-
Our new ticketing site is now live! Using either this or the original site (both powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!
Trivia: Stations that don't sound like they're Spelt
- Thread starter Mutant Lemming
- Start date
- Status
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R
RailUK Forums
But I know quite a few folk who went to school there and it was pronounced 'Shrosebury'.
martin2345uk
Established Member
Anyone mentioned Altrincham? I pronounced it as it's spelt for about a year after moving to Manchester and no one ever bothered to correct me!
Also the locals pronounce the met stop St. Werburgh's Road as 'saint wer-burrs' even though the on-tram announcements pronounce the g.
Also the locals pronounce the met stop St. Werburgh's Road as 'saint wer-burrs' even though the on-tram announcements pronounce the g.
dvboy
Established Member
All wrong: Al-SAGE-er
DarloRich
Veteran Member
You are straying into the realms of regional pronunciation with some of these.
No one is ever going to persuade me that Bath is pronouced Barth. Newcastle is Nyuhcassel. NEVER will it be New Car stle
no one from the north east ever called Sunderland Sunderlun (it is Sunlun). Prudhoe is Prudh. Pelaw is Peler. Marske is an interesting one. You can peg someone straight away by how they pronounce this. Anyone who pronounces it MARRRSKE is not local. It is Mask. The same applies with Redcar. Anyone who pronounces it RED CAR is obviously an off comer. It is RedCa
Middlesbrough and Scarborough are interesting ones. Scarborough has always been Scar brugh whilst Middlesbrough is often pronounced Middlesbro or Middlesboro (I suppose the lack of the second “o” in Middlesbrough may account for this!)
Alnwick and Alnmouth are interesting ones as well. Alnwick is pronounced An nick while Alnmouth is often pronounced Aln mth, Alun mouth, Allen mouth or Alan mouth. Imagine if you will Alun mouth for An nick! (I believe the correct pronunciation is Aln mth)
I always like people trying to pronounce Grosmont. It is Growmont NOT Grossmont! Also in that neck of the woods is Ruswarp. You might think Rus Warp but it is Rus sup!
Again no one will ever tell me Shrewsbury is Shrovesbury. It is, and will always remain, Shrewsbury
Gillingham and Jillingham anyone?
No one is ever going to persuade me that Bath is pronouced Barth. Newcastle is Nyuhcassel. NEVER will it be New Car stle
no one from the north east ever called Sunderland Sunderlun (it is Sunlun). Prudhoe is Prudh. Pelaw is Peler. Marske is an interesting one. You can peg someone straight away by how they pronounce this. Anyone who pronounces it MARRRSKE is not local. It is Mask. The same applies with Redcar. Anyone who pronounces it RED CAR is obviously an off comer. It is RedCa
Middlesbrough and Scarborough are interesting ones. Scarborough has always been Scar brugh whilst Middlesbrough is often pronounced Middlesbro or Middlesboro (I suppose the lack of the second “o” in Middlesbrough may account for this!)
Alnwick and Alnmouth are interesting ones as well. Alnwick is pronounced An nick while Alnmouth is often pronounced Aln mth, Alun mouth, Allen mouth or Alan mouth. Imagine if you will Alun mouth for An nick! (I believe the correct pronunciation is Aln mth)
I always like people trying to pronounce Grosmont. It is Growmont NOT Grossmont! Also in that neck of the woods is Ruswarp. You might think Rus Warp but it is Rus sup!
Again no one will ever tell me Shrewsbury is Shrovesbury. It is, and will always remain, Shrewsbury
Gillingham and Jillingham anyone?
Schnellzug
Established Member
Surely the g and the n in Paignton are the wrong way round? It surely should be pronounced Paganton that way.
Railsigns
Established Member
- Joined
- 15 Feb 2010
- Messages
- 2,753
The silent G before the N is no different from words like "reign" and "align".
JohnB57
Member
...only if you don't come from there. The vast majority of those originating from there pronounce it "slath-wate" - even Harry Gration has reverted to that pronunciation.
I'm originally from next door village Linthwaite and the same myth exists that it's pronounced "Linfit", which is equally inaccurate.
Mutant Lemming
Established Member
A few years back a mayor of Altrincham ("Altreenkam") changed his name by deed poll to Al Trincham and there was a passing fad of pronouncing the town the same way - Al Trin-Cham
JohnB57
Member
You often find very local, almost dialect versions of place names. Skelmanthorpe is known locally as "Shat", Kirkheaton is known as "Yetton", Milnsbridge often shortened to "t' Bridge", but these differ from official pronunciations and wouldn't be used outside the area. All three had stations at one time by the way.
Shrewsbury was originally "Scrobbesburh", becoming (amongst other spellings" "Schrosberie" and eventually its modern spelling, so "Schrosebury" would be an older form.
