Trivia: Mispronounced station names

[Class800]

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

I think so

 

[vic-rijrode]

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.

My point is I've never heard Milngavie or Wrotham pronounced at all on any channel - precisely like Slaithwaite!

 

[AM9]

My point is I've never heard Milngavie or Wrotham pronounced at all on any channel - precisely like Slaithwaite!

I remember hearing Milngavie mentioned many years ago a few months after I was told how the locals pronounced it, thereby confirming that the BBC Pronunciation unit had it covered. Wrotham is mentioned from time to time because it is the location of the main FM transmitter site for London and the Home Counties.
I'm aware of Slaithwaite mainly because of conversations like this on RUK!

 

[Class800]

I've heard Hoveton and Wroxham station mispronounced on a BBC railway programme with Portillo! It's HOFF-TUN, not HOVE-UH-TUN

 

[TheHovisKid]

The announcements at Preston mention "Gar-forth" and yet also say "East Garf'th".
Or it might be the other way round.

 

[RH Liner]

I've heard Hoveton and Wroxham station mispronounced on a BBC railway programme with Portillo! It's HOFF-TUN, not HOVE-UH-TUN

Ah, so if you are lazy and drop the H you finish up in Derbyshire at Oftun (Alfreton) instead.

 

[Class800]

Alfreton station I have always heard as AL-FRE-TON, not OF-TUN although it may be a local pronunciation. Hoveton is meant to be HOFF-TUN, but you do hear HOVE-UT-TON, it's a bit of a toe curler, but not quite in the KING-GUSSIE level!

 

[Parallel]

The announcements at Preston mention "Gar-forth" and yet also say "East Garf'th".
Or it might be the other way round.

I heard Euxton Balshaw Lane pronounced as ‘Youke-stun’ earlier today at Preston by the auto announcements. That’s a bit embarrassing seeing as how close it is!

Bache used to be announced as ‘Back’ at Chester before they corrected it.

 

[leytongabriel]

Many years ago an announcer at Romford couldn't cope with Prittlewell and came up with Pretty-well.

Of course since the war so many incomers have mispronounced Chesham as Chesh-am that it is now the accepted pronunciation. Correctly it was Chess-am or Chezz-um.

Romford always used to be 'Rumfd' and Barking didn't have a final 'g'.

On my journeys to and around London I’ve fallen foul to a number of mispronunciations.
Holborn - ‘Hohbun’
Bermondsey - ‘zee’ rather than ‘Ber-mond-sey’
Marylebone - Marry le bone’
Bees ‘o the barn I’d have no idea how to pronounce.

Its Hol - born which drives me bonkers. Even from station staff who work there. There used to an advert on the buses ( and perhaps tubes) in the 60's which laughed at people who didn't say 'Hoh-bn' with no 'l' and a 'schwa' in the second syllable.

There's a bad'un on GOBLIN line announcements, thinks it's Wanstead Pk coming out as Won-STED Park.

 

[36270k]

Ely often gets mispronounced as 'Ee-lye' by those not from the area.

Wymondham is also a classic example.

'Ee-lye' would be roughly correct if you were from East Sussex.

 

[AlterEgo]

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.

Los Angeles’ “American” pronunciation is intentionally bastardised.

It’s a Spanish name, pronounced “Loce Ang-hell-ace”. The local authority had tk literally pass a ruling in the 50s to ruin the pronunciation to “Loss Anjeless”.

 

[william]

My whole life has been a learning curve I got most of the less obvious pronunciations wrong at some point in my life, even the likes of Worcester and Salisbury as a young 7 or 8 year old. Some of the lesser known places I only got right once I visited the area. (Heighington, Grosmont, Sleights, Keighley and, only last month, Wymondham and Ely). My most embarrassing mispronunciation as a child though was probably 'quay' which I pounced in a similar way to a certain small, game bird.
But I suspect many are confusing mispronunciation with accent/dialect ? For example Prudhoe. I live near the village of Coxhoe and pronounce that as Coxer. If I was a geotdie, it would certainly be Coxah and if I was a typical Durham Uni student (stereotyping), it would be pronounced Cox hoe darling. All perfectly legit in my opinion....
Now for Shrewsbury...

