Proper pronounciation: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Glouchester, Glouchestershire; Who, exactly, is British?
Sep 1st, 2000, 09:57 AM
#21
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To confuse matters further, locals tend not to use the nationally accepted pronunciation.This is used as a badge of authenticity.So what you hear will often be different from what you are told is correct. <BR> <BR>EG:In Glasgow they call <BR>Glasgow : Glesca <BR>Edinburgh : Embra <BR>Cambuslang : Cumslang <BR>Etc.
Sep 2nd, 2000, 04:35 PM
#23
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/// <BR>Although my Bostonian accent (NEW England) is a bit different than the British Bostonian accent, the pronounciation of 'Gloucester' as well as several other duplicate named cities remains the same. This string DEFINITELY calls for an audio accompaniment!
Sep 4th, 2000, 11:15 AM
#24
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Is that how people born in Gloucester pronounce it? The West Country has some pleasant, colourful and amusing local accents. I live here, but I deliver a boring received pronunciation. Bristol was once called Brigstowe. Chance would have it that it was inhabited by Bristolians, who like to add random "l"s to words, particularly those ending with an a! You probably hark from Americal. If you like the ballet, who is your favourite Primal Ballerinal? <BR> <BR>If you make it to Bristol, listen out for it. <BR> <BR>Sue MacGregor (a very professional radio journalist in the UK) once upbraided a sports correspondent who announced that there was horse racing at Fakenham (as in fakin 'em). "That is NOT how you pronounce Fakenham", she said, twice. She never told us what the correct pronunciation was. Best to play the rube with that one.
Sep 4th, 2000, 03:51 PM
#25
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ROFL ya'll! (hubby and I are transplanted southerners from the States living in Yorkshire!!) <BR> <BR>This is a very interesting thread...my neighbors next door are a real hoot. The wife is from down in southern England somewhere, and the husband is from right here in North Yorkshire - when you throw me and my husband into the equation...talk about conflicting accents! <BR> <BR>Keep this going...fascinating stuff!
Sep 6th, 2000, 03:32 PM
#28
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Joanna: Actually, no, I do not know that. Then again, I do not know a lot of things! I AM trying, however. <BR> <BR>Tony: I only inquired about pronounciation as a courtesy. I find that most people appreciate visitors making at least some effort to know the background of where they are visiting and an attempt to say things correctly. No big deal or anything. Besides, I really am interested in knowing how to pronounce names like Glasgow Edinburgh.
Sep 6th, 2000, 05:49 PM
#30
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Greg, dont sweat it, bro <BR> <BR>I guess my east coast (of scotland) humour doesnt always work. I tried to crack a funny with a barman in Phoenix last weekend and he looked at me as if I had asked to sleep with his wife. <BR> <BR>However, the people on Vancouver Island seem to love my wisecracks - a server at McD's wouldnt let me go the other day until I had told him my three best gags.
Sep 7th, 2000, 09:55 AM
#34
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Sheila, if I had more time I'd type 'em right here right now however I dont want to miss the bus to get the ferry to get the bus to get the plane to Glasgow (Glaz-go) so they will have to wait until I return to Scotland. <BR> <BR>I will try them out with the airline staff as a sort of dry run and let you know.
Sep 9th, 2000, 07:28 AM
#36
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Well, if we are speaking collectively we will call ourselves "British", but i think everyone feels a sense of being personally connected to some particular part of the British Isles - and the Welsh, Scots and Northern Irish very much like their own identity, and rightly so. I am English, but proud of my mothers Welsh birth and father from Wiltshire (England). I live in West Sussex but was brought up in Surrey - so we speak "more proper than what some parts of the country do"!! Basically as far as the pronunciation is concerned it depends on dialects and accents a great deal - always ask a born and bred local. My children were both born in a village called Cuckfield (Cook - field) near another called Uckfield (Uck - field) and another called Ardingly (Ar - ding - lie) so you have to learn wherever you go as I hadn't heard of them until we moved here. Hope this is of help or interest to some one. Esme <BR>
Sep 9th, 2000, 02:36 PM
#37
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I always get a kick of the fact that Belvoir Hospital outside of Belfast is called "Beaver Hospital". When I asked someone how the hospital got it's knickname, he looked at my strangely and asked "What nickname?" I asked my wife (a native), and she informed me that people really do pronounce Belvoir as Beaver. <BR> <BR>Also, my wife can't say the word "shed" to save her life. It's "shade" to her and her family. <BR> <BR>I also get a kick out of Irish and English friends and family talking about "Mary - land", rather than "Marilend". So we dumb Americans aren't the only ones.
