Trivia: Mispronounced station names

[Mcr Warrior]

Most of Scotland is not historically Gaelic speaking.

The on platform station name boards at most ScotRail stations would have you believe otherwise!

 

[oldman]

we are ethnically different with a majority from Anglo-Saxon heritage rather than Celtic again leading to different approaches to place name pronunciation

We (i.e. British people) are all more-or-less mongrels, and even if we weren't it would not affect language.

 

[AMD]

This is going off topic, however you might be surprised how much of Scotland is historically Gaelic speaking. I attach an image from research into what languages were predominant in the 15th Century.

 

[Mordac]

The on platform station name boards at most ScotRail stations would have you believe otherwise!

Indeed. The presence of Gaelic station signs at Scots speaking areas is completely nonsensical, probably related to the promotion of an imagined celtic identity on the part of the nats.

This is going off topic, however you might be surprised how much of Scotland is historically Gaelic speaking. I attach an image from research into what languages were predominant in the 15th Century.

Fair enough in *area* terms, but not where most of the population was even then, moreso now.

 

[Bertone]

I do recall hearing Harrow & Wealdstone being called Harrow & Willesden !
Very confusing as Willesden (Junction) being seven stations back up the line towards London.

 

[urbophile]

Indeed. The presence of Gaelic station signs at Scots speaking areas is completely nonsensical, probably related to the promotion of an imagined celtic identity on the part of the nats.


Fair enough in *area* terms, but not where most of the population was even then, moreso now.

No more nonsensical than us English anglicising most placenames in Wales and Ireland.

 

[Stathern Jc]

Not a station, but back in the seventies in Leicestershire's Northeast corner, Belvoir Junction was at Muston. That's "Beevor" Junction at "Musson".
Then if you took the Ironstone line from the end of the branch at Harston, that's "Arseton" (see similar examples above), you would finish halfway between Knipton and Croxton, that's between "Nipton" and "Crowson".
(And you can drive through all five of the named villages without going through anywhere else inbetween.)

And while in the area, and back to a station, people of my Grandad's generation from the village mostly referred to Stathern as "Stattern". I don't think that's so common now.

It's all perfectly logical .......

 

[Furrysquid]

Not a station, but back in the seventies in Leicestershire's Northeast corner, Belvoir Junction was at Muston. That's "Beevor" Junction at "Musson".
Then if you took the Ironstone line from the end of the branch at Harston, that's "Arseton" (see similar examples above), you would finish halfway between Knipton and Croxton, that's between "Nipton" and "Crowson".

And while in the area, and back to a station, people of my Grandad's generation from the village mostly referred to Stathern as "Stattern". I don't think that's so common now.

It's all perfectly logical .......

Not stations either, but three from where I grew up that caused endless fun with the French exchange students were Towcester, Cogenhoe and Bozeat. Then again, quite a few of them had trouble with Wellingborough ...

 

[WesternBiker]

No more nonsensical than us English anglicising most placenames in Wales and Ireland.

Or hopelessly mispronouncing them! Slightly off topic, but I heard a wonderful mispronunciation of Bargoed on the Antiques Roadshow last weekend (it's Bar-goyed, whereas the presenter insisted on calling it "Bar-Go-Ed").

It has always interested me that in Cardiff, they use a male voice to do the announcements in Welsh, and a female with very Received Pronunciation for the English.

Crossing the (Bristol) channel, I recall a station announcer in Bristol in the 1970s who always welcomed passengers to "Bristle Temeral Meeedz".

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Batley = Batla

I've lived in Batley for 7 years and not once heard that. Sounds like an older generation thing, a bit like "Ilka Moor" (Ilkley Moor).
Nearby are Heckmondwike ('Eck) and Cleckheaton (Cleck) but they no longer have stations. Those of a certain age may also know Cleckheaton's other nickname... Cleckhuddersfax!

 

[YorksLad12]

Or hopelessly mispronouncing them! Slightly off topic, but I heard a wonderful mispronunciation of Bargoed on the Antiques Roadshow last weekend (it's Bar-goyed, whereas the presenter insisted on calling it "Bar-Go-Ed").

Guilty as charged, guv. Working as a media/PR person there were occasions when people ignored the em-bar-go-ed notice, and I had to remind them that it wasn't a town in Wales... (true).

 

[Caboose Class]

I've lived in Batley for 7 years and not once heard that. Sounds like an older generation thing, a bit like "Ilka Moor" (Ilkley Moor).
Nearby are Heckmondwike ('Eck) and Cleckheaton (Cleck) but they no longer have stations. Those of a certain age may also know Cleckheaton's other nickname... Cleckhuddersfax!

Then tha obviously doesn't 'av a Batla twang!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Then tha obviously doesn't 'av a Batla twang!

Well, it's often said that the "Yorkshire accent" has subtle variations from one street to the next... and as a Huddersfield native I do stand out a bit in WF17!

 

[DelW]

Indeed. The presence of Gaelic station signs at Scots speaking areas is completely nonsensical, probably related to the promotion of an imagined celtic identity on the part of the nats.

