Trivia: Place names that you're not sure how to pronounce

stut · 2 Jul 2017

Auchinleck is an odd one. The Scots pronunciation (and the one I've always known) is Aflleck (like Ben), but a more phonetic pronunciation is probably more common outside the area. No excuse for mispronouncing the 'ch', though...

Have we gone into the many ways of saying "Slaithwaite"?

RailUK Forums

DuncanS · 2 Jul 2017

Auchinleck is Och-in-leck, at least that's how the football team is pronounced by the locals who follow them.

PaulLothian · 2 Jul 2017

Lesmahagow often seems to create difficulties.

Mutant Lemming · 2 Jul 2017

Knowsley seems to be similar to Shrewsbury with some pronouncing it like nose-lee and others nowz-lee

Traveller54 · 2 Jul 2017

Greenock is often mispronounced Grennock by those who live nearer Greenwich, a radio 2 DJ did just that this morning.
I've heard Kirkcaldy wrongly pronounced Kirk-kal-dee.
Places that no longer have a station, Muthill and Grandtully also cause confusion to non locals.

Busaholic · 2 Jul 2017

Launceston is one that confuses almost anyone who's not from the area.

GusB · 2 Jul 2017

I was blissfully unaware that Strathaven was pronounced as Straven until a customer politely (!) pointed it out to me.

Travel news on the radio is often a source of amusement. Kirkcudbright is still one that trips people up, and a recent blunder was Chapel of Garioch.

Traveller54 · 2 Jul 2017

I remember a radio traffic news announcer pronouncing Dalry as Doll-ree.

tspaul26 · 2 Jul 2017

Great Creaton

xotGD · 2 Jul 2017

From the north east:

Chester-le-Street is Chessly Street
Sunderland is Sunlun
But Newcastle is only Ny'castle if you are a posh Geordie

endecotp · 2 Jul 2017

Not picking on you in particular, but:

Traveller54 said:
I remember a radio traffic news announcer pronouncing Dalry as Doll-ree.

This thread would be much more interesting if all posts mentioned the correct pronunciation.

ianonteesside · 2 Jul 2017

Houghton-Le-Spring in co. Durham pronounced Horton -Le -Spring

LNW-GW Joint · 2 Jul 2017

Wilts Wanderer said:
Anyone know how to pronounce Caergwrle? Station on the Wrexham-Bidston line.

More or less as spelt - Cayr-Goorley, but run together.
The area is full of not-quite-correct anglicisations - one was Ponkey near Ruabon = Penycae (top of the field).
The railway, at least before BR, tended to use the English versions (Caernarvon etc).

I've always wondered if people asked for a ticket to Welsh places like Quaker's Yard High Level in English or Welsh.
Pontsticill on the Merthyr-Brecon line is another tongue-twister (Pont-stikith?).

61653 HTAFC · 2 Jul 2017

stut said:
Auchinleck is an odd one. The Scots pronunciation (and the one I've always known) is Aflleck (like Ben), but a more phonetic pronunciation is probably more common outside the area. No excuse for mispronouncing the 'ch', though...

Have we gone into the many ways of saying "Slaithwaite"?

Sla'wit and Slathwaite are both acceptable. The former is more a dialectical variant than a "correct" pronunciation though. Slay-thwaite will generally prompt a giggle from locals.

EM2 · 2 Jul 2017

Traveller54 said:
Greenock is often mispronounced Grennock by those who live nearer Greenwich, a radio 2 DJ did just that this morning.

I can't remember who it was (possibly Ed Stewart) but in the late 70s I heard Loughton (which should rhyme with Plough-tun) pronounced as 'Lufftun'.

fishquinn · 2 Jul 2017

Traveller54 said:
I remember a radio traffic news announcer pronouncing Dalry as Doll-ree.

endecotp said:
Not picking on you in particular, but:

This thread would be much more interesting if all posts mentioned the correct pronunciation.

In the case of Dalry it's Dool (to rhyme with pool)-rye.

westv · 2 Jul 2017

DarloRich said:
People (especially the posh, the affected or the southern) have no idea how to pronounce Bath. There is no R in Bath. They also have no idea how to pronounce Newcastle. It isnt NUCARSTLE

There's no "f" in "rough" but we don't pronounce is "roog".

goblinuser · 2 Jul 2017

Friern Barnet

Traveller54 · 2 Jul 2017

fishquinn said:
In the case of Dalry it's Dool (to rhyme with pool)-rye.

Nope, Daal-ry. I should know, I work nearby. I'm talking about Dalry, North Ayrshire by the way, not St Johns town of Dalry in SW Scotland or the Edinburgh district which may well have different pronunciations for all I know.

alexf380 · 2 Jul 2017

Traveller54 said:
Nope, Daal-ry. I should know, I work nearby.

Same as the area in Edinburgh, then.

