Station pronunciation

[TheNewNo2]

They're not national rail stations, but I hereby nominate Rhyd Ddu and Waunfawr for trickiest pronunciation. I believe those are meant to be "Rith-thee" and "Wine-vower" respectively, but I'm probably wrong.

Of course one could always try Llanfairpwll's full name (remember pwll is "pwuch" not "pwill"), but that's rather cheating I feel.

 

[alex17595]

What about hall i'th wood?

 

[PHILIPE]

They're not national rail stations, but I hereby nominate Rhyd Ddu and Waunfawr for trickiest pronunciation. I believe those are meant to be "Rith-thee" and "Wine-vower" respectively, but I'm probably wrong.

Of course one could always try Llanfairpwll's full name (remember pwll is "pwuch" not "pwill"), but that's rather cheating I feel.

Rheed-thee, Wine-vowr and pooth.

 

[kieron]

Harden is the Welsh translation. If Hawarden was the Welsh name it would have to be pronounced as spelt because, unlike English as in this instance, every letter has to be pronounced in Welsh.

No, it's a Saxon name (the Welsh is something different). The spelling just happened to become standardised in a form no-one uses. Going by this, they haven't for some time.

 

[PHILIPE]

No, it's a Saxon name (the Welsh is something different). The spelling just happened to become standardised in a form no-one uses. Going by this, they haven't for some time.

Yes, you're right. I misquoted the Welsh name earlier. It is Penarlág

 

[cuccir]

+1 on this being an interesting thread, I'm learning a lot!

The TransPennineExpress automatic announcer pronounces 'Roose' to rhyme with 'Loose'; the local pronunciation would rhyme with 'Lose', which to be fair doesn't make sense from spelling!

A common one is to pronounce the 'Furness' of Barrow-in-Furness, as 'FurNESS' when the local pronunciation is 'FURnss' - emphasis on Fur and the 'e' not really pronounced. Similarly 'Cark for Cartmel' is 'Cark for Cart-ml' rather than 'Cark for CartMELL'.

 

[FQ]

What about Dyffryn Ardudwy?

 

[ert47]

I regularly hear Gatwick getting a odd pronunciation at times (Gat-wich), but nothing get me more annoyed than the automatic announcement on the Central line when you get to Chancery Lane

Then theres Eltham.

 

[button_boxer]

What about Dyffryn Ardudwy?

Duff-rin ar-did-oo-ee

Welsh pronounciation is almost entirely phonetic, unlike English.

 

[D6975]

Port Talbot seems straight forward, but...

 

[stut]

I regularly hear Gatwick getting a odd pronunciation at times (Gat-wich)

The Gatwick trains from Guildford used to get the plummiest possible pronunciation. "Getwick Ehpawt".

Greenock is one that seems to confuse a lot of people. Just because Greenwich is pronounced oddly doesn't mean that everywhere starting with 'Green' has to be...

 

[AM9]

+1 on this being an interesting thread, I'm learning a lot!

The TransPennineExpress automatic announcer pronounces 'Roose' to rhyme with 'Loose'; the local pronunciation would rhyme with 'Lose', which to be fair doesn't make sense from spelling!

Quite a lot of people (some of whom post on these forums) erroneously spell the word lose - as in 'to lose a race'. They spell it as loose which means your explanation above may confuse them!

 

[FQ]

Duff-rin ar-did-oo-ee

Welsh pronounciation is almost entirely phonetic, unlike English.

Thanks for that!

 

[TheEdge]

As there's a lot of discussion on Norfolk, at what point does a drawling accent become accepted pronunciation? Is it Hun-STAN-ton or HUN-s'on? Is it Snet-TISH-um or SNET-shum? One thing's for sure, though, the "King's" in "King's Lynn" is almost always silent...

