The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1905-09-20
ODDIIFEs OF fIlTs q q
PUZZLES or PRONUNCIATION THAT
ONE MEETS IN ENGLAND.

OlN. N--- - -
proper Names TI,at In sound Hrvs
IItfie In Common XsIth tie way
Th~y Are sPelIed-vVel-h Names a
source OF UnfaItnF Confusion.
English rs it is spelled and pro
nounced Ia the United States is Ger
tainly confusing to a degree TO any
foreigner. but In old England nls lot
Is stli harder when Il comes TO proper
names 49,
.;If.v said an English writer. the
amfabIe foreigner Il driven 10 the
verge Of distinction by our yiifsiries 10
uronouncinl, words ending IN 'ousll. ana
cannot for the life OF him zee why II
cough spells .kof,' though should not
be thor and 'sOuglr 'sof.' what. must
he think of our phonetic cccentriclties
IN the pronunciation OF place names
which are such sore puzzle even TO
ourselves?
.'Why, for instance, in the name OF
all that's reasonable. Should we nave
To saw AnesbuI.y when we write ana
mean Ainondesbury, and. when we
arc In Lancashire. inquire the way to
Oost'n when it 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 ana
want to find your way to Waldrlns-
field, near Ipswich. you must avoid AT
any cost Dronouncing the word as II
he written. You will be looked ut rs a
freak or n foreigner. but ask for Wuil-
nerf7I and You will be sent on your
way rejoicing. One may be prepared
10 dnd that BeIyoir is pronounced
Beaver, bur who IS to know that As
patria, in cumberland, IS ouIy recog-
nized Locally as Spethry2 You may
ask the native the nearest way to As
patria TIL You are black in the face
and lie viii stare blaukly at you for
your pains, but breathe the word
Spcthry and you viii get your dlrec-
ton quickI~ enough
Little JTrswick is a place unknown
to thousands OF lancashire folk who
are familiar enough with the village
of that name. but call it Lilosick. and
their faces VIII brighten at once Wit
Intelligence. Pontefract Is not unrcc
oSnizable to the southerner even as
Pomfret, but why should heiGhiey be
known locally as Keethley and cot as
Kelley. which is the obvious render
ing?
But the North county has no mo
nopoly of odd recommendations. co to
Devonshlre and ask for Brithembot-
tom. The odds are you viii be told
there Is no such place. Brimbott9m
they know right well. and that IS the
place you really want. Thurlescombe,
by n similar or worse peryersion, be-
comes DrizzIecum. which may or MAJ
not he a tribute to the danlpness OF It's
climate. There IS in Clouceshire vii
IaSe called Churchdown, which for
some iuexpIicablc reason Is always
spoken of locally as Chosen. The goo
people OF Cnurchdown appreciate the
joke as much as anybody and tell yon
how, when the trains were asked TO
stop there. some ono said, Make they
Chosen people Joyful
"Cougrcshury, in Somersetshire. Is
known far ANA wide as COON bury .
and. shades of our Norman ancestors
Hnrsr!nonceuuN, in SUSSEX. has long
dcgcnerated on the Ups OF many I"
Horsemour .es. 81. Osyth is Il lame
that ought not to present any lirgua
difficulty, 1T its favorite form in the
district seems 10 be Toosy, and. while
the educated man has long been recon
,.iIed - c,in Greenwich 'Greuuidge.'
there are many who s,ill persist and
they arc right, though IL sounds
strange To the ear IN pronouncing the
name as it Is spelled.
"ChcImoudisrou, in Suffolk. has been
cut down h The more convenient Chin
ston. and Saudiucre. n small town in
Derbyshire. is Senjiker to those who
know what they ought to say. Welsh
names are n source Of unfaillng CON
fusion to the Engllshman. whose
tongue refuses point blank to grapple
with them. and yet some of them at
least have been made simple enough.
such as EhuabaNtou, in Pembroke
shire. which as Ribson Is simplicity it
self. IN Y ,rtfordshire the formidable
Sawbrldgeworth has been reduced TO
the handy compass of Sapser, hut
what shall we say of Woodmancote'
which to the good people Of Glouces-
tershire is often known ~ Udden-
muckatl "-New York Herald.
The TurIsiEf woman.
T-,4u q, 'T,,.-f-tgh yr{rI is eight wears