Trivia: Mispronounced station names

[AlterEgo]

Ooh good one. Chess hunt, che shunt, chess shunt or chessunt?

Chezzunt.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Talking of Guil(d)ford, how about the next station up, Worplesdon. Can't remember when I first learnt it was 'Warplesdon'' but being local-ish I think it was before I started using the trains.

Worplesdon, the first syllable does indeed sound like "warp"- as in time-warp or warp-speed... both of which you may have felt like you'd experienced if you'd gone foraging for mushrooms in the nearby woods!

 

[Mat17]

I always get Deighton wrong, I know it's 'Dee-ton', but I've always read it as 'Dey-ton' - as in 'neighbour' or 'sleigh'.

 

[atomicdanny]

In Kent - Snowdown - Generally pronounced as Snowdon (well was by 90% of all the conductors on the line! ), and Kearsney as K-ears-ney (rather than Kers-ney) by announcements in Victoria station.

Although I swear i've heard Crewe pronounced as Crow (Euston? )

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

I used to (embarrassingly) pronounce Machynlleth as Macka-linneth until I was told it’s said more like Mack-unth-lith.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

A tongue-in-cheek one, Featherstone.

Given that the surname "Featherstonehaugh" is pronounced "Fanshaw", surely this small town famous for Rugby League and nothing else should be pronounced "Fan"?

 

[75A]

The residents of England's 10th largest city call it Lesstah.

 

[Calthrop]

I always get Deighton wrong, I know it's 'Dee-ton', but I've always read it as 'Dey-ton' - as in 'neighbour' or 'sleigh'.

I'd have thought it was "Dey-ton" -- as in Len Deighton, the spy novelist and historian; but what do I, or Len, know? We're southerners ...

 

[185143]

I used to (embarrassingly) pronounce Machynlleth as Macka-linneth until I was told it’s said more like Mack-unth-lith.

I was once told the pronunciation is not hugely different to "My-C***-Lip", as a very rough guide.

 

[AM9]

A tongue-in-cheek one, Featherstone.

Given that the surname "Featherstonehaugh" is pronounced "Fanshaw", surely this small town famous for Rugby League and nothing else should be pronounced "Fan"?

Eddie Waring called it Featherstone Rovers.

 

[Loppylugs]

Never understood why so many places in London begin with "H". I am London born and bred and don't think I have much of an accent until Mrs. L reminds that Acne, Ammersmiff, Ornsey and the like don't exist. Apologies to all of you who live in towns beginning with that letter and regards to all my mates in Amstead Eaf !

 

[prod_pep]

With Machynlleth, the 'ch' is as in loch, not lock; easy for a Scouser! The 'y' is the reduced vowel sound as heard in about and abbot. The 'll' sound is not used in English but isn't too hard. It's really a 'hl' sound: an 'l' with air blown around the sides of the tongue; very common in Welsh. The final syllable is 'leth' - full 'e' as in less - not 'lith'. So, it's somewhat like Macch-uhn-hleth.

 

[75A]

Never understood why so many places in London begin with "H". I am London born and bred and don't think I have much of an accent until Mrs. L reminds that Acne, Ammersmiff, Ornsey and the like don't exist. Apologies to all of you who live in towns beginning with that letter and regards to all my mates in Amstead Eaf !

Arrow, Olborn, Arringay & Oundslo come to mind as well.

 

[Calthrop]

Re Machynlleth: I've always loved O.S. Nock's story in Railway Adventure, about his young days as an apprentice in the firm of Kerr Stuart. A close workmate of his, was given the assignment of going to Machynlleth to sort out a problem with the Corris Railway's loco No. 4, a Kerr Stuart product; a job which Nock would have loved to have -- but it was his mate (a Potteries lad and very much a home-body, who didn't appreciate this expedition) who was ordered to go. He found the whole experience disagreeable and bewildering; including problems with making understood to people, his destination -- which he pronounced "Makinilek".

 

[Djgr]

Norwich in Vermont is pronounced 'Nor-witch."


Not a railway name, but how is Crich, home to the National Tramway Museum, pronounced?

Crick or Critch?

You need to Google John Shuttleworth!

 

[AM9]

Never understood why so many places in London begin with "H". I am London born and bred and don't think I have much of an accent until Mrs. L reminds that Acne, Ammersmiff, Ornsey and the like don't exist. Apologies to all of you who live in towns beginning with that letter and regards to all my mates in Amstead Eaf !

There's 'Arrer, 'Ornchurch, 'Ainought, 'Oxton, East 'Am, West 'Am, 'Endern - but best of all Plarsto!
Not in London but there are plenty of decendants of Londoners in 'Emel 'Empsted, 'Atfield, 'Arlo, .

 

[godfreycomplex]

if you're posh the former otherwise the latter

Other way round. Asc-ohhhhht is seen as somewhat “nouveau riche” thereabouts.

