British English Pronunciation of Place Names
Have you ever talked about the places you visited while on holiday in England, and then seen a confused look on the face of the person you’re speaking to? This is probably because you’re pronouncing the place names completely wrong!
As I’m sure you know, the way we pronounce English words is very different to the way we write them, and place names are no exception. In fact, the historic nature of place names means their pronunciation has evolved a lot throughout the centuries, which is why the pronunciation and written form are so different.
In this English lesson with Greg from Online Language Academy, you will learn the correct pronunciation of 20 commonly mispronounced place names in Great Britain.
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1. Berkshire
✔ There are two things to note here:
2. Bicester
✔ This is pronounced similar to the word ‘sister’
3. Buckingham
✔ We do not pronounce the ‘h’ in Buckingham (…not even the Queen pronounces the ‘h’ here!)
4. Durham
✔ Again, this place name has a silent 'h'
5. Gloucester
✔ The combination of letters 'ouces' is simply pronounced ‘os’
6. Godmanchester
✔ This is ridiculous, and I apologise in advance for our crazy English pronunciation. The pronunciation of this place name suggests is should be written: Gumsta.
7. Greenwich
✔ A common place to visit while in London, but it is not an evil Green Witch! It is pronounced as if there were just one ‘e’ and (important!) the ‘w’ is silent.
8. Hampshire
✔ Again, place names ending in -shire use the schwa sound, with a silent -re at the end.
9. Leicester
✔ The 'eices' is simply pronounced 'es'.
10. Loughborough
✔ There are 8 possible ways to pronounce the combination of letters 'ough' in English, and here we have two! The first is like rough or tough. The second is simply the schwa sound! Oh, and the ‘o’ after the ‘b’ is silent!
11. Norwich
✔ As with Greenwich, the ‘w’ in Norwich is silent! If you pronounce it, native English speakers will probably not understand what you mean!
12. Portsmouth
✔ The -mouth is not pronounced like the part of the body. Instead, the vowel sound in -mouth is the schwa sound!
13. Reading
✔ This is not pronounced the same as ‘I am reading a book’. Instead, the ‘Read-’ is pronounced the same as the colour red.
14. Salisbury
✔ ‘Salis’ is actually pronounced ‘Sols’ here.
15. Slough
✔ Another combination of the letters 'ough', and another pronunciation. This time, the sound is the same as the vowel sound in how or now.
16. Tottenham
✔ Home of the famous English football team, Tottenham Hotspur. This has two syllables and sounds like: Tot-nam. The silent ‘e’ and silent ‘h’ make it very confusing for foreigners.
17. Warwick
✔ Again, we have a silent ‘w’ in the middle of this place name.
18. Wimbledon
✔ The 'ble' can be confusing here. It’s actually pronounced as it if were 'bel' (using the schwa vowel sound).
19. Worcester
✔ Another one of these! The 'orces' is simply pronounced ‘us’. Sorry!
20. Yorkshire
✔ Beautiful Yorkshire! My home! Though when I tell my students where I’m from, nobody understands me (because I pronounce it correctly!). Make sure you use the schwa sound and a silent -re when pronouncing -shire!
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