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

[urbophile]

Minor one, but Moorfields in Liverpool divides people, especially Merseyrail staff, between those who stress the first syllable and those who stress the second.

 

[johnnychips]

No no no!

Definitely not. The 'w' is most definitely pronounced in Adwick. Many a local to Doncaster have corrected me over the years.

Adwick-le-Street, where the station is = Ad-wick
Adwick on Dearne, near Mexborough = Addick

And the nearby A1/M18 interchange at Wadworth is always Wadderth. Congrats to Five Live for usually getting it right.

Habrough is Haybrer, pronounced correctly by TPE, not Harbrer, as per EMT.

 

[Harbornite]

Shrewsbury.

 

[TimboM]

A long-since disused light railway station admittedly, but Cawood near Selby in Yorkshire is pronounced "kay-wood" (not car-wood, caw-wood or any other variation).

Hunstanton (another tenuous disused station) in Norfolk is pronounced "Hun-ston" by locals, not Hun-stan-ton as many would expect.

I recall back in the days when there were real people reading the platform announcements that at one northern station on the Transpennine route (trying to remember which) there was an announcer who always abbreviated Manchester to "Muncher" as in "...calling at Muncher Oxford Road, Muncher Piccadilly..."

Oh and York is not "Your-k", but "Yaarrrrk"

 

[Busaholic]

Marazion in Cornwall is pronounced Marra- zion (as in Zionist) not Mar - razz - ion. Penzance too has the stress on the zance much more these days than twenty years ago.

 

[johnnychips]

Careful with Middlesbrough and Conisbrough. The last syllable is brer not burrer . In fact the latter is either Connysbrer or Cunnysbrer, both heard locally.

 

[E_Reeves]

Caersws

 

[ValleyLines142]

Could never quite get these Valley ones

Llwynypia
Troed-y-rhiw
Penrhiwceiber

Llwynypia: 'Loin-a-pier'
Troed-y-rhiw: 'Troid-uh-roo'
Penrhiwceiber: 'Pen-roo-kyber'

An interesting one is Slaithwaite. Is it 'sla-wit'?

I wonder why many places are spelt completely different to how they are pronounced?

Keighley is another: Keithley!

 

[Pseudonym]

Slaithwaite - Slough (as in plough) it
Brough - Bruff
Wemyss Bay - Weems Bay

One that annoys me is the automated announcement of Adwick on the Leeds to Doncaster line on the 321/9's. Should be pronounced without the w - Adick

I thought you were only allowed to call it "Slough(as in plough)-it" if your family had lived there for 17 generations!
Otherwise Slath-wait might just be acceptable!

 

[E_Reeves]

Keighley is another: Keithley!

Or Keefley

 

[PHILIPE]

Llwynypia: 'Loin-a-pier'
Troed-y-rhiw: 'Troid-uh-roo'
Penrhiwceiber: 'Pen-roo-kyber'

An interesting one is Slaithwaite. Is it 'sla-wit'?

I wonder why many places are spelt completely different to how they are pronounced?

Keighley is another: Keithley!

Those are the English way of pronouncing Welsh place names. Thloin-a-peer

 

[Busaholic]

I've noticed that Barnstaple is often pronounced Barnstable, as in Whitstable.

 

[johnnychips]

Altrincham = Altringham

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

Chelfham on the (closed) Lynton & Barnstaple Railway; pronounced 'Chillum'

 

[Ianno87]

Or Keefley

For many years, my East of England wife genuinely thought it was pronounced "Kylie".

Another one for me was Ely, which I thought for a while was Ee-lye.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

Altrincham = Altringham

Didn't a former mayor change his name by deed poll to Al Trincham?

For a change here's one the other way round -

Snorbens

 

[bramling]

Aln or Alan? I've heard both used.

The error most people make is pronouncing the -mouth as -muth (as in Portsmouth), where it should be pronounced -mowth, like the hole in the front of your face.

So what is the correct pronunciation for Alnmouth?!

Alan-mouth
Alan-muth
Al-muth
Aln-muth
Al-mouth
Aln-mouth
An-mouth
An-muth

I think I've heard just about every combination of the above including by locals. Alan-mouth seems to be most common in my experience though.

 

[507021]

The one I was never sure of was Cirencester, but I was told by a friend of mine it's as obvious as I thought it was.

 

[AM9]

I know plenty of locals to Shrewsbury and Shropshire and I agree. To the point that I think both of them are probably correct.

Doesn't it depend on which bank of the river one lives on.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

Doesn't it depend on which bank of the river one lives on.

I thought it was pronounced Salop personally, most of the 'e's and 'w's must be silent

 

[TimboM]

Careful with Middlesbrough and Conisbrough. The last syllable is brer not burrer . In fact the latter is either Connysbrer or Cunnysbrer, both heard locally.

And then there's Scarborough, which despite its different spelling is also pronounced "Scar-brer" more often than not by locals (although "Scar-burrer" is also valid).

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

Anyone know how to pronounce Caergwrle? Station on the Wrexham-Bidston line.

 

[satisnek]

Bath is definitely pronounced Barth though, never heard anyone who isn't a Northerner say it differently!

That's my understanding. Bath and Matlock Bath are pronounced differently!

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

Locally you hear Bath Spa pronounced several ways. I think again it's a class thing, Barth Spar if you're posh and Bath Spar if not. I don't recognise 'Baff' though, sounds like a Bristolian joke to me

 

[TimboM]

Apparently "Stoke Gifford" is pronounced "Briss-tull-park-way"

 

[61653 HTAFC]

For a change here's one the other way round -

Snorbens

Reminds me of Snozzle, Snerth and Snives in Cornwall!

 

[CheesyChips]

What is it? I've always wanted to say Bwah in the French way but it probably isn't.

Me too. Just to sound a bit clever. Sadly it's 'boys'

 

[CheesyChips]

I once had a friend who pronounced the 'g' in Rowley Regis as a hard consonant.

Rowley Ree-giz

Idiot.

 

[Polarbear]

Anyone know how to pronounce Caergwrle? Station on the Wrexham-Bidston line.

I've always pronounced it "Cayer-girlie"

One that's always got me is Presteigne on the Powys/Shropshire border. Railway long gone (the by pass runs along the course of the railway).

 

[Twedds74]

A couple of my local stations that are quite often pronounced wrong are both East and West Malling, pronounced 'Maul-ing' , not 'Mall-ing'. And also furthet down the line at Bearsted, pronounced 'Bear-sted', not 'Beer-sted' as I hear some say.