There is 1 E at most in Micheldever that much is true but whether it’s Michell as in Roger or Mitchell as in Grant/Phil is a matter of hot local debate.

Hilsea has an S or a Z, depending on various factors.

Of course there’s also manchestah piccadilleh but that’s a separate issue I sense

Further afield, there was a Toronto streetcar driver who adapted their delivery to suit different passengers as they reached different thoroughfares (Bloor/Bluur, Spadina/Spadeena etc)

Arrow, Olborn, Arringay & Oundslo come to mind as well.

No d in aaaaaaaaaanslow

 

[75A]

Other way round. Asc-ohhhhht is seen as somewhat “nouveau riche” thereabouts.

There is 1 E at most in Micheldever that much is true but whether it’s Michell as in Roger or Mitchell as in Grant/Phil is a matter of hot local debate.

Hilsea has an S or a Z, depending on various factors.

Of course there’s also manchestah piccadilleh but that’s a separate issue I sense

Further afield, there was a Toronto streetcar driver who adapted their delivery to suit different passengers as they reached different thoroughfares (Bloor/Bluur, Spadina/Spadeena etc)


No d in aaaaaaaaaanslow

Fair point, what about all the variants of Acne?

 

[godfreycomplex]

Fair point, what about all the variants of Acne?

Now there’s a can of worms!!

 

[Loppylugs]

Dread to fink wot that posh lot from Arrergate would make of it.

 

[snowball]

Eddie Waring called it Featherstone Rovers.

It's because of Eddie Waring that I'm surprised to read on here of people who didn't know how to pronounce Keighley.

 

[Bevan Price]

Not sure how much was due to the announcer, and how much to poor quality of the PA system, but announcements about westbound locals from Manchester Exchange often sounded like "culls", "croft" & "ewillows". (Eccles, Patricroft & Newton Le Willows)

 

[Dr_Paul]

It seems to me that local dialect is taken into consideration when considering the pronunciation of names, except in London.

In London, there's the classic omission by many people of the 'H' as the first letter, the elision (omission) of syllables within words, such as Battersea, which becomes 'Ba'sea', or Tower, which becomes 'Tah' (as in 'Tah'ill'), and various pronunciations, such as 'v' for 'th', hence Rotherhithe becomes 'Rov'rive'. This has always been frowned upon by respectable folk, and recorded announcements eschew them, with the occasional exception, such as garage being pronounced in the London manner as 'garridge' on some bus recorded announcements.

One strange rendering of London names is the occasional insertion of an additional syllable in Westminster and Upminster so that they become 'Westminister' and 'Upminister'. It's not that common, but I've heard it said not merely by Londoners but by Irish, West Indian and East European people.

 

[30907]

I’m now trying to work out how Allerton could be pronounced in more than one way (but then again the English language will never cease to amaze!).

All- as in Alan, Oll- as in 'oliday (that's the Bradford one, which has never had a station of course). I imagine Ollerton (Notts) is the same name.

 

[Bald Rick]

Wymondham - is actually WIND UM

The station in Norfolk is, however the signal box in Leicestershire is Why-mond-um

Had a very good fish and chip shop, not sure if that still exists.

It does. Owned by an English woman!

Talking of Guil(d)ford, how about the next station up, Worplesdon. Can't remember when I first learnt it was 'Warplesdon'' but being local-ish I think it was before I started using the trains.

I’ve never heard anything but the correct pronunciation of Worplesdon, and I know the place very well.

Godalming often gets pronounced God-al-Ming, rather than the correct Goddleming.

Leigh in Kent always catches me out. Has anyone mentioned Burntisland?

 

[stuu]

There's 'Arrer, 'Ornchurch, 'Ainought, 'Oxton, East 'Am, West 'Am, 'Endern - but best of all Plarsto!

There used to be a scouse bloke working on the platform at Farringdon. Eastbound terminators at Plaistow would be announced as "Plarstow" by the automated announcer, then he would announce it again as "Playstow", which always puzzled me. Maybe he thought the auto announcement was wrong?

 

[Class800]

The first pronunciation is correct - the second one is for the one in the borough of Bromley

 

[D6130]

It's not only Cockneys - and other Londoners - who drop the aitches at the beginning of place names. To the few remaining native inhabitants, the town where I live is " 'Ebdin"; whereas my wife, who is from Nidderdale, attended the grammar school in " Herroget". Within a comparatively short distance of where we live there are " 'alifax", " 'uddersfield" and " 'aworth".

 

[Loppylugs]

To the locals of Chippenham it is pronounced Chipnam.

 

[RPM]

'Re the Marley-bone/Marry-le-bon situation, I thought for many years that the latter pronounciation was the correct one. I'm now given to believe that it's actually another Shrewsbury situation whereby both pronounciations are correct.