Trivia: Mispronounced station names

[Whistler40145]

Milngavie is pronounced Mullguy

 

[jfollows]

Which neatly brings us to the american habit of emphasising the last syllablle of single names as if it was a separate word.

I recall going somewhere in the USA once, and being asked - I think by the hotel receptionist - for my home address which I gave. When I saw what she'd written I was initially surprised - "Portsmith". But I realised that the american pronunciation would have emphasised the last syllable as you say.

 

[LRV3004]

Hall i th’ Wood. Many years ago I was sent to Bolton station to cover but as I wasn’t passed out to dispatch trains there, I was put to work in the announcers office. When a Clitheroe service came in, I pronounced the station as “Hal i The Wood”. When the supervisor came back, he gave me a rollicking for mispronouncing the station - he told me it’s pronounced “Hallith Wood”! I didn’t get it wrong again!!!!!

 

[Western Lord]

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


As in Birming-HAM, Alabama.

Which Alexander Armstrong on Pointless always pronounces Ala-barma

 

[Whisky Papa]

I recall going somewhere in the USA once, and being asked - I think by the hotel receptionist - for my home address which I gave. When I saw what she'd written I was initially surprised - "Portsmith". But I realised that the american pronunciation would have emphasised the last syllable as you say.

Somewhat oddly, the district of Todmorden bordering the Lancashire boundary, and of course its former station on the on the Copy Pit line, is known as Portsmouth, and the local pronunciation very strongly emphasises the second syllable.

 

[AM9]

Which Alexander Armstrong on Pointless always pronounces Ala-barma

He is truly pointless person.

 

[DunsBus]

He is truly pointless person.

Badoom-tssssh!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Somewhat oddly, the district of Todmorden bordering the Lancashire boundary, and of course its former station on the on the Copy Pit line, is known as Portsmouth, and the local pronunciation very strongly emphasises the second syllable.

A very strange name, considering it's a long way from any ports... or indeed river mouths!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Etymology of the 'Portsmouth' village, after which the former L&YR station in the locality (which was once in Lancashire, but is now in West Yorkshire) seems uncertain. About 3 miles from Todmorden.

More info on the Disused Stations website. (Link below...)

Disused Stations: Portsmouth Station (Lancs)

www.disused-stations.org.uk

 

[lewisf]

Mulsecoomb near Brighton. I always knew it as Muls-COOM but the auto announcer pronounces it as MULZ-cm

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Mulsecoomb near Brighton. I always knew it as Muls-COOM but the auto announcer pronounces it as MULZ-cm

Actually spelt Moulsecoomb.

Seems now to vary between "Moles-coom" and "Mools-coom" (but not "Mool-scum") depending on who you ask.

 

[hexagon789]

Which Alexander Armstrong on Pointless always pronounces Ala-barma

That's not necessarily wrong per se, just not American. After all the "standard" UK pronunciations of Los Angeles, New Orleans and St Louis are all "wrong" to American ears.

 

[rower40]

Many Moons ago (while I was at school there), a reporter and film crew from "Midlands Today" went round the town asking:
1) do you live here?
If the answer was "yes", then:
2) Is it Shrowes (rhymes with throws) Bury or Shrooze (rhymes with snooze) Bury?

Their survey came back with exactly 50/50.

My other favourite is the Silent Space in Long Eaton. Anyone not merging the G into the Eat (Lon-Geaton) is immediately marked as a furrinner.

 

[Mikey C]

That's not necessarily wrong per se, just not American. After all the "standard" UK pronunciations of Los Angeles, New Orleans and St Louis are all "wrong" to American ears.

Or indeed Toronto in Canada, which out there sounds more like TORONT-O

 

[hexagon789]

Or indeed Toronto in Canada, which out there sounds more like TORONT-O

And with flapped 'T's as well - to me it sounds more like Torond-o or even Tronn-o if said quickly

 

[prod_pep]

Actually spelt Moulsecoomb.

Seems now to vary between "Moles-coom" and "Mools-coom" (but not "Mool-scum") depending on who you ask.

I go with 'Moles-coom' as it seems to be most common locally, but it should always have a full 'coom' (as in Ilfracombe but not Balcombe). The automated announcements both on trains and at Brighton get this wrong.

Seaford should have a full second syllable (not 'fud') and I think Westham is the same, but this is traditional usage that seems to be dying out.

One I do wonder about is Southease. Is it first or second syllable stress and is it an 's' or 'z' sound in 'ease'?

