Le Misanthrope reminds me.
Didn't 'Boudica' used to be pronounced 'Bow-duh-see-ah'?

and 'Nike' used to rhyme with 'Bike' and not 'pikey'?

I also remember the time when Uranus was pronounced like 'Your anus'. Used to make me giggle whenever we covered astronomy in science lessons. I miss those days
(King Nightmare, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 9:07, 48 replies)

Nike was pronounced "Nikey" a few thousand years ago, so it really the original way of saying it. Boudica rather than "Boadicea" is supposed to be closer to the way she would have said it. As for "Uranus" it always makes me think of this.
(Spleep Shit, or get off the internet., Wed 25 Jan 2012, 9:24, closed)

When I was a kid, Nestles
used to rhyme with 'tressels'.

At some point it got poncified and became Nestlés, and the end now sounds like 'sleighs'.
(username failed moderation, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 9:35, closed)

I insist on asking for
Chocolate Bread in poncy coffee places. 'Do you mean pain au chocolate?'. 'Why, do I sound French?'.
(SnowyTheWereRabbit the Leporid from Hell, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 9:39, closed)

No. You sound like a dick.

( Dr. Shambolic je suis charlie, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 10:01, closed)

One of my mates
used to pride himself on the fact he always asked for 'chips' in MacDonalds.

Not unexpectedly, the server would often say something like 'er, you mean fries, right?', to which he'd go off on a bit of a rant about American/ English blah blah blah . . .

He looked an utter cock doing it.
(username failed moderation, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 10:23, closed)

That's just dumb. Fries and chips are different, and those serves in McDonald's are fries.
(tyrellsOwl, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 17:41, closed)

Depends where you are.
In the US, I think what you say is correct.

In the UK they're more often than not called chips - what the US calls chips, we call crisps.

So he wasn't entirely wrong, but he was being a dick. In the UK we all know exactly what 'fries' are, there's no confusion.
(username failed moderation, Thu 26 Jan 2012, 9:10, closed)

Yeah
Because annoying people pointlessly over small points is your job.
(SnowyTheWereRabbit the Leporid from Hell, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 11:05, closed)

Zerrrrr-zing!

( jagwap, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 11:21, closed)

You are that comedian off Russel Howard's Good News the other day
AICMFP.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 10:07, closed)

There was a comedian on Russel Howard's Good News?
When?
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 10:30, closed)

I use the word "comedian"
In the broadest, most untrue sense of the word*.


*With apologies to Messrs Fry & Laurie.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 10:48, closed)

Or like:
"Oh, so you're a comedian are you Sir?"
(Che Grimsdale Best before:, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 11:31, closed)

Hahahaha - who was that? Jack Dee?
"If pulled over by the police, and they ask you what your job is, don't tell them you're a comedian - they don't like it."
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 13:46, closed)

Local pronunciation of Leominster is
"Lemster".

As a direct result, my mum and dad refer to Warminster as "Womster".

Combined with the Loughborough/Edinburgh/Islington phenomenae, this does the collective loaves of their Sherman mates in.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 9:40, closed)

^^This^^...

I live near an area called Bedworth - that is locally referred to as 'Bedduff'...I mean, WTF?
( Pooflake braces for an onslaught..., Wed 25 Jan 2012, 9:44, closed)

Silent 'w's seem to be a common feature of spoken place names.
Round these parts we have Sowerby ("Sorby") Brige and Slaithwaite ("Slathat").

The best bit is that it's not even consistent, e.g. "Adwick" is pronounced the way it's spelt in Adwick-le-Street, but "Addick" in Adwick upon Dearne. The two places are less than ten miles apart.
( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 22:22, closed)

What's weird about the pronunciation of Islington?
I live near Worminghall, which is pronounced Wernal.
(The Kwyjibo A big, dumb, balding North American ape., Wed 25 Jan 2012, 10:14, closed)

I'm just glad
That I'm English. I think if I was forrin and had to learn the language from scratch at my age I'd be bolloxed.
(The Magic Number is neither magic nor a number, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 10:18, closed)

Entirely this.
"GHOTI" spelling "Fish", and all that.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 10:26, closed)

Xenophobics like to tell stories about Americans pronouncing it "Aisle-ing-ton"
To try and make them sound like they're stupid, when actually it's perfectly reasonable to think it would be pronounced like that.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 10:26, closed)

The worst place in Lahndan for all that is the bloody river
No forrins get that one right first time
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 10:56, closed)

I'd like to add
Leicester to that.