Some more Scottish ones;
Leuchars = Look-ars
South Gyle =South Guy-l
Rosyth = Roz-eye-th
Stranraer = Stran-rar
Ardlui = Ard-loo-ie

One that's stumped me recently is Gullane, where The Open (the golf competition) was hosted a few years ago. I've always known it to be Gull-in, sounds like seagull, but people have told me it's to be Gool-in. Any ideas?

fishquinn · 2 Jul 2017

Traveller54 said:
Nope, Daal-ry. I should know, I work nearby. I'm talking about Dalry, North Ayrshire by the way, not St Johns town of Dalry in SW Scotland or the Edinburgh district which may well have different pronunciations for all I know.

It may be one of those places with multiple pronunciations then. My dad's auntie lives there and pronounces it Dool-rye.

hexagon789 · 2 Jul 2017

I've always heard Dalry, Ayrshire pronounced as Dal (rhymes with pal) -ry (rhymes with by).

Pronunciations of the Scottish placenames I listed and a few more:
Avoch - Och
Findochty - Fin-ukh-tee
Kingussie - King-you-see
Kirkcudbright - Kur-koo-bree
Kilncadzow - Kill-kay-gee
Friockheim - Frick-um
Glenzier - Gling-ur
Athelstaneford - Ail-sun-furd
Culzean - Kull-ane
Gigha - Gee-uh
Strathaven - Stray-vin
Sanquhar - Sang-kur
Ravenstruther - Rein-stree
Udny - Wid-nee
Ruthven - Rivven
River Avon in Aberdeenshire (just the Avon part) - An
Wemyss Bay - Weemz Bay
Camelon - Kay-meh-lun
Kinnaber Junction - Kinn-ay (rhymes with hay)-burr Junction
Eaglesham - Eagles-hum; not Eagle-shum
Mallaig - Mall (rhymes with pal)-lig (rhymes with big)
Craigellachie - Kray-gell (rhymes with tell)-ukh-ee

EM2 · 2 Jul 2017

goblinuser said:
Friern Barnet

Fry-urn Bar-nit.

LNW-GW Joint · 2 Jul 2017

MK Tom said:
I've used the LM Crewe service for nearly a decade and still have no idea how to say Alsager. Is it 'all-sage-r' or 'al-sage-r' or 'al-sarg-er' or 'al-sa-ger' or what? I've heard everything.

ALL-sage-er.
The locals have a slight Potteries twang (which they fiercely deny).

Parallel · 2 Jul 2017

You can sometimes find a slight difference in how Salisbury is pronounced too.

Saul-sbry (Rhymes with fool) Anne and Ruth pronounce it this way.

SOL-sbry (Rhymes with foal) Phil Sayer and GWR Rodger pronounce it this way.

Only slight differences, but I pronounce it the first way.

Busaholic · 2 Jul 2017

EM2 said:
Fry-urn Bar-nit.

I don't come from North London, but worked there in the 1970s when Friern Barnet Hospital was the local 'Mental Hospital' (a term ubiquitous at the time) and I only ever heard it pronounced as Free-urn Barnet, as in 'you'll end up in Free-urn Barnet'. Got to tell it as it was!

EM2 · 2 Jul 2017

Busaholic said:
I don't come from North London, but worked there in the 1970s when Friern Barnet Hospital was the local 'Mental Hospital' (a term ubiquitous at the time) and I only ever heard it pronounced as Free-urn Barnet, as in 'you'll end up in Free-urn Barnet'. Got to tell it as it was!

I always thought it was Colney Hatch up that way.
But in all my years living in London, I never heard it pronounced 'Free-urn'.

Traveller54 · 2 Jul 2017

fishquinn said:
It may be one of those places with multiple pronunciations then. My dad's auntie lives there and pronounces it Dool-rye.

Indeed. Nearby, Beith is pronounced by incomers as written with a short "ee" and a spitting "th" sound whereas long standing residents put more emphasis on the "ee" and a softer "th", a bit like "Bee-ee-dth.

Busaholic · 2 Jul 2017

EM2 said:
I always thought it was Colney Hatch up that way.
But in all my years living in London, I never heard it pronounced 'Free-urn'.

I only heard it while working in Camden, but I was working with social workers, etc.

Busaholic · 2 Jul 2017

EM2 said:
I always thought it was Colney Hatch up that way.
But in all my years living in London, I never heard it pronounced 'Free-urn'.

I think it may have changed its name at some stage, because of the stigma attached to the name. Something similar occurred to a hospital to the south of London during the 1970s.

Trivia: Place names that you're not sure how to pronounce

Established Member

RailUK Forums

Member

Member

Established Member

Member

Veteran Member

Established Member

Member

Established Member

Established Member

Member

Member

Veteran Member

Veteran Member

Established Member

Established Member

Established Member

Member

Member

Established Member

Established Member

Veteran Member

Established Member

Veteran Member

Established Member

Veteran Member

Established Member

Member

Veteran Member

Veteran Member