Trivia: Stations that don't sound like they're Spelt

[marks87]

Well, given that the Scots manage to get Kirkuddy out of Kirkaldy...

I think you'll find it's pronounced "Kirk-cawdy" - it's simply a silent 'l', as found in many words throughout the English language.

 

[Whistler40145]

I thought it was "Kir Coddy" without spelling the k in Kirk.


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[PaulLothian]

Kirkcaldy's pronunciation depends on the accent of the person saying it! Kir or Ker; cuddy, coddy or cawdy: have heard them all said by Scots.

And of course, like many placenames in Scotland, it isn't English anyway - it is generally thought to come from the Pictish language, though I have seen a case made for it being derived from old Welsh.

 

[Eagle]

I thought it was "Kir Coddy" without spelling the k in Kirk.

It's ambiguous as to whether it's "kir-KAW-dy" or "kir-KOD-y" as those two vowels are merged in most Scottish accents. (I use the first, but that's because my south coast accent turns "kir-KOD-y" into "kir-KAH-dy", which just sounds awful.)

Despite the spelling the name's got nothing to do with kirks; it should logically be Caercaldy.
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And of course, like many placenames in Scotland, it isn't English anyway...

Not to say there aren't many English placenames in Scotland though. Off the top of my head Edinburgh, Falkirk, Stirling, Motherwell, Livingston and Bo'ness all have very obviously English names (you'll notice those are all in the same area of Scotland).

 

[andypops]

I can't see that anyone's done this (but I bet I just havent looked hard enough!)

Cathays (near Cardiff University) is said as Cat-ayze

 

[Eagle]

(but I bet I just havent looked hard enough!)

Post #292

 

[tsr]

On another note (I'm not sure if it's been covered already), is Chesham pronounced "Chezam", as some locals prefer, or "Chesham", with the last part pronounced just like the word "sham"?

Some S-Stock trains say "Chesham". A friend of mine who lives nearby pronounces it that way, too, but I have heard audio/video news reports which say "Chezham".

I believe the settlement is named after the River Chess (someone correct me if I'm wrong). This, by itself, barely clarifies anything!

 

[DXMachina]

local pronounciation of 'Amersham' should give the clue as to which is authentic. I don't know.

 

[johnnychips]

local pronounciation of 'Amersham' should give the clue as to which is authentic. I don't know.

The suffix '-ham' was used by Saxon settlers to denote a village and would always be pronounced as a distinct syllable. Over the years, some places have retained this, whilst other pronunciations have evolved to combine the 'h' with preceding 't's, 'c's and 's's to make 'th', 'ch' and 'sh' sounds. As is usual with Britain, it is wonderfully inconsistent.

The classic non-railway example is Gotham City (the city of love) as in Batman, pronounced Goth-um, compared with Gotham, a village near Nottingham, pronounced Gottum.

How do you pronounce Amersham anyway?

 

[Ivo]

I had always thought both Amersham and Chesham had distinct "shum" sounds. This comes from someone who is very used to Metropolitan line announcements.

Ammer-shum; Ches-shum

 

[Bill EWS]

Slochd! The 'ch' is pronounced as in Loch' No, not Lock. The chd should be pronounced as ch-k. A hard 'K'. Therefore Slo-ch-k. All in one sylable.
It means a Pit or very steep gradiant as in the railway term Slochd Summit.

 

[tsr]

I had always thought both Amersham and Chesham had distinct "shum" sounds. This comes from someone who is very used to Metropolitan line announcements.

Ammer-sham; Ches-shum

Well, yes, but at least one person has told me of the supposed different pronunciation for Chesham.

On the other hand, I have relatives who live in Amersham, and it's pronounced exactly the way you describe (and indeed as most would probably expect).

 

[MCR247]

The classic non-railway example is Gotham City (the city of love) as in Batman, pronounced Goth-um, compared with Gotham, a village near Nottingham, pronounced Gottum.

I presume you mean pronouncing the first part as Goat? So Goat-um

 

[Eagle]

Either way, it doesn't rhyme with Wrotham.


Teignmouth is TIN-muth, despite the river being pronounced TEEN. (The district of Teignbridge that both are in can be pronounced either way.)

 

[johnnychips]

I presume you mean pronouncing the first part as Goat? So Goat-um

No

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RKHiz02RVA

Unless you really like R Kelly dirging, listen to the pronunciation at 1:08 and 1:55 from Batman. It is Goth (as in black eye-shadowed teenagers) -um.

The village near Nottingham is Got (as in 'have you got that CD I asked you for?) -um

The 'um' everybody keeps quoting, including me, is actually a 'schwa', represented by a backward 'e' in phonetic alphabets and is like the sound in
level and banana.

No idea where the goats came from!

 

[Eagle]

No idea where the goats came from!

I've only ever heard Gotham pronounced with a long 'o'. (As in the wise men thereof.) And I'd suggest that MCR247 is probably right, being as he lives within five miles of the village!
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EDIT I asked the internet and it returned a near-unanimous support for the long-o pronunciation. In fact the only source advocating a short o that Google throws up is post number 339 of this very thread.