 

[Tracked]

Sorry if it's been mentioned and I've missed it, but: Wemyss Bay

Also, Adwick-Le-Street - "Add Wick" or "Addick", I'm just up the road and hear both versions used

 

[Ken H]

Years ago, when some South Wales services called at Slough, I heard it announced as Sluff!

There is a street in Studley, Wark called the Slough. Pronounced Sluff. Railway interest. It had Studley Railway station and Alleleys heavy transport depot is also there.

 

[Route115?]

Two others, Kirkcaldy (Kirkcoddy) on the Fyfe Circle line and Witham (Wit-ham) on the GE Main Line are often mispronounced by non-locals.

Abroad. Lodz on Poland os pronounced 'Wooch'. We could probably do a long thread on overseas names.

 

[AM9]

My whole life has been a learning curve I got most of the less obvious pronunciations wrong at some point in my life, even the likes of Worcester and Salisbury as a young 7 or 8 year old. Some of the lesser known places I only got right once I visited the area. (Heighington, Grosmont, Sleights, Keighley and, only last month, Wymondham and Ely). My most embarrassing mispronunciation as a child though was probably 'quay' which I pounced in a similar way to a certain small, game bird.
But I suspect many are confusing mispronunciation with accent/dialect ? For example Prudhoe. I live near the village of Coxhoe and pronounce that as Coxer. If I was a geotdie, it would certainly be Coxah and if I was a typical Durham Uni student (stereotyping), it would be pronounced Cox hoe darling. All perfectly legit in my opinion....
Now for Shrewsbury...

It's not always dialect: although it doesn't have a station, Bosham just west of Chichester is pronounced 'bozzum' whereas Cosham, north of Portsmouth and a mere 14km west of Bosham, is pronounced 'coshum'.
Then there two Southwicks along the south coast: 'suthick' near Fareham and 'south wick' with a station between Portslade and Shoreham in West Sussex.

 

[Whistler40145]

Flitwick should be pronounced as Flittick

 

[bramling]

It's not always dialect: although it doesn't have a station, Bosham just west of Chichester is pronounced 'bozzum' whereas Cosham, north of Portsmouth and a mere 14km west of Bosham, is pronounced 'coshum'.
Then there two Southwicks along the south coast: 'suthick' near Fareham and 'south wick' with a station between Portslade and Shoreham in West Sussex.

In a lot of cases a non-local is simply set up to fail, as there is simply little consistency. There’s numerous examples, as you’ve given above, where two places can have exactly the same spelling but different pronunciation.

What should be a given is that railway PIS systems can be relied upon to get it right. This is one of the reasons I dislike the “Anne” announcer, as she is very poor in this respect, worst of all being her feeble attempt at doing the Cambrian Coast, where there are some pretty awful slip-ups. No excuse for not making the effort to get it right. One can understand that the odd error is going to slip in occasionally, but no excuse for getting a whole string of names badly wrong.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Also, Adwick-Le-Street - "Add Wick" or "Addick", I'm just up the road and hear both versions used

There's no consistency when it comes to errant Ws in South Yorkshire: you've got Addick, Cudduth and Dodduth, but Wombwell isn't pronounced "Womble"!

 

[Pit_buzzer]

Sorry if it's been mentioned and I've missed it, but: Wemyss Bay

Also, Adwick-Le-Street - "Add Wick" or "Addick", I'm just up the road and hear both versions used

Yep, I've lived withon a couple of miles of Adwick for 60 years. Both are in common usage, it seems to be whichever one fits the flow of the conversation. It's not split between groups of people, everyone pretty much uses both

 

[william]

Yep, I've lived withon a couple of miles of Adwick for 60 years. Both are in common usage, it seems to be whichever one fits the flow of the conversation. It's not split between groups of people, everyone pretty much uses both

In other words, it depends whether they have their teeth in or not.

 

[Calthrop]

Following from @hexagon789's "...the 'standard' UK pronunciations of Los Angeles, New Orleans and St. Louis are all 'wrong' to American ears.":

Los Angeles’ “American” pronunciation is intentionally bastardised.