Although the drawling accent is where these odd pronunciations have come from. The Norfolk accent and its habit to just merge and ignore whole syllables is probably where the bizarre pronunciation of Wymondham came from. Same could be said for Herefordshire drawl and Leominster.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Duff-rin ar-did-oo-ee

Welsh pronounciation is almost entirely phonetic, unlike English.

Simple to someone who understands the sounds in Welsh, like those double l's but if you don't know those sounds they just don't work.

Machynellth. Phonetic in Welsh and it works fine. Phonetic in English and you get, erm, Mach-ee-nel-lf.

 

[Caertroia]

The recorded station announcements at Charing Cross has started to pronounce Gillingham (the one in Kent) with a hard G, like the one in Dorset. Southeastern's ontrain announcements still say Jillingham though.

 

[button_boxer]

Simple to someone who understands the sounds in Welsh, like those double l's but if you don't know those sounds they just don't work.

Absolutely - the spelling is phonetic, but the letters don't (all) represent the same phonemes in Welsh as they do in English. I'd say that the key ones are

• y - usually the schwa sound (the nondescript "uh" vowel), except at the end of a word when it becomes ee (the single letter word "y" is "uh")
• u - more like the short "i" in words like the English "it", maybe a bit longer like "ee" at the end of a word
• w - like oo in the English "hoot"
• f - like English v
• ff - like English f
• dd - like the th in English "the"
• th - like English "thin"
• c - always hard like English "k", never "s"
• ch - like Scottish "loch"

And of course the "ll" - put your tongue where you would to make the English L sound and then blow gently.

(This is from a north Wales perspective, there are probably some differences further south).

 

[47271]

The Gatwick trains from Guildford used to get the plummiest possible pronunciation. "Getwick Ehpawt".

Greenock is one that seems to confuse a lot of people. Just because Greenwich is pronounced oddly doesn't mean that everywhere starting with 'Green' has to be...

I'd say Greenuk, all quite fast but with a comparitively long 'e', just as if I was saying the colour. Likewise Gourock - Gooruk.

Another Scottish one away from the Highlands or West that people can get into difficulty with is Inverurie. Inve-ROORY, heavy on the back end with quite (but not too much!) rolling r's.

The Getwick example reminds me of driving down the A1 near Castleford in the late 1990s. The Trafficmaster lady sprang into life and informed us plummily that we were near 'Causelford' as in 'Windsor Causel'. Northerners in the car fell about laughing.

 

[cf111]

Another Scottish one away from the Highlands or West that people can get into difficulty with is Inverurie. Inve-ROORY, heavy on the back end with quite (but not too much!) rolling r's.

On the same line, I have had to assure a pair of American tourists that the train was going to call at Elgin, with the second syllable pronounced as if it were the spirit .

 

[6Gman]

Rheed-thee, Wine-vowr and pooth.

No. Rhyd Ddu. Waunfawr. Pwll.

 

[backontrack]

Annan, the platform announcements have the stress on the second syllable, then on the train its on the first. I've heard it both ways but usually it's the latter.

One that catches people out is Gilshochill, pronounced Gilshie-hill.

Is Polmadie Pol-maddy or Pol-madee? Pretty sure it's the second one.



King-yoosie
Mull-guy
Bridge of Orchy (say what you see, ch like loch)
Cor-oor or Cor-our (stress on the last syllable)
I've heard Loch-ay-lort and Loch-eye-lort, I usually go for the latter
Mal (as in pal)-ig (stress on Mal)
Alt (like alter)-na-brayeck
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Another one Scotrail get wrong is Prud-Ho.

I wasn't sure if it was Mulgy or Mulguy. I meant to write 'kh' for Bridge of Orchy but forgot the H, and I don't think you pronounce the 'g' on Kingussie, or the 'a' in Altnabreac.

 

[6Gman]

Port Talbot seems straight forward, but...

Ah, tall-but v tal-bot

 

[PHILIPE]

No. Rhyd Ddu. Waunfawr. Pwll.

What are you getting at ? Don't understand your post.