 

[CaptainHaddock]

My local station is Elsecar and it says everything about Northern's disinterest in their customers that their automated announcement pronounces it as "El-see-carrr" rather than the correct pronunciation as "Elsa-cuh" (the last syllable is a short c as in "custard").

 

[61653 HTAFC]

My local station is Elsecar and it says everything about Northern's disinterest in their customers that their automated announcement pronounces it as "El-see-carrr" rather than the correct pronunciation as "Elsa-cuh" (the last syllable is a short c as in "custard").

Do Northern have something against suburbs of Barnsley I wonder? I mentioned Dodworth upthread, which their robo-announcements pronounce as it's written rather than the more common local version with the w and r skipped. I suppose we should just be thankful they got Penistone right!

At least when TPE had complaints about Slaithwaite, they updated their announcements to the more "folksy" pronunciation!

 

[matchmaker]

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.

The largest number of Gaelic speakers in Scotland are situated in Glasgow.

 

[Djgr]

Many Moons ago (while I was at school there), a reporter and film crew from "Midlands Today" went round the town asking:
1) do you live here?
If the answer was "yes", then:
2) Is it Shrowes (rhymes with throws) Bury or Shrooze (rhymes with snooze) Bury?

Their survey came back with exactly 50/50.

My other favourite is the Silent Space in Long Eaton. Anyone not merging the G into the Eat (Lon-Geaton) is immediately marked as a furrinner.

Yes Shrewsbury is almost unique in having two pronunciations that are equally popular.

Near where I live (CH43) is a Shrewsbury Road which definitely rhymes with snooze.

 

[30907]

Those of a certain age may also know Cleckheaton's other nickname... Cleckhuddersfax!

Missed that one, but I remember Cleckmon(d)sedge. Though that was for the conurbation (bit of a posh word for three towns in a row.)

 

[mirodo]

Somewhat oddly, the district of Todmorden bordering the Lancashire boundary, and of course its former station on the on the Copy Pit line, is known as Portsmouth, and the local pronunciation very strongly emphasises the second syllable.

That is, of course “Tod’m’dn”, and not Tod-MOR-den, as I’ve heard it occasionally mispronounced.

Also, Whalley, not too far away, is “Warli”, not “Wally”.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

"Alnmouth for Alnwick" must be confusing for tourists, as you pronounce the 'L' in the former but not the latter!

 

[SargeNpton]

"Alnmouth for Alnwick" must be confusing for tourists, as you pronounce the 'L' in the former but not the latter!

You don't pronounce the w in the latter either.

 

[mirodo]

And the “mouth” is fully pronounced, unlike the “mth” in “Portsmouth”.

 

[RH Liner]

"Alnmouth for Alnwick" must be confusing for tourists, as you pronounce the 'L' in the former but not the latter!

My friend who originates from the area (Amble to be precise) tells me that when she goes back she gets off the train at Alanmouth

 

[mrd269697]

When I used to work in the Liverpool Underground stations, many out of towners would pronounce Kirkby literally with the silent second K when asking what platform they needed. I had to explain it wasn’t pronounced like that but stressed I wasn’t being pedantic, rather so that if they hear a train being announced for ‘Kirby’ - that’s the one they needed.

people asking for tickets to Bache was also interesting. The most popular mispronunciation was ‘batch’

 

[vic-rijrode]

I often wonder why the uninitiated and unwary traveller pronouncing these names "wrongly" is so pilloried by locals. After all, most of the places mentioned in this thread are hardly household names. How many times has Slaithwaite, Milngavie or Wrotham featured in the TV News? Why are they still spelled like that if pronounced differently? Why indeed are they pronounced differently - laziness, deliberate incomprehensibility, misplaced tradition?

...and don't get me started on Cholmondley, Mainwaring and Featherstonehaigh Rovers for goodness sake even if they are not stations.

 

[AM9]

I often wonder why the uninitiated and unwary traveller pronouncing these names "wrongly" is so pilloried by locals. After all, most of the places mentioned in this thread are hardly household names. How many times has Slaithwaite, Milngavie or Wrotham featured in the TV News? Why are they still spelled like that if pronounced differently? Why indeed are they pronounced differently - laziness, deliberate incomprehensibility, misplaced tradition?

...and don't get me started on Cholmondley, Mainwaring and Featherstonehaigh Rovers for goodness sake even if they are not stations.

I've never heard Milngavie or Wrotham wrongly pronounced on BBC TV or radio national news, and living in the south-east, never heard Slaithwaite in the news anywhere.

 

[The exile]

also heard East Anglian Main Line said as East Anglican Main Line!

Did the Queen Mother not make exactly this error when naming “Royal Anglian Regiment”….?