Lie sest er?
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 13:40, closed)

On a similar note, it's generally not worth engaging people who think they're funny in conversation about the town of
Midsomer Norton.

"Hur hur hur! You mean like - as in - Midsomer Murders?! Hur hur hur!"

"*sigh* Yes - like as in Midsomer Murders ... "
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 13:48, closed)

Isn't that where all the white folks live?

( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 14:26, closed)

Well Emvee - having met you, we can test this!
Do you live there?
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 15:05, closed)

To give Americans some credit
I have heard English people mis-pronounce:
New Orleans
Maryland
Illinois
Arkansas
(The Kwyjibo A big, dumb, balding North American ape., Wed 25 Jan 2012, 13:57, closed)

Maryland?
I fear the answer to this question, but how is that mispronounced?

The others, I can see. And, in the case of New Orleans, am quite possibly guilty of myself.
( scarpe We Stole Bikes, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 13:59, closed)

Merry-lund
Apparently
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 14:16, closed)

I could have made my question clearer, because now I am not sure if that is the answer to
'How is it mispronounced?' or 'How should it be pronounced?'

Although I am guessing the latter, which makes me one of the people who get it wrong. Which is embarrassing, given that I spent a week there.
( scarpe We Stole Bikes, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 14:23, closed)

It shouldn't be pronounced "Mary-land"
according to my septic acquaintances, it should be pronounced "Merry-lund" with the emphasis on the second syllable, like "meh REE lund"
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 14:25, closed)

Yeah, that's what I thought.
Which means I spent a lot of time annoying the locals, I fear.
( scarpe We Stole Bikes, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 14:27, closed)

They make nice cookies there

(The Magic Number is neither magic nor a number, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 15:36, closed)

Wtf? I lived in CT for 6 years. I heard marrylun, but emphasis was definitely on the first syllable...
(tyrellsOwl, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 17:46, closed)

When Mrs V and I were in the states last year, we went to Yosemite.
I insisted on only ever referring to it as "Yoe-smite".

Mrs Vagabond wasn't embarassed by my obvious hilariousness, oh no, and everyone who heard it thought it was really funny.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 14:16, closed)

try suffolk.
grundisburgh. hollesley. all them.
( janet aylia y'all motherfuckers need jesus, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 11:07, closed)

If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not, if you don't mind.

( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 11:10, closed)

it's quite nice here, generally.
it's a bit like 1950 in places. and we have good beaches.
( janet aylia y'all motherfuckers need jesus, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 11:12, closed)

And everyone's terrified of radioactive spiders taking over the world, yes.

( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 11:15, closed)

This
I reckon you could have strolled into a certain pub near where I come from any time in the last hundred years and not been able to tell the difference between then and now.
( MatJ LOOK, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 14:58, closed)

Except Ipswich, where kicking someone in the head is considered the pinnacle of humour.

( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 22:11, closed)

At school we had a lady from the local university come round and do a little talk in a Physics lesson about some kind of new screw or something that their department had designed being used on a new sattelite or something*
*Actual details escape me.

Afterwards the teacher invited us to ask any 'Astronomical' questions we had.
'Is your anus visible with the naked eye?'
'Next Question!'
'Will man ever touch down on your anus?'
'Grow up! next question.'
'Is your anus a gaseous giant?'
'Detention. The entire class.'
(FartThroughAWalkieTalkie wished you were dead in ditch on, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 11:52, closed)

Haaaaaaaahahahahahaha

( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 11:53, closed)

Which no doubt explains why you never learnt how to spell "satellite"

(moon monkey is busy making memories worth repressing, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 14:56, closed)

z to the motherfucking ing!!1!eleven!

( janet aylia y'all motherfuckers need jesus, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 17:27, closed)

Gaseous giant lols

( .Yeti. El amor en los tiempos del cólera, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 17:19, closed)

Really expensive questions?

( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Wed 25 Jan 2012, 20:49, closed)

We had something really similar
to that once. I got detention for my facetious question:

"can I see your tits?"
(username failed moderation, Thu 26 Jan 2012, 12:09, closed)