The English cathedral city of Gloucester is pronounced “Gloster”; it is in the country of Gloucestershire (pronounced “Gloster-sher” – pronouncing the “shire” part of English county names to rhyme with “ire” or “fire” will immediately mark you out as being an American).
Why is cester pronounced STER?
Oxford English Dictionary offers: “The history of the form written -cester, of which only -ster is pronounced (in Worcester, Bicester, etc.), is obscure; the written form is perhaps of French or medieval Latin origin.” Economy, generally speaking, is ultimately behind the pronunciation, historical inertia behind the
Why is CE silent in Leicester?
It is believed that the “-ster” pronunciation developed in the early 18th century. William Johnston’s ‘A Pronouncing and Spelling Dictionary’ (1764) notes that ‘c’ is not pronounced in words such as Leicester, Gloucester and Worcester, which makes them two syllable words.
Why is Leicester Spelt the way it is?
First recorded as Ligora-ceastre, Ligora is said to be the name of a river and the second part of the word comes from the Latin for castra/castrum meaning a Roman fort or camp. By 1086 the word had compressed to Ledecestre and you can see from there how the spelling Leicester came about.
Do Brits pronounce Ralph as Rafe?
A: No, the “l” was pronounced in the Old English predecessors of the name Ralph, and it’s usually pronounced now in both Britain and the US. However, some Ralphs in the UK, like the actor Ralph Fiennes and the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, have pronounced their name as if it were spelled “Rafe.”
Why do the English pronounce St John as Sinjin?
Sinjin is actually an attempt to represent phonetically the now rare name “St. John.” As a given-name, “St. John” is sometimes pronounced as [SIN-jin] or [SIN-jun] in the UK. I presume this to be a relic of Norman-French origin (see also Sinclair for St.
How do British say Worcestershire?
Most travelers to the U.K. (or buyers of fine condiments) are probably aware that Worcestershire isn’t a four-syllable word with the “-shire” at the end, pronounced the way a Hobbit would; it’s “WUSS-tur-shur.” “Gloucester” and “Leicester” have the same silent “ces” syllable.
Why is Worcestershire pronounced Wooster?
The reason Worcester is pronounced as “Wooster” is because that is the original pronunciation of the name. The town was named after Worcester, England, and the English pronunciation of Worcester is “Wooster”.
How do the British say Gloucester?
Below is the UK transcription for ‘gloucester’: Modern IPA: glɔ́sdə Traditional IPA: ˈglɒstə 2 syllables: “GLOST” + “uh”
How do locals pronounce Cirencester?
Cirencester – pronunciation: Siren-ses-ter.
Is there a Gloucestershire accent?
This, frankly, is an outrage. The Gloucestershire accent has come last but one in a list of the UK’s sexiest dialects. Only the Birmingham twang is less likely to send people wild with desire than our own proud take on the English language, according to a poll by Big 7 travel .
How is Lancashire pronounced in England?
Lancashire – Lancashire ( LANG-kə-shər, -sheer; abbreviated Lancs.) is a ceremonial county in North West England.
How is Porsche pronounced in UK?
The correct way to pronounce “Porsche” is actually as a two-syllable word: “Por-shuh.”
Why don’t we pronounce the h in Thomas?
It’s actually because of the modern Greek pronunciation that “th” is used to represent the sound it makes in English. Most words that English has borrowed from Greek via Latin that have a “th” use the modern Greek pronunciation of theta.
What is the Irish version of John?
Answer. John in Irish is Seán.
Why is Belvoir pronounced as Beaver?
In fact, Belvoir Castle started out with the pronunciation Bellevoir. But 500 years ago, the local population were anti-French and the pronunciation was changed for diplomatic reasons. Conversely, Belvoir Lettings started out pronouncing themselves as Beaver Lettings.
How is Belvoir pronounced in England?
A new survey found that people unfamiliar with the Vale of Belvoir tend to say it phonetically as Bel-vwar Castle when, of course, it should sound like Beaver Castle.
How is culzean pronounced?
Culzean Castle
Many of our readers say Culzean Castle can be a challenge for visitors. It’s not pronounced Cull-zeen Castle but Cull-ane Castle.
Is Mainwaring pronounced Mannering?
‘ Mr Scrope was friends at Sandhurst with one Hugh Mainwaring, whose name, like that of the Dad’s Army character, is pronounced ‘Mannering’.
What is the Bristol accent called?
Did you know that Bristol has its own dialect? It’s called Bristolian! A dialect of English is spoken by some Bristol inhabitants, known colloquially as Bristolian, “Bristolese” or even, following the publication of Derek Robson’s “Krek Waiters peak Bristle”, as “Bristle” or “Brizzle”.
Why is featherstonhaugh pronounced Fanshaw?
Fanshawe is a distinct, equally old surname, deriving from fane ‘a temple or church’ and shaw, ‘a small wood or grove’. So Festonhaw, which is the recorded shortening of Featherstonhaugh, was somehow garbled further to something like Fesnaw or Feshnaw, as John argues.