Just so. My partner, born and brought up in Fife (and very proud of the place) is scathing about having a faux Gaelic identity foisted on her home area. It is much more a political invention than an historic fact.

 

[greyman42]

At which point when a person from another nation, let say England, missprounces a place name in say Scotland incorrectly and gets laughed at or crisiticised can the reaction be regarded as borderline if not actual racism?

To call that racism would be going wildly over the top, but some people do seem to go looking for reasons to cause trouble by claiming the slightest thing is racism.

 

[JohnElliott]

The second word of Horsted Keynes often gets mispronounced 'keens' rather than 'canes'.

 

[01d-and]

Loughborough is the best for visitors from the US who often call it Loogaberoogar

Was that not a song by Andy Fairweather-low ??

 

[adrock1976]

Although this place has no railway station, there is a settlement between Wolverhampton and Stafford called Brewood.

It is not two syllables regarding pronunciation as "say what you see", but pronounced "Brood".

Brewood is not far from Featherstone Prison, which a recent famous inmate was the former Kidderminster Harriers and West Bromwich Albion footballer Lee Hughes. Hughes got done for causing the fatality of two people in a car while drink driving, and failing to stop to report the road traffic accident.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I've just watched Jago Hazzard's excellent video on Theydon Bois, and I must admit that I instinctively assume that it's "Theydon Bwah" in the French style. Jago also briefly mentioned Hainault- for which again my brain assumes a French pronunciation: "Aynho"...

It's a good thing that the two stations in vicinity of Aynho Junction are closed, or it'd be another Liverpool Street/Liverpool Lime Street conundrum!

 

[Merthyr Imp]

The second word of Horsted Keynes often gets mispronounced 'keens' rather than 'canes'.

Often by people from Milton Keynes.

 

[_toommm_]

Rotherham to locals is pronounced as 'Rovv-rum', but you can get anywhere from 'Roth-rum' to 'Rother-um' to 'Rother-HAM' (if you're American).

I believe the Eli in Loch Eli Outward Bound is pronounced Ee-lie, rather than Ellie.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I believe the Eli in Loch Eli Outward Bound is pronounced Ee-lie, rather than Ellie.

It's spelt Loch Eil Outward Bound.

 

[hexagon789]

I believe the Eli in Loch Eli Outward Bound is pronounced Ee-lie, rather than Ellie.

It's Eil and said like the fish

 

[_toommm_]

It's spelt Loch Eil Outward Bound.

It's Eil and said like the fish

Seems everyday is a schoolday - I thought for years it was spelt Eli.

 

[hexagon789]

Most of Scotland is not historically Gaelic speaking.

Not quite true from what I understand- while there is no real evidence to show it was ever really used in the South East (sort of Berwickshire/English border area) or top of the Far North, Shetland or Orkney, pretty much everywhere else has evidence of Gaelic use - from Galloway to Renfrew, Lothian to Moray

Not that I'm convinced labelling everything in dual English-Gaelic is the best use of funds but there we are...

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Noted however that the name of the local Cameron clan chief is spelt "Lochiel" (!)

 

[DunsBus]

The automatic announcements got Stow wrong for ages after the Borders line opened. It rhymes with now, not with slow.

I was on the very first train from Tweedbank on the first day of service back in 2015 and can still remember the laughter in the carriage which greeted the automatic announcement's mispronunciation of Stow. It took a very long time for ScotRail to live that howler down.

 

[AM9]

..., but you can get anywhere from 'Roth-rum' to 'Rother-um' to 'Rother-HAM' (if you're American).

Which neatly brings us to the american habit of emphasising the last syllablle of single names as if it was a separate word. Some of the aged ones here may remember the comedy sketch about Balham, extolling its various virtues as a tourist destination, with the line "Bal Ham, gateway to the south" spoken with a senasationalist american accent. Originally written by Muir and Nordern in 1949, - probably the most well remembered version was that of Peter Sellers in his album 'The Best of Sellers'.

 

[oldman]

Which neatly brings us to the american habit of emphasising the last syllablle of single names

This kind of pronunciation (less exaggerated than Peter Sellers) is common in non-Celtic Scottish place names. Take the Borders railway - Newcraig-Hall, Shaw-Fair, Esk-Bank, Newton-Grange, Gore-Bridge (compare with Cambridge). You could add Gala-Shiels except everyone calls it Gala. I don't know any Scottish hams, apart from some actors I won't mention.

I remember the first iteration of bus-stop announcements on the Edinburgh airport bus referred to Murray-Field but that was changed later.

 

[hexagon789]

Noted however that the name of the local Cameron clan chief is spelt "Lochiel" (!)

As is the location of the historic Clan home if you like - Lochiel, still named after Loch Eil though

Which neatly brings us to the american habit of emphasising the last syllablle of single names as if it was a separate word. Some of the aged ones here may remember the comedy sketch about Balham, extolling its various virtues as a tourist destination, with the line "Bal Ham, gateway to the south" spoken with a senasationalist american accent. Originally written by Muir and Nordern in 1949, - probably the most well remembered version was that of Peter Sellers in his album 'The Best of Sellers'.

As in Birming-HAM, Alabama.