Shrewsbury was originally "Scrobbesburh", becoming (amongst other spellings" "Schrosberie" and eventually its modern spelling, so "Schrosebury" would be an older form.
TheJRB
Established Member
My understanding is that Gillingham (Kent) is with a hard 'g' and Gillingham (Dorset) is with a soft 'g' (as in gills of a fish).
dvboy
Established Member
I was going to say it's the other way around, but it's just that you've mixed up which is hard and which is soft. G as in "gills" is the hard G.
It doesn't have a station but my favourite is the hamlet of Ratlinghope near Church Sretton - pronounced as "Ratch-up" - though apparently the locals are using the spelt pronunciation now. (I think the school used to teach the pupils to say Ratchup.)
I found this article on the Shrewsbury debate - some people seem to use both depending on context!
http://www.shropshirestar.com/latest/2008/02/06/shroosbury-v-shrowsbury/
List of UK paces on Wiki with odd pronunciations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_names_in_English_with_counterintuitive_pronunciations
I found this article on the Shrewsbury debate - some people seem to use both depending on context!
http://www.shropshirestar.com/latest/2008/02/06/shroosbury-v-shrowsbury/
List of UK paces on Wiki with odd pronunciations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_names_in_English_with_counterintuitive_pronunciations
WestCoast
Established Member
Euxton (the station is Euxton Balshaw Lane) is pronounced roughly ekston or xton.
This was most amusing! I was born in Saltburn, my wife in Redcar and much of our family lived in Marske. We lived in Marske for several years after we were married. So I think I can claim to be local - and we pronounced it Mar ske and Red car. Clearly the pronunciation, as is mentioned in another post, is dependent on how people choose to pronounce the name as much as how it "should be" pronounced.
TheJRB
Established Member
Now I'm confused
- what I was trying to say is that I think Gillingham (Kent) is "Jillingham" and Gillingham (Dorset) is "Gill-ingham".JohnB57
Member
Which is correct. I understand your confusion though, as "gills" can be pronounced with hard G (as in fish) or soft G (as in quarter of a pint).Now I'm confused
DarloRich
Veteran Member
ah you must be posh then
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
that is my understanding to!
dvboy
Established Member
Now I'm confused
That's right - but the "J" sound is the soft G, not the hard G.
DarloRich
Veteran Member
Kent = JILLingham (plus league football team)
Dorset = GILLingham
Edit thanks to OxtedL!
Another area of confusion (although not pronunciation based) Berwick .Berwick station, of course, is in Sussex whilst Berwick upon Tweed is in Northumberland
Dorset = GILLingham
Edit thanks to OxtedL!
Another area of confusion (although not pronunciation based) Berwick .Berwick station, of course, is in Sussex whilst Berwick upon Tweed is in Northumberland
Last edited:
- Joined
- 23 Mar 2011
- Messages
- 2,606
Kent is the one with the soft G. It's already here on the thread, directly above. I hope I haven't missed some humour. :roll:
TheJRB
Established Member
Ah! That certainly explains my confusion.
OMGitsDAVE
Member
I don't think it's been mentioned, but Prudhoe.
It's pronounced Prudda.
It's pronounced Prudda.
I always call it Prud Hoe - as it's spelt
Ha...Not that I need to pronounce it very often, just when I'm cycling back down the Tyne Valley and I need a lift after a major mech bad enough that getting the train back to Newcastle isn't a viable option.
Edit: doubly so since I'm closer than you (nothing personal).
Stephen55a1960
Member
Here in Leeds, there are two ways of pronouncing Horsforth (in the NW of the city, for those of you unfamiliar with the place). It's pronounced Horse forth (if one is posh) or `Hosfuth" (if one is not).
).
Whistler40145
Established Member
Railsigns
Established Member
- Joined
- 15 Feb 2010
- Messages
- 2,753
More to the point, how do they pronounce it?
Proud Salopian
Member
Erm, but hang on - that's the whole issue. How do you pronounce the written word "Shrewsbury"? The "ew" can be an 'ow' sound. In English spelling "ew" used to often make an 'ow' sound and many words we now spell with ow used to be spelled with ew - one good example is "show" which you'll often find spelled as "shew" in old texts (I say old, but as recently as the first half of the 20th century). The only word I can think of which is still spelled in the old way is sew, as in "to sew a button". A number of old maps - where places are spelled as you say them rather than the standard modern spellings - have Shrewsbury written as "Shrowesbury" or similar. The name of the town's county - Shropshire - also seems to indicate that the town should have an "ow" sound to it.
Of course these days sounding "posh" is regarded as being a heinous crime by many, and so many chose to say 'Shooooooos-be' (even saying the "bury" is regarded as too posh by some). I regard it to be a crass way of pronouncing the town's name.
Last edited:
- Status