Trivia: Mispronounced station names

[geoffk]

Mitchell Devver


My phone does that on auto correct

Autocorrect is a subject in itself. I've had Pinhole for Pinhoe and Topshop for Topsham.

Not sure if we've had Stow on the Borders line. Apparently it rhymes with cow, not as in Stowmarket or Stow-on-the-Wold.

 

[matchmaker]

Sometimes referred to as 'Embra'.

Or "Enbra".

 

[Mcr Warrior]

An American on hearing the correct pronunciation ’Edinbruh’, asked if it was near ‘Edinboro’ (you might have assumed ‘Edinburg’).

Sometimes referred to as 'Embra'.

Or "Enbra".

Or Edin-burra. But not Edin-buurg.

 

[The Quincunx]

Autocorrect is a subject in itself. I've had Pinhole for Pinhoe and Topshop for Topsham.

Not sure if we've had Stow on the Borders line. Apparently it rhymes with cow, not as in Stowmarket or Stow-on-the-Wold.

Talking of Autocorrect, I worked at the RUCC for North Western England in the days of WordPerfect. It insisted on changing "Rochdale" to "Rectal" - which seemed more appropriate.

 

[Neo9320]

Talking of Autocorrect, I worked at the RUCC for North Western England in the days of WordPerfect. It insisted on changing "Rochdale" to "Rectal" - which seemed more appropriate.

This made me laugh far too much!

 

[Inversnecky]

Not sure about 'purity'. Our English teacher used to get us to say the phrase 'A fair for fur dealers': if the three 'fur' sounds were identical when spoken then you qualified as full scouse.
Having said that the Scouse (and South Lancashire) pronunciation of 'book' and 'brook' is probably closer to the Old English pronunciation.

I've been feasting on the many BTC films now up on YouTube, and marvelling as how pronunciation has moved on from the 50s and even 70s.

I realise that the narrators were no doubt making an effort to be extra clear in their diction, but the quality of vowels is notable, for example /u/ (cardinal 8) as in too/two/screw etc.

Not a station name, but I noticed a narrator refer to "Tees-side", as opposed to the now more common "Tee-side". Was the former how it was previously pronounced?

 

[hexagon789]

Not a station name, but I noticed a narrator refer to "Tees-side", as opposed to the now more common "Tee-side". Was the former how it was previously pronounced?

Well there you've got me, because I always thought it was "Tees-side". That's how I read it and thus pronounced it, it never occurred to me it could be anything else.

EDIT: it's fine, the OED agrees with me! My relief is palpable

 

[Inversnecky]

I could well be very wrong about 'Tees-side' - I guess my unfamiliarity with the local pronunciation, or laziness with my own!

In terms of mispronunciation, I recall an old WW2 Will Hay film, where a Nazi agent parachuted in does his very best to tell the locals that Slough should properly be pronounced as 'Sluff'.

 

[ungreat]

The GN 365s auto announcement for Huntingdon used to raise a few eyebrows...

 

[david1212]

......
In terms of mispronunciation, I recall an old WW2 Will Hay film, where a Nazi agent parachuted in does his very best to tell the locals that Slough should properly be pronounced as 'Sluff'.

While not railway ' The Slough ' in Studley, where the base of Alleys Transport is and summer car boot sale held, is pronounced ' The Sluff '

 

[Calthrop]

I could well be very wrong about 'Tees-side' - I guess my unfamiliarity with the local pronunciation, or laziness with my own!

In terms of mispronunciation, I recall an old WW2 Will Hay film, where a Nazi agent parachuted in does his very best to tell the locals that Slough should properly be pronounced as 'Sluff'.

While not railway ' The Slough ' in Studley, where the base of Alleys Transport is and summer car boot sale held, is pronounced ' The Sluff '

In fairness -- for all and any "ough" 's, there's a choice of at least ten possible pronunciations !

 

[Inversnecky]

In fairness -- for all and any "ough" 's, there's a choice of at least ten possible pronunciations !

Try these for size:

dough
cough
enough
bough
through
thorough

 

[hexagon789]

Try these for size:

dough
cough
enough
bough
through
thorough

Sounds like the ending of The Chaos:

'Finally: which rhymes with "enough,"
Though, through, plough, cough, hough, or tough?
Hiccough has the sound of "cup"......
My advice is—give it up!'

 

[Dr_Paul]

Depends on whether one is common and so drops one's aitches.

Is it 'Aywards 'Eeth elsewhere anyone?

Aywudzeef might roughly be the London pronunciation.

 

[Class800]

Aywudzeef might roughly be the London pronunciation.

Reminds me of Fort Neef for Thornton Heath!

 

[Strathclyder]

Too French I think, I've always heard it as a more elided pronunciation -

Chat-le-row.

