Place names 1

[stackdump]

I travelled through a town called Wymondham (in Norfolk, England) today and found out it was pronounced 'Windum'.

There's a place in Hampshire called Beaulieu, this is not pronounced the french way, it's pronounced bew-lee.

I got to wondering what really extreme examples of place names are around that are pronounced totally differently to their actual spelling. Only other one I could think of was Arkansas?

 

[SilentAiche]

Thames - Taims

I genuinely thought "Thames" was pronounced "Tims" (is it really "Tames" or "Taims?")

Tim

(of course, I may be biased - pronounced "double-butted")




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[tsdragon]

I thought it was more like "tems".

Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[nicksims]

Marietta, Georgia (just north of Atlanta).
No, not marry-Edda. It's may-redda.

Nick

 

[KenCunningham]

Tracy - your interpretation of Thames is correct.

 

[GwydionM]

Regarding the Thames, I'd say 'Taims', but there are other English accents that are just as valid. Listen to Sir

I'd also speek of New York as 'Nu Yawk', and York itself is defnitely 'Yawk', but I'd call 'New Jersey' 'Neu JER-si'. The people living in thost places might say it differently.

Listen to Sir Ian McKellen playing Gandlaf in Lord Of The Rings. He's used Tolkien's own accent, which is distinctive and in fact like no other English accent I've heard. A bit of South African English - he was born there - and also quite a lot of Midlands English. Defeintely not 'Oxford English' - they'd say 'Ox-fawd' and I wouldn't.

------------------------------
An old man who lives in the UK

 

[dgillz]

CajunCenturion may correct me, but in Louisiana, my favorite town pronounciation is for Natchitoches, pronounced "Nack-a-dish".

I think there is a town by the same name in Texas.

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[vidru]

Wow dgillz, I'd forgotten about Natchitoches, and your pronunciation is correct. I think the Texas version might pronounce more like it's spelled.

-dave

 

[CajunCenturion]

dgillz - You are correct. However, the town in Texas is Nacadocious - Nack-i-DOH-shous.

We can get into a number of interesting pronounciations of some Cajun place names, such as Thibodeux (TIB-a-doh) and Atchafalaya (a-CHA-fa-lie-ya).

There is also a very small town in Louisiana call Red Dirt, and pronounced - red dirt.

Good Luck
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[Lightning]

CC
My understanding of Cajun was that it contains a great many words of french origin, or at least of french derivation. Would this explain the problems of correct pronounications in English?

Lightning

 

[CajunCenturion]

Cajuns are of French descent. The short (very short) version is that many French emigrants, for various reasons, settled in Nova Scotia in the late 1500s and 1600s. In the mid 1700s, under the thumb of King George II, who hated the French (and Catholics), they were kicked out of Canada, and fled to what is now Southwest Louisiana. Naturally, there is considerable French influence in the Cajun culture.

==> Would this explain the problems of correct pronunciations in English?
Who said that the English pronunciations are correct?

Good Luck
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[flapeyre]

I was born in New Orleans (New OR-lunz), which is coexistant with Orleans (or-LEENZ) Parish (county to the rest of the US).

Me transmitte sursum, Caledoni!

 

[CajunCenturion]

As opposed to the pronunciation of the French city Orleans (Or-lay-ON)

Good Luck
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[Sheco]

New Orleans = Nawlins or simply NOLA

 

[Sheco]

The spelling of the Texas town is Nacogdoches.

The locals pronouce it: Naca No Where

 

[Sheco]

What about the pet dog in the old NetHack game?

Its name was Phideaux pronounced Fido.

 

[dgillz]

Bumper sticker seen in New Orleans:

Geaux Saints!

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[Chacalinc]

all of you know the hub (yes, the network thing)... my problem in New Castle,UK was that they pronounce hub as in spanish!! (u as in umbrella)

(I got confused).

 

[Stella740pl]

Now I am confused. Aren't "u" in "hub" and "umbrella" pronounced the same? In English, at least?

 

[Chacalinc]

hmmm... as in "virtual"? sorry, I don't know how to explain it. When I hear the word "hub" in english it sounds as "hab" (a mix between "a" and "o", pls read in spanish!) but they say "hub" (again, read in spanish).

 

[Stella740pl]

I know what you mean when you say "as in Spanish", even though I don't know Spanish. I got confused when you said "as in 'umbrella'" - it's not as in Spanish at all.

Go to

http://www.yourdictionary.com/,

you can hear pronunciation of the words there for free.