Fun facts about the English language

Adam   Tue May 02, 2006 8:58 pm GMT
There's also a town in Wales called 'Whorington' and a town in North East Scotland called 'Skankerton'.
Jim C, Jorvikskyr   Tue May 02, 2006 9:19 pm GMT
Yorks got a few goodens. Whipmawhompma Gate is my favourite.
There also used to be a street called (and excuse me, you sensitive people out there) "Grope Cunt Lane", which was the red light district in days of yore. Its called Grape Lane now I think.
Damian in Edinburgh   Tue May 02, 2006 9:56 pm GMT
Scotland has a great castle on a rocky peninsula above the crashing waves on the Ayrshire coast called Culzean...it's pronounced "Cullane", and it's above the wee village of the same name.

Up in Angus is another large castle called Glamis...again near a wee village of the same name. It's pronounced "Glahms"...and the late Princess Margaret (the Queen's sister) was born there in 1930.

Down in Galloway is a town called Moniaive...it's pronounced "Mon-ee-eye".

Down in England...in Norfolk....lots of places are not pronounced anything like they are spelt so it must be confusing for strangers when they ask for directions in that pasrt of East Anglia. I reckon the Norfolk people do it on purpose just to be gawkit! ;-) If you want Costessey...ask for "Cozzy". "Haze-bruh" will get you to Happisburgh. And if Wymondham is where you want to get to, make sure you say "Windum".

As for wee Welsh Wales.....that's a different matter altogether...a chapter all of its own........nothing but nothing comes out the way it's spelt. :-)
Jim C, Jorvikskyr   Wed May 03, 2006 12:22 am GMT
My sister was telling me the other day, she had an American ask her the way to Knaresborough (nairsbruh). They pronounced it
"Keh-Narey-Sbor-Ohgeh" or something like that. Funny as hell.

One where I used to live, Masham ie Mass-am, was always pronounced by tourists there for the Steam Rally as Mash-ham, we always, with a very stern face said "you mean mass-am" then smiled as we gave them the directions.
Gabriel   Thu May 04, 2006 7:06 pm GMT
<<The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched.">>

How about "squirrelled"? It can be pronounced as just one syllable /"skw3'ld/, does anybody here pronounce it that way?
Ed   Fri May 05, 2006 10:24 am GMT
Here in Somerset there is a town called Chard and they hold an event called the Chard Women's Festival which always makes me laugh as I imagine these women have suffered an awful misfortune in a fire.
Damian in Edinburgh   Fri May 05, 2006 10:56 am GMT
Chard Women's Festival? Do they deal with the burning issues of the day? Probably not.....that would be the province of the Women's Institute....like they have in the wee village in Essex called Ugley.....they have a Women's Institute there...the Ugley Women's Institute.

Strange place is Essex.....there is a village there called Nasty but they don't have a Nasty Women's Institute apparently...according to the following site:

http://www.foxearth.org.uk/blog/2005/10/toponymy-ugley-nasty-foulness-with.html
Rick Johnson   Sat May 06, 2006 7:14 am GMT
<<The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched.">>

Try listening to a Londoner say "You're mad"........"you're maaaaaaaad!!"
Travis   Sat May 06, 2006 7:25 am GMT
As for "screeched" and "squirelled", at least around these parts they are ["skRitSt] and ["skwR=:L\d_0] (or ["skwR=:L\t]). They might be long orthographically, but I doubt they can compete in actual speech with, say, "strengths" : ["StSr\e~NkTs] (or ["StSr\e~Nks:]).
Adam   Sat May 06, 2006 11:30 am GMT
"There's also a town in Wales called 'Whorington' and a town in North East Scotland called 'Skankerton'. "

OK. Stop pretending to be me.
Adam   Sat May 06, 2006 11:32 am GMT
"Hawick" in Scotland is pronounced "Hoik."
John Sakai   Thu Jul 20, 2006 2:12 pm GMT
I used to live 15 minutes away from the small scottish hamlet of Kilmahog. My favorite cachinnation toponomastic has to be C*ck Hill, which is actually on the way to Kilmahog!
Rene   Thu Jul 20, 2006 3:57 pm GMT
The next town over from mine is Washington City, Nevada County, California. If you tell someone your from Washington, Nevada, California you get some priceless stares.
Rene   Thu Jul 20, 2006 4:02 pm GMT
Forgot one thing, I used to live in a town called Smartville which is about 90 miles north of Dingville. Used to tell people we saw Dingville and kept driving till we found something that suited us better.
Chris   Fri Sep 22, 2006 9:08 pm GMT
In Pennsylvania:
Blue Balls
Bird-in-Hand
Intercourse
Climax