondu

Gelli Tarw

Gwaun cae gurwen

Pontyclun

.

Then there's the dodgy one.....Portmadoc

[melmerby]

17 minutes ago, br2975 said:

Then there's the dodgy one.....Portmadoc

I thought that was English

Shouldn't it be Porthmadog?

[DavidLong]

8 hours ago, Hroth said:

Great Meols.

 

What do you think?  🤔

Meols in north Wirral is pronounced as 'Mells'.  A few miles the other side of the Mersey in Southport, Meols Cop is pronounced as 'Meels Cop'.

 

Another good one is 'Houghton'. this changes around the country and can be 'Ho-ton', Hor-ton' or How-ton.

 

David

[pH]

1 hour ago, Martino said:

 

…and New Orleans itself?  NewOrlins not New Orle -ans and certainly not Norleens! 

I thought Naw’lins was acceptable, or even NoLa.

[pH]

In the Glasgow area:

 

Milngavie - pronounced Mulguy

Bearsden - pronounced BearsDEN, not BEARSd’n

Govan - pronounced Guv’n, not (as pronounced by an English newsreader on his first night reading the local news) Go-van

[St Enodoc]

10 hours ago, AY Mod said:

 

us Midlanders like to make it sound like we went somewhere posh.

You mean anywhere outside the Midlands?

[St Enodoc]

10 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

David Jenkinson in one of his books had a section on terms, origins and correct pronunciation.

 

10 hours ago, Porcy Mane said:

That'll ave been David Jenkinsons view of railway pronunciation, not the railway-mans  view of railway pronunciation.

 

David Jenkinson never, in my hearing, referred to Oh Gauge (and certainly not to Gauge Oh). It was always Nought Gauge.

[St Enodoc]

9 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

I recall a tale of a pop group who stayed there in the '60s and called it Shagborough....

I thought that was Longleat (pronounced Long-leat, as far as I know).

[St Enodoc]

9 hours ago, Hroth said:

Great Meols.

 

What do you think?  🤔

Fish and chips?

[Wheatley]

York station had an announcer a few years ago who never did get her head around Ker-nairs-borrow.

[Andy Kirkham]

41 minutes ago, pH said:

In the Glasgow area:

 

Milngavie - pronounced Mulguy

Bearsden - pronounced BearsDEN, not BEARSd’n

Govan - pronounced Guv’n, not (as pronounced by an English newsreader on his first night reading the local news) Go-van

 

There was an opencast coal terminal named Ravenstruther near Carstairs. I understand it's pronounced Renstrie.

[BachelorBoy]

11 hours ago, Jeremy C said:

OED has /ˈklɪəstɔːri/ (clear-story)

 

But Alec Guinness (as Henry d'Ascoigne, the rector) says cle-res-tri in Kind Hearts and Coronets,

Sorry, a bit off-topic, but that character has my favourite line in the film:

 

"I always say my West window has all the exuberance of Chaucer without, happily, any of the concomitant crudities of his period."