The place names of Britain can trap an inexperienced broadcaster or speaker. They are often said quite differently from how they might seem.
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Some examples follow:
Leicester, Gloucester and Worcester are pronounced LEST-uh, GLOS-tuh and WOOS-tuh. [IPA: ˈlestə, ˈglɒstə, ˈwʊstə]
Hertford (Hertfordshire). Pronounced HAHT-fuhd and sometimes HAH-fuhd.
[IPA: ˈhɑ:tfəd, ˈhɑ:fəd]
By the way, Wikipedia provides links to early references to the town as Herutford. "Herut" is the Old English spelling of "hart", meaning a fully mature stag. And so we have a ford, where harts (stags) are found.
A town which appeared in early maps as Darby or Darbye has for centuries been spelt Derby, but is still pronounced DAH-bee. [ˈdɑ:bɪ]
Warwick, Keswick, Berwick, Chiswick, Dulwich, Norwich, Greenwich, etc.
These British places are pronounced without the "w", it would seem for much the same reason we leave out the "w" when we say write, wreck, answer, sword, and so on.
The BBC Oxford Pronouncing Dictionary of Names and other sources provide examples of more "curly ones". IPA transcriptions are included. In some cases, there are several acceptable pronunciations:
Ardingly in Sussex AH-ding-ligh ˈɑ:dɪŋlaɪ
Mousehole in Cornwall MOW zuhl (MOW rhymes with "cow") ˈmaʊzl
Cholmondeston, Cheshire CHOM-suhn or CHUM-stuhn ˈ ˈtʃɒmsən or ˈtʃʌmstən
Chelmondeston, Suffolk CHELM-stuhn ˈtʃelmstən
Cholmondeley, Cheshire CHUM-lee ˈtʃʌmlɪ
Stroxton, Lincolnshire STRAW-suhn ˈstrɔːsn
Keighly, West Yorkshire KEETH-lee ˈkiːθlɪ
Teignmouth TIN-muhth ˈtinməθ
Glamis, Tayside GLAHMZ glɑːmz
Gillingham, Kent JIL-ing-uhm ˈdʒɪlɪŋəm
Gillingham, Dorset GIL-ing-uhm ˈgɪlɪŋəm
Beaulieu, Hampshire BYOO-lee ˈbjuːlɪ
Osbournby, Lincolnshire OZ-uhn-bee 'ɒzsənbɪ
Trottiscliffe, Kent TROZ-lee ˈtrɒzlɪ
Laugharne in Wales LAHN lɑːn
Strathhaven, Sth Lanarkshire STRAY-vuhn ˈstreɪvn
Marlborough, Wiltshire MAWL-bruh ˈmɔːlbrə
Scone, Perthshire SKOON sku:n
Welwyn Garden, London WEL-in ˈwelin
Burgh, Suffolk, Cumbria BRUF brʌf
Chop Gate, Yorkshire CHOP-YAT ˈtʃɒpˈjæt
Thame, Oxfordshire TAYM teim
Bellingham, Northumberland BEL-in-juhm ˈbelindʒəm
Magdalen Hill, Winchester MAWN mɔːn
Wrotham, Kent ROO-tuhm ˈru:təm
Southwark, South London SUTH-uhk ˈsʌðək