This is the pronunciation I've always used. Took me a while to get the hang of it though. Chatelherault & Crianlarich were the ones that always tripped me up when I was younger.

 

[Dr_Paul]

Never heard it pronounced with a z - even by locals. Sometimes Roy-slip.

I used to hear Ruislip pronounced as 'Rooslip' by quite a few people, but I've not heard it said that way for some years now (I'm rather glad to say). I've also never heard anyone pronounce the 's' as a 'z'.

 

[Inversnecky]

This is the pronunciation I've always used. Took me a while to get the hang of it though. Chatelherault & Crianlarich were the ones that always tripped me up when I was younger.

I only know it from history, and the pronunciation ‘sha-tell-heh-roe’.

 

[Strathclyder]

I only know it from history, and the pronunciation ‘sha-tell-heh-roe’.

There are quite a few pronunciations for it. I'll likely be sticking with the one I quoted, as it's near enough ingrained now lol

 

[Skiddaw]

Micheldever, is it Micheal, Mitchell, Michelle, then part two, deever, devver, de ver?

I honestly don't know this one, perhaps someone could put me out of my misery

Mitchell Devver


My phone does that on auto correct

Ah sweet memories! Just up the road from the village I grew up in. It was notorious for people not from the area pronouncing it incorrectly. As was nearby Alresford.

I often have a chuckle at how people (apart from locals) often mispronounce the name of KEIGHLEY station. Do you know of any other station names (let's limit this to England for obvious reasons) that frequently get mispronounced? BTW Keighley is pronounce Keeth-ly - not Keely, Kegly, Kethly or Kylie!!

..And that reminds me of a story my Yorkshire-born & bred husband tells. He was on a bus on his way from Skipton to Bradford. Conductor came around and a man sitting opposite my husband asked (in a strong American accent) for a ticket to 'Kayley'. Apparently, everyone on the bus simultaneously shouted 'KEETHLY!!'

 

[oldgoat]

On a Tyne Valley line train to Hexham a while back. The guard, on slowing down for Prudhoe:
"Ladies & Gentlemen, this train is now approaching Prudda. For the benefit of those ladies & gentlemen who've recently bought houses in Prudda, this train is now approaching Prood-hoe".

 

[Inversnecky]

At the risk of derailing the thread, or taking it a bit too far from the intended track, I am reminded of a case, not of mispronunciation, but rather of mistranslation.

This misfortune befell a Guardian(iirc) travel writer, documenting his train travels through the Czechoslovak countryside at the end of the 80s.

At one point he was plauding the small and picturesque village of Vychod, completely oblivious to the fact that the sign on the station platform meant ‘way out’, a confusion very eagerly pointed out by a number of subsequent correspondents!

 

[Meerkat]

At the risk of derailing the thread, or taking it a bit too far from the intended track, I am reminded of a case, not of mispronunciation, but rather of mistranslation.

This misfortune befell a Guardian(iirc) travel writer, documenting his train travels through the Czechoslovak countryside at the end of the 80s.

At one point he was plauding the small and picturesque village of Vychod, completely oblivious to the fact that the sign on the station platform meant ‘way out’, a confusion very eagerly pointed out by a number of subsequent correspondents!

Driving from the German to the Italian bit of Switzerland I thought Uschita must be a massive place from how many motorway junctions it had.....until I realised it was the same as utfahrt - exit.

 

[hexagon789]

until I realised it was the same as utfahrt - exit.

I thought it was ausfahrt?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

In a similar vein, there appear to be numerous small hamlets and villages in North Wales which are all called 'Llwybr Cyhoeddus', this based on the number of green signposts that you get to see pointing to them all.

P.S. Wonder which is the most often mispronounced Welsh railway station name?

 

[Caboose Class]

Also in a similar vein, that place called Goslow, painted on road junctions everywhere in the UK, but I've still yet to find it.

 

[Meerkat]

I thought it was ausfahrt?

Quite possibly, it was a few years ago and I get my fahrts mixed up!

 

[hexagon789]

Quite possibly, it was a few years ago and I get my fahrts mixed up!

Oh dear, have you sought medical attention for that ailment yet?

(Sorry but that was too easy to resist! )

 

[D6130]

I thought it was ausfahrt?

Yep....and it's uscita - without the h!

 

[Inversnecky]

In a similar vein, there appear to be numerous small hamlets and villages in North Wales which are all called 'Llwybr Cyhoeddus', this based on the number of green signposts that you get to see pointing to them all.

P.S. Wonder which is the most often mispronounced Welsh railway station name?

This has to be seen to be believed: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7702913.stm

until I realised it was the same as utfahrt - exit.

I thought it was ausfahrt?

Unless he is mixing it up with uitgang - Dutch for exit?