 

[ReverendFozz]

Some Welsh ones: Hawarden is "HOR-den", Cathays is "ca-TAYZ", Bynea is "BIN-ya" (the Welsh Bynie is "BUN-yeh" as expected).

Wales doesn't have very many, because the Welsh language itself has no such thing as unphonetic spellings; everything is written exactly as it's pronounced. Actually the majority of languages are like that :P

I always thought Hawarden was pronounced Hard-On, which kept me childishly amused for years

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[Whistler40145]

I could imagine listening to the train announcement produced lots of amusing giggles.


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[Harlesden]

Perhaps this is a slight drift, but in 1965 when the newly formed London Borough decided to spell Harringay as Haringey, why did British Rail not go along with the change?

 

[Mutant Lemming]

Perhaps this is a slight drift, but in 1965 when the newly formed London Borough decided to spell Harringay as Haringey, why did British Rail not go along with the change?

Some folk (within the borough even) pronounce it as Harrin Jee to differentiate the borough or council from the district of Harringay which is still there and is still Harringay.

 

[37 418]

Kirkcaldy's pronunciation depends on the accent of the person saying it! Kir or Ker; cuddy, coddy or cawdy: have heard them all said by Scots.

And of course, like many placenames in Scotland, it isn't English anyway - it is generally thought to come from the Pictish language, though I have seen a case made for it being derived from old Welsh.

Old welsh or Cumbric is closer to the truth. The only remnant of the Pictish language in placenames is Pit- as in Pitlochry which is cognate with Bal- in Scotland (Gaelic areas), Tre(f)- in Wales/Cornwall and -ton/-town in England/Scotland (Anglo-Saxon/Scots areas).

 

[MCR247]

No

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RKHiz02RVA

Unless you really like R Kelly dirging, listen to the pronunciation at 1:08 and 1:55 from Batman. It is Goth (as in black eye-shadowed teenagers) -um.

The village near Nottingham is Got (as in 'have you got that CD I asked you for?) -um

The 'um' everybody keeps quoting, including me, is actually a 'schwa', represented by a backward 'e' in phonetic alphabets and is like the sound in
level and banana.

No idea where the goats came from!

Sorry, I meant to edit the quote! I was referring to the Nottinghamshire village which is pronounced Goat-um not Got-um

I've only ever heard Gotham pronounced with a long 'o'. (As in the wise men thereof.) And I'd suggest that MCR247 is probably right, being as he lives within five miles of the village!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
EDIT I asked the internet and it returned a near-unanimous support for the long-o pronunciation. In fact the only source advocating a short o that Google throws up is post number 339 of this very thread.

Yeah, it is Goat-um

 

[johnnychips]

I bow to local knowledge!

 

[transmanche]

Perhaps this is a slight drift, but in 1965 when the newly formed London Borough decided to spell Harringay as Haringey, why did British Rail not go along with the change?

Some folk (within the borough even) pronounce it as Harrin Jee to differentiate the borough or council from the district of Harringay which is still there and is still Harringay.

The place Harringay is just one (very) small area in the borough of Haringey. In fact the word Harringay has had many spelling variants over the years and shares a common root with Hornsey.

When I was very young, some people pronounced the local authority name as 'Harringee' (Gee as in Glee, but without the l) to distinguish it from the place - but I've not heard that since the 1970s. I've never heard anyone pronounce either name as 'Harrin Jee'.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

The place Harringay is just one (very) small area in the borough of Haringey. In fact the word Harringay has had many spelling variants over the years and shares a common root with Hornsey.

When I was very young, some people pronounced the local authority name as 'Harringee' (Gee as in Glee, but without the l) to distinguish it from the place - but I've not heard that since the 1970s. I've never heard anyone pronounce either name as 'Harrin Jee'.

Well it is a diverse borough which probably results in all manner of differing pronunciations.
As for Harrin Jee...
: Civic Centre, Wood Green
Q-"..who do I make the cheque payable to ?"
A-"...London Borough of Harrin Jee .."

 

[Eagle]

If it reopens, I can imagine Abertillery tripping a few people up. (Hint: Welsh placenames are categorically never stressed further back than the penultimate syllable.)

 

[PR1Berske]

If it reopens, I can imagine Abertillery tripping a few people up. (Hint: Welsh placenames are categorically never stressed further back than the penultimate syllable.)

[checks various websites]


Oh, heh, there goes my life-long assumption

I think


(A Bertie Leary, not Aber Till Airy ? )

 

[Seacook]

Not strictly on topic, but certainly associated, there is always Bombardier.

 

[Gwenllian2001]

[checks various websites]


Oh, heh, there goes my life-long assumption

I think


(A Bertie Leary, not Aber Till Airy ? )

The correct spelling is Abertyleri and pronounced, just like any other Welsh word, exactly as it's spelt. 'Abertillery' is an English corruption.

I can't help wondering if people actually read the posts on here but it has been pointed out, many times, that Welsh is not English and should not be read as such.

 

[Eagle]

[checks various websites]

Search YouTube for a song called 'Blodwyn and Mary' and all should be clear.
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Not strictly on topic, but certainly associated, there is always Bombardier.

The ale, or the offshoot of that snowmobile company?