br2975 Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I am aware that many members and contributors to RMweb are occasionally confused by the spelling and pronunciation of Welsh place names. . As a Welshman imagine my confusion (OK amusement) when visiting a website illustrating Welsh railways, only to be confronted with some of the following locations:- . Newport Caitiff Road sidings Barged Rhyme Shed Mountain Ash Tariff Roads Aberclare High Level Porch Marty Trochee Punters Junction Aberrant The only other intermediate station on the Harlan branch was at Aberrant Duffy Yard shedBragmend or Bridged Poetical Tend Junction Master (Neath Road) Rewoven Briton Ferry Goad Denigrating Shed Pontardulas Junction Glean Amman, Glanamrnn , or Clansman Garment Gauche GardenClefts Carpathian Town Milfoil Haven Pencilled Lamperer or Lamenter Newcastle Emlyen or Newcastle Ellyn The 9.47am goods service from Lamenter arrives at Aberdare Gouge Crummy Arms Lamprey Leyland Charleston Bowl New Trademark Rhyme Lower Sorrow Tram road Breton & Merthyr Groeswen Haiti Abler Valley branch from Caerphilly Clymer Aran 12.37pm service from instead Munich to Dowlas Ace Harris Ystrad Munich Neath to Pontypool Roam River Canon Pontypridd, Aversion and Merthyr Looking south from the station footbridge at Pooh Perth was the junction station for the Taff Vale branches to Maerdy and Treherbert Abused of Treherbert, it closed in September 1964. Merthyr to Herman . I've identified the locations referred to - but, have not included the 'real' spelling or correct locations here . I thought it would be fun for other contributors to identify them and prolong this thread . The source of my joviality can be found here:- . http://locodriver.co.uk/Railway_Encyclopedia/Part223/Part05/Part05.htm . Brian R . PS One suspects the keys may have fallen out of the administrators keyboard and were not replaced in the QWERTY format ......... Or some other IT problem may have been a contributory factor ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMS2968 Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Bet you had fun typing that lot out! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackRat Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Mate has a roving job, in Wales,at mo, phone call yesterday asking for directions to Lan Nelly! Guess where...... First pronounced LaLaNanLaLaLelly! Mind you we get the same here in Cornwall.....Liskeeeard, Lawnscesttton, Double Bois (say it in French) Fowwweeey, and don't even try Watermatrout! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivercider Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 It is not just the Welsh side that there are problems, I have just had a quick look a the link. I thought I knew the area quite well but did not realise there was a car carrier service from Severn Tunnel junction to Piling (High Level)! Mind you I had never heard of the 65600 class locos that used to be found at Rhyme shed either! edit - for spelling! cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted November 12, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 12, 2014 always makes me laugh when a scouser tries to say "acrefair" (a-cre-fa-yer) its almost always "acre fair" similarly "talacre" (ta-la-cra) comes out as "tall acre" the best i've heard was a former work collegue from widnes was going to "cloggy nog forest" for his holidays (clogaenog forest) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Barry Ten Posted November 12, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 12, 2014 I am aware that many members and contributors to RMweb are occasionally confused by the spelling and pronunciation of Welsh place names. Crummy Arms I've had many a mediocre pint in the Crummy Arms. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold DaveF Posted November 12, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 12, 2014 On looking at the link in the first post my anti virus warned me of an attempted download of a Trojan. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Living near the Anglo-Saxon/Danelaw border, the presence of a remnant Celtic place name still cause difficulties in both spelling and pronunciation to those unfamiliar with it: Welwyn. From the OP, I would definitely settle for 'Rhyme' and 'Poetical' as culturally appropriate Anglo-manglings. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMS2968 Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Well Big Jim, I rather suspect that the Scousers were taking the pis mickey, as if we would(!); enough of us have holidayed in caravans there to know the correct pronunciation. Abergeeeel was another good one! Mind you, English also has its moments: a short way up the A6 from me is Euxton, or Yukeston to southerners! Fazakerley in Liverpool has given the travel presenters on Radio 2 problems in the past. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swindon 123 Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 There are a few places in Herefordshire that catch people out. Leominster and Weobley being the most common. ( In both cases the "o" is silent). When learning the road from Wrexham to Dee Marsh some of the "English versions" of the stations where quite bizarre. The first three out of Wrexham were the worse, Gwersyllt, Cefyn-y-Bedd and Caergwrle, (that drove the spell checker nuts), being converted to some quite unprintable examples. Still everyone seemed to know where we meant so perhaps the locals were used to it. Paul J. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 When it comes to Welsh mistakes, a very dear and lovely, but clueless, English language reader on the Dolgellau (pronounced Dol-geth-le or la, definitely not Dolgelloo) Talking Newspaper takes the biscuit. Despite living and having worked in the country for more than thirty years, she still insists the Welsh for "Wales" is Kimroo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Mate has a roving job, in Wales,at mo, phone call yesterday asking for directions to Lan Nelly! Guess where...... First pronounced LaLaNanLaLaLelly! Mind you we get the same here in Cornwall.....Liskeeeard, Lawnscesttton, Double Bois (say it in French) Fowwweeey, and don't even try Watermatrout! What does he want to go there for? I remember hitch-hiking back to my parents once, with a cardboard sign with 'Llanelli'- an Italian lorry said he'd be going that way once he'd unloaded 'It's near Milano, isn't it?' It looks as though someone's used predictive text for that list, Brian. Mind you, I like the renamed Carmarthen; they could have a posh soccer team called 'Carpathian Corinthians'.