Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1905-10-11
ODDITIES OF ENGLISH
PUZZLES OF PRONUNCIATION THAT
ONE MEETS IN ENGLAND.
roper Names That I'm sopnd Have
Little I'm Common with the Way
They Are speiied-weIsh Name. m
source OF rnfaiifps Confusion.

s"at IN eoHnd Have
Little I'm Common with the Way
They Are speiied-weI.h Name. m
source OF unfsiiips Confusion.
English as IL is spelled and pro-
nounced In the United States Is GER
,ainly confusing 20 a degree to any
foreigner, but In old England his lot
Is still harder when Il comes TO proper
names.
III. said an English writer. sthe
amiable foreigner Is driven 10 the
verge or distraction by our vagaries i'm
pronouncing words ending In 'ough. and
cannot for the life OF him see why. II
cough spells 'kof.' though should not
be thor and 'sough' 'sof,' what must
he think OF cur phonetic eccentricities
ia tne pronunciation OF place names.
"hlch are such sore puzzle even to
ourselves?
why. FOR Instance. In the name OF
all that's reasonable. should we have
TO say Amesbury when we write and
mean Almondesbury. and. when we
are In Lancashire. Inquire the way 10
Oostn when II is Ulverstone we want?
These are mysteries which are not
even revealed. one would think. unto
babes. and which certainly make the
upgrown man feel foolish.
IF you happen TO be In Suffolk and
want TO find your way 10 waldrlng.
Held. near Ipswich. you must avoid nj
any cost pronouncing the word as II
Is written. You viii be looked at as a
freak or a foreigner. but ask for Wun-
nertl and YOU VIII be sent on your
way rejoicing. One may be prepared
10 ma that BclvOir Is pronounced
Beaver but who is TO know that As
patria. In Cumberland. Is only recog-
nized locally as Spethry? You may
ask the native the nearest way to As.
patria till you are black IN the face
and he VIII stare blankly az YOU FOR
your pains. but breathe the word
Spethry and you will get your direc-
ton quickly enough.
Little Urswick Is 4 place unknown
TO thousands Of Lancashire folk who
are familiar enough with the village
OF that name. but call IL Iilosick. and
their faces will brighten nj once with
intelligence. Pontefract is not unrec-
ognizabie 10 the southerner even as
Pomfret. but why should Kelghley be
known locally as Eeethley and not as
keelcy. which is the obvious render.
ing?
But the North county has no mo.
nopoly OF odd pronunciat tons. Go TO
Devonshire and ask for Brithembot-
tom. The odds are you will be told
there is no such place. Brimbottom
they know right well. and that is the
place You really want. Thurlescombe.
10y a similar or worse perversion. be.
comes Drizzlecum. which may or may
not be "a tribute 10 the dampness OF its
climate. There is I'm Clouceshire n viz
lage called Churchdowu. which for
some iucNpiicablc reason Is ALWAYS
spoken 81 locally as Chosen The good
people OF Churchdown appreciate tho
joke as much as anybody and tell you
how. when the trains were asked 10
stop there. some one said. Make they
Chosen people Joyful
"Congcc>nury. ia Somersetshire. is
known FAR and wide as Coomsbury.
and, shades OF our Norman ancestors,
HurstmonceauX. I'm Sussex. has long
dcgeucrateI on tie lips OF many TO
Horsemounccs. St OSyth Is a name
that ought not 10 present any llngual
difficulty. but its favorite form IN the
district seems 90 be Toosy. and. while
the educated man has long been recon
ciled to call Greenwich 'Grennidgc.'
there are many who still persist (and
they are right. though Il sounds
strange - the ear I'm pronouncing the
name as 70 is spelled.
"Chelmondiston. in suffolk. has been
cut down 10 the more convenient Chin
ston, and Sandiacre. small town in
Derbyshlvc. Is Senjiker TO those who
know what they ought 20 say. Welsh
names are a source OF unfaiIlng con-
fusion 10 the EngllShman. whose
tongue refuses point blank 20 grapple
with them. and yet some Of them at
least have been made simple enough.
such as RhudbaNton. in Pembroke
shire. which as RihSon Is simplicity IL
self in Hertfordshirc the formidable
SawbridgewOrth has been reduced to
the handy compass OF SapSer. but
what shall we say OF WOodmancote.
which 20 the good people OF GlouceS-
terShire IS often known as Udden-
muckatt"-New York Herald.