how do you pronounce?
#4
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 13,194
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Okay. Confession. I don't know. The "L" is (essentially) silent in Suffolk, or Norfolk.
You know that old football game cheerleader's favorite from Norfolk, right?
We're the kids from Norfolk High
Norfolk
Norfolk
We don't smoke, we don't drink
Norfolk
Norfolk
Anyhow, I think that there is a trace of an audible "R" in Southwark.
You know that old football game cheerleader's favorite from Norfolk, right?
We're the kids from Norfolk High
Norfolk
Norfolk
We don't smoke, we don't drink
Norfolk
Norfolk
Anyhow, I think that there is a trace of an audible "R" in Southwark.
#7
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,923
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
No, there's no trace of an R or a W in Southwark-as-said. The last syllable's barely voiced, just enough to get you to the K. The first syllable rhymes with the first syllable in 'southerly'.
Bulwark, not that one often gets the opportunity to say it, is quite another matter.
English pronunciation, eh? It's how we confuse potential spies and terrorists..!
Bulwark, not that one often gets the opportunity to say it, is quite another matter.
English pronunciation, eh? It's how we confuse potential spies and terrorists..!
#9
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 1,249
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yes the English do have some wonderful pronounciations. Launceston, Worcester, Gloucester, Cholmondoly, and lots more. Some great place names too - did anyone read Bill Bryson's "Notes On A Small Island" in which he lists a few of the more unusual ones (plus a few of his own invention I suspect!)
#10
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,339
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Patrick has pronunciation nailed, no real indication of the second syllable at all other than the K. The vowel in the first syllable is nearer to the vowel in MUD than the usual pronunciation of SOUTH.
Lots to see in Southwark... Cathedral, Globe Theatre, one of the replicas of the Golden Hinde...
Lots to see in Southwark... Cathedral, Globe Theatre, one of the replicas of the Golden Hinde...
#11
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 13,194
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
<<The vowel in the first syllable is nearer to the vowel in MUD>>
I guess that'w why I specified to midwestern (US) English speakers - - as I am not qualified to compare pronunciations for folks from Vancouver, Savannah, Brooklyn, Christchurch or Belfast - - to my ears, the following words have that same (first) vowel: mud, druther, mother, brother - - AND southerly (or southern).
I guess that'w why I specified to midwestern (US) English speakers - - as I am not qualified to compare pronunciations for folks from Vancouver, Savannah, Brooklyn, Christchurch or Belfast - - to my ears, the following words have that same (first) vowel: mud, druther, mother, brother - - AND southerly (or southern).
#12
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,339
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yup. That aspect of your pronunciation was correct. I guess I was joining correct pronunciation of both first and last syllable in one post.
Krish
What are you intending to visit in Southwark? It's a nice area to wonder around...
Krish
What are you intending to visit in Southwark? It's a nice area to wonder around...
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 27
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for all the responses. As it is I have a thick Indian accent and I don't want to confound my listeners by mis-pronouncing words. I intend to viist the Southwark Cathedral- and of course the Globe - in October. I am now hopeful that I will not be identified a terrorist ( the first Hindu terrorist?) by the Londoners!
#14
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,268
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Kish:
I'm sure your last remark was a joke.
But one of the few jokes that rarely go down well in London.
We obviously don't suspect all foreigners of terrorism: we're perfectly capable of producing ample numbers of terrorists from people born here.
But the nuances of South Asia's ethnic complexities are live issues here. Especially among the hundreds of thousands of Londoners - especially Sikhs and Punjabi or Kashmiri Muslims -who see themselves or their family as victims of Hindu oppression.
Many of whom - rightly or wrongly - believe there really is such a thing as a "Hindu terrorist"
Make all the jokes you like about the Royal Family (either the hereditary one or the ghastly semi-elected one), the Anglican Church, the Pope, our trains or the US President. But steer clear of anything that even hints at the Subcontinent's ethnic and religious tensions.
Because, as you'll see the instant you get off the plane, in London South Asia is not a distant exotic land.
Incidentally, with a thick Indian accent, most people will think you're a doctor.
I'm sure your last remark was a joke.
But one of the few jokes that rarely go down well in London.
We obviously don't suspect all foreigners of terrorism: we're perfectly capable of producing ample numbers of terrorists from people born here.
But the nuances of South Asia's ethnic complexities are live issues here. Especially among the hundreds of thousands of Londoners - especially Sikhs and Punjabi or Kashmiri Muslims -who see themselves or their family as victims of Hindu oppression.
Many of whom - rightly or wrongly - believe there really is such a thing as a "Hindu terrorist"
Make all the jokes you like about the Royal Family (either the hereditary one or the ghastly semi-elected one), the Anglican Church, the Pope, our trains or the US President. But steer clear of anything that even hints at the Subcontinent's ethnic and religious tensions.
Because, as you'll see the instant you get off the plane, in London South Asia is not a distant exotic land.
Incidentally, with a thick Indian accent, most people will think you're a doctor.
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 27
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My remark was made in jest in response to an earlier post. I am quite familiar with the ethnic profiles - and sensitivities - of South Asian Londoners.
Thanks for your kindly advice.
Thanks for your kindly advice.
#16
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,923
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well, just to touch on another potential ethnic tension, let me just confuse twoflower by remarking that Tasmanians pronounce their Launceston as it reads, rather than the English way. As would the rest of Australia, insofar as they take any notice of Tasmanians at all.
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
111op
Europe
19
Nov 26th, 2004 03:09 AM