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium corneliuslundie Posted November 12, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 12, 2014 Definitely Poetical for my next layout! Mind you, I was brought up in Cardiff and it was only when I moved to Newtown afer about 40 years away that I realised that the end of the abortive M&M line from Llanidloes was pronounced "LLang i rig, nut Llang uw rig. I mentioned it to a Welsh friend living in Hertfordshire and he didn't know either. And the recorded announcements here is Newtown always amuse me. They are bilingual, and there is no problem with the Welsh stations but Smethwick (Galton Bridge) has completely different renderings in the English and Welsh announcements - "Smethick" and "SmethWick". Even the GWR magazine published cartoons on the subject. Jonathan David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisf Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Some TeleRail videos/DVDs have commentaries by Peter Fairhead who cannot pronounce Welsh place names to save his life. "Abersinnon" was one of the worst. Gentle reader, you and I know that he was referring to Abercynon, pronounced Aberkunnon. Mr Fairhead's day job is that of TV newsreader. Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Even the GWR magazine published cartoons on the subject. I've seen the one where the village up the road from where I live, Llwyngwril, gets a mention especially the fact it had "GWR" as part of it's name. I wonder how many other stations could claim to have the initials of the owning company contained within the name? Probably easier for the SR than the LNER.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieB Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 I've seen the one where the village up the road from where I live, Llwyngwril, gets a mention especially the fact it had "GWR" as part of it's name. I wonder how many other stations could claim to have the initials of the owning company contained within the name? Probably easier for the SR than the LNER.... Curiously eLMStead woods and nine eLMS are both on the Southern (the latter shortly to be on the Northern Line). In the absence of something nearer, there's a miLNERton is South Africa. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted November 13, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 13, 2014 I've seen the one where the village up the road from where I live, Llwyngwril, gets a mention especially the fact it had "GWR" as part of it's name. my dad had a book about the cambrian railways that had an old GWR advert featuring llwyngwril making mention to the fact it has GWR in it as an aside i went to primary school in llwyngwril for 3 years where lessons were taught in welsh, at one point it was my first language despite the fact my parents couldn't speak it, im welsh as is my dad, my mum is from stoke, i can still speak welsh as i also went to secondary school in Bala but as i ended up moving near the border (Mold/Buckley) i never really used it much as its not spoken as widely as in the middle of the country, it certainly throws welsh speakers when i can reply in welsh as to a lot of them i sound 'scouse'! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggesford box Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 I can remember watching TV and seeing Anne Clywd getting steadily more irritated as the presenter repeatedly described her as the MP for the 'sign- on' valley (Cynon). Mind you, go to watch a film in Banbury and in the advertisments before the film an American voice used to proudly intone that Gem Tool Hire had branches in Banbury and 'Bi-ses-ter'! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hughes Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Really of course there's no excuse for BBC newsreaders not being able to pronounce UK place names, whether they're in English, Welsh, Cornish or some variety of Gaelic. Many years ago my brother-in-law, who then lived in Glamis, was asked by a Continental lorry-driver if he was on the right road to Brechin. Brechin is indeed only a few miles away from Glamis, but when my brother-in-law checked his papers it turned out he was actually supposed to be going to Brecon. Oops! (And just to be difficult, until Victorian times Glamis was written with two ms and spoken with two syllables.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMS2968 Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 And not to forget the tale of the drunken sailor who got off the train at the small ex-L&YR station at Horwich asking the way to the docks. It transpired that his ship was berthed in Harwich... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PenrithBeacon Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 See http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_toponymyand follow links The 'au' in Welsh is pronounced as an 'I' sound. To pronounce the 'll' place your tongue behind your top two teeth and hiss. It should not be pronounced as an 'l' sound. Hth Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Endless hours of fun running your favourite list of place names through a spellchecker. Here's a list of genuine suggestions from ... anybody guess the county? Applauder, Barfing, Berated, Belly, Bodies, Boasted, Dilemma, Umpteen Park, Edith, Pluckily, Plummeted, Slurry, Swanky, Balding Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Endless hours of fun running your favourite list of place names through a spellchecker. Here's a list of genuine suggestions from ... anybody guess the county? Applauder, Barfing, Berated, Belly, Bodies, Boasted, Dilemma, Umpteen Park, Edith, Pluckily, Plummeted, Slurry, Swanky, Balding Kent? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Yes, Kent. 5 mins - not much of a challenge! Appledore, Barming, Dumpton Park, Erith, Sturry among others. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Yes, Kent. 5 mins - not much of a challenge! Appledore, Barming, Dumpton Park, Erith, Sturry among others. Bearstead, Bodiam, Pluckley, Plumstead, Yalding. The others have got me foxed, however.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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