 

[TheManOnThe172]

It is funny how many people cannot pronounce Keighley correctly.

I fear that you are showing your age: I recently sat at Keighley beside some teenagers who were phoning friends with an update on their location: "K-town"

 

[Gathursty]

Dear Welsh people,

How do I pronounce
Penrhiwceiber
&
Troed-y-rhiw?

Thanks.

 

[sarahj]

When I'm doing some announcements I make a point of saying it the geordie way as that's where I'm from. So Bath, becomes Baath. There is no R is there, so why say it.

Another one down here is Seaford. Auto girl goes Seafod. (posh)Locals like to say, SeaFoord.

Chichester is another one. The locals just say Chi'. So when I'm announcing I say Chichester. When I'm walking through the trains its .'tickets from Chi' please'

And then you get the yanks who go 'Lie Cester Square.' Lester thank you.

And sometimes you do have to throw in a 'Hove Actually'.
(I have said change for St Pancakes )

 

[backontrack]

I fear that you are showing your age: I recently sat at Keighley beside some teenagers who were phoning friends with an update on their location: "K-town"

 

[DeeGee]

I've not been down the Maidstone East line since the Connex days, so I can't vouch for the announcers, but there's potential for slip ups in:

Borough Green and Wrotham
West Malling
East Malling
Bearsted (whichever you choose will be wrong)
Charing

And of course, between Borough Green and West Malling one finds the village of Trottiscliffe, home of a country park by the name of Trosley.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
It's difficult to decide what to do for the best with announcements. Of course, we'd love them to correctly reflect local pronunciation, but who needs them more? If it's out of towners trying to find the way, then something nearer to an approximation of what they'd expect to call it would surely be of more use. They are to help people who don't know the station/line find their way to their destination, after all.

 

[button_boxer]

Dear Welsh people,



How do I pronounce

Penrhiwceiber

&

Troed-y-rhiw?



Thanks.

For Welsh "rh" think English "hr", so "rhiw" is approximately "hree-yew" but run together as one syllable. It's hard to explain in text. My attempt at pronouncing those two would be roughly

Pen-hreeyew-kay-ber

Troy'd-uh-hreeyew

But I'd defer to a local.

 

[Bald Rick]

Loving this thread. Wymondham / Wymondham has caught me out in the past, as have Leigh, Leigh and Lee.

Wrotham reminds me of one of my all time favourite rail anecdotes, from the days when trains split at Swanley for Maidstone East and Rochester, and stations were known by different names, a certain member of platform staff would call out "Fawkham at the front, Wrotham up the rear"

The notorious one in my neck of the woods is the Vale of Belvior - which is of course pronounced as 'beaver'. This is of some amusement to me thanks to a letting agent that has set up shop with the name of "Belvior!" - am I to take it this is pronounced in the same way?

Back to stations, I've heard it said that Rolleston should actually be pronounced as Rol-ston. Not sure if this is correct!

Rolston possibly, although Rolsson is also heard. Much like Illsson (Ilkeston), Musson (Muston), and Crowson Kerrial (Croxton Kerrial). The latter two also in the Vale of Belvoir, always pronounced Beaver. There is a Belvoir fruit farm (in the Duke of Rutland's estate) that's produces decent bottled fruit juice, make up your own punchline!

 

[34087]

For Welsh "rh" think English "hr", so "rhiw" is approximately "hree-yew" but run together as one syllable. It's hard to explain in text. My attempt at pronouncing those two would be roughly

Pen-hreeyew-kay-ber

Troy'd-uh-hreeyew

But I'd defer to a local.

I once spent a week in nearby Mountain Ash with a local, my take would be Pen-hreeyew-ky-ber.

Another poster mentioned Chi ( Chye ) for Chichester which is obviously quicker than the old localism 'Chidester' , with the middle e hardly enunciated.

Most towns with three or four syllable names seem to have a local name, Wokingham is abbreviated to Woke-nam