h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Beaucheif - Bowcheif?
Owlerton - Howlerten?
Penistone - Penerston?

No idea, but if the English are bad where does that leave the Welsh?

Pwllmeyric
Kilgwrrwg

Beaulieu - Bue-ly (bue as in embue)

and, of course, Belvoir.

There are actually as many American place names which are not pronounced as said, and as ever it is Mr. Bill Bryson who covers some of them in 'Mother Tongue'. Some of the 'Fanshaw' type ones also change depending on the family using the name, or the locale of the place.

I also like the Derbyshire (I think) place or Sommercoates - guess that one!

Some-are-coots?

Beaucheif - Bosh
Owlerton - Ollton
Penistone - Pensten

so'mer-co'tees
theys a bit posh there (by derbyshire standards anyway)

Unfortunately this no longer has the village website on it and has been nicked by a domain registrar

http://llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.co.uk/

There's a .com too which is a us registrar.

Gatwick is Old English for Goat Farm. Next time you're being herded up and down its idylic halls...think of that!

Oh, and "Trottislciffe", pronounced Trosley.

One of my favourites is Leicester's Vale of Belvoir, which is pronounced Vale of Beaver. I should think that one would appeal to Jack Nicholson.

Oh, well that took me on an interesting trip. your Belvoir is the same as the Belvoir I was referring to, but I never knew it was in Leicestershire. Never knew the boundary with lincolncshire was so close to Woolsthorpe!
You live and learn

p.s. It's Lincolnshire's really, we just let Leicestershire draw the maps that way

Jowot - Don't get started on Sheffield place names!

Walkley anybody?
Wombwell?
Intake?
Crookes?

Carsick, for heaven's sake! It's not normal!!!

Well I used to live in Manchester, and they did seem a bit odd. But having been here for 14 years, Manchester seems odd now:

Reddish Green

Is that supposed to be a place or a colour!?

try West Country placenames.
Teignmouth is pronounced Tin-muth by older locals and Tein-mouth by BBC newsreaders and incomers.

Newark in New Jersey is one where in order not to be shot you have to pronouce it with as few concanats as possilble.

Nu-uk

I only learned a couple of years ago that the Staffordshire placename of Rugely is supposed to be pronounced Rudgely and one gets 'looked at' by the locals if you don't.

Where did that 'd' come from eh?

There's Belvoir/ Beavers all over the place - there's a forest of that name just outside Belfast.

I think it's the same with Beauchamps/Beecham as well.

Many aeons ago, I had a summer job in the Scottish highlands. We used to get a lot of American visitors passing through and their attempts at pronunciation were sometimes bewildering. Most of the time we could understand that it was difficult for furriners to get the accent/stress on the right syllables correct. So Bray-murr for Braemar was ok - as was Bal-ate-ur for Ballater. But where on earth did they get A-vay-o-more for Aviemore?

My town had a rather bizzare problem.

My town, South Woodham Ferrers - (pronouced fer rus) was once featured in a book Where is Woodham Ferris - so we have many different pronounications

One day an American came up to me (in Hertfordshire, I was) and asked me where Birmingham was. Except he didn't say BIR-MING-UM he said BIR-MING-HAM (with the "Ham" sounding like it had a Y in there somewhere). I just pointed towards a farm. But the pronouncation was so bad, I laughed for at least.. well 3 or 4 seconds.

At least Birmingham is spelled phonetically in the States..
One I recently learned from a local was of Mauven, which I later recognised as being Malvern!