It’s a Spanish name, pronounced “Loce Ang-hell-ace”. The local authority had tk literally pass a ruling in the 50s to ruin the pronunciation to “Loss Anjeless”.

A U.S. city name which long caused me to boggle, potential-pronunciations-wise: is the rather less-heard-of Des Moines, capital of Iowa (probably best known nowadays, for being the birthplace of Bill Bryson). One learns that it is pronounced in its own land, as "duh MOYN" (accent on second word). Literal translation of the name always gives me a bit of a smile -- "some monks".

 

[Dr_Paul]

Greenwich in London, which isn't pronounced GREEN-WITCH!

It's always been Grinnidge, along with Woollidge, just up the road. Does anyone know how Greenwich Village is pronounced in New York?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Does anyone know how Greenwich Village is pronounced in New York?

"The Village" apparently!

 

[D6130]

although it doesn't have a station, Bosham just west of Chichester is pronounced 'bozzum' w

I think you'll find it does....unless it has closed since I used to work the West Coastway line back in the 'eighties!

 

[urbophile]

Following from @hexagon789's "...the 'standard' UK pronunciations of Los Angeles, New Orleans and St. Louis are all 'wrong' to American ears.":


A U.S. city name which long caused me to boggle, potential-pronunciations-wise: is the rather less-heard-of Des Moines, capital of Iowa (probably best known nowadays, for being the birthplace of Bill Bryson). One learns that it is pronounced in its own land, as "duh MOYN" (accent on second word). Literal translation of the name always gives me a bit of a smile -- "some monks".

Similarly Theydon Bois, according to Jago Hazzard, is pronounced Boys or maybe Boyce (is that where he retired to?)

 

[Calthrop]

Similarly Theydon Bois, according to Jago Hazzard, is pronounced Boys or maybe Boyce (is that where he retired to?)

Well -- stupid Frogs, anyway -- what do they know about writing and pronouncing, in the first place ?

 

[Requeststop]

Not that there are many true Cornish dialect speakers left these days, (all you emmets coming here and buying up all the properties for second homes or AirB&B lets) but if you do meet up with those of us still left behind we do pronounce some places differently. Snerf, Snives and Snozzle. for the three saints, but strangely I've never St Germans pronounced differently. Another Saint that causes confusion is St Keyne. Is it Keen and Cain?

Redruth gets mispronounced by outsiders; is it RED-ruth or red-RUTH. It's a dead give away to locals who can tell if your a local or not.

Launceston is "Lanson", as in the champagne, which is drunk heartily whenever the local rugby team is awarded a penalty. (The Original All-Blacks by the way much to the ire of kiwi rugby fans)

There is the freight line from Lostwithiel, which lost both of it's stations which can cause some confusion; Golant, (Gol-ant or Go-lant) and Fowey (most definitely FOY).

I have even heard "Lis-key-ard".

 

[AM9]

I think you'll find it does....unless it has closed since I used to work the West Coastway line back in the 'eighties!

Sorry my mistake, - my mind was on the pleasures and pitfalls(sic) of Bosham Harbour.

 

[hexagon789]

Following from @hexagon789's "...the 'standard' UK pronunciations of Los Angeles, New Orleans and St. Louis are all 'wrong' to American ears.":


A U.S. city name which long caused me to boggle, potential-pronunciations-wise: is the rather less-heard-of Des Moines, capital of Iowa (probably best known nowadays, for being the birthplace of Bill Bryson). One learns that it is pronounced in its own land, as "duh MOYN" (accent on second word). Literal translation of the name always gives me a bit of a smile -- "some monks".

Funnily enough the very reason you outline is precisely why I have heard of Des Moines and why I looked up its pronunciation

It's always been Grinnidge, along with Woollidge, just up the road. Does anyone know how Greenwich Village is pronounced in New York?

I understood its one of the few places ti have the same pronunciation in BrE and AmE - Gren-itch/Gren-idge both being valid in both countries. Though Greenwich, Massachusetts is pronounced Grin-witch...