Pronunciation of Argyll

**OC Richard** · 3rd July 12, 04:09 AM

Yes the spelling of place-names often doesn't give much clue as to the way locals pronounce things.

Glendaruel is one of many... I heard a Scot say glen-duh-ROOL which I assume is correct. Hawick has got to be one of the oddest... Hoik? And Cheviot for that matter... is it really CHEEV-ee-ut?

EM-brah isn't suggested by the spelling either.

But we have the same here! Strangers here rarely pronounce Los Angeles the way we do (rhymes with bliss, not with cheese) much less Glamis (not the way Scots do!) and especially our Native American place-names such as Hueneme, Cahuenga, Tujunga, Ojai, Yosemite, and so on, and our Spanish place-names such as La Jolla, La Tijera, and so on.

Yes things from the Gaelic often have the stress later on in the word... counterintuitive, because the stress in Gaelic words, like English words, is usually on the first syllable. But these place-names aren't single Gaelic words but compound names.

Same often true in place-names from other Celtic languages such as Portmadog and Tywardreath (Welsh and Cornish respectively).

Which brings up an offtopic but very interesting Scottish place-name fact: The fascinating pit- names in Eastern Scotland, where the first element is P-Celtic (pit, a piece of land, cf Welsh peth and Breton pez, Gaelic cuid) but the second element is Q-Celtic (Gaelic) such as Pitcaple (Gaelic capull horse) Pitcorthy (Gaelic coirthe pillar or stone).

**SlackerDrummer** · 3rd July 12, 07:20 AM

Unfortunately I live in Central Kentucky where the town for Versailles is pronounced like it's spelled (ver SAILS). [sigh]

**creagdhubh** · 3rd July 12, 08:30 AM

Originally Posted by SlackerDrummer

Unfortunately I live in Central Kentucky where the town for Versailles is pronounced like it's spelled (ver SAILS). [sigh]

Ugh, I know what you mean, Kenneth. Myself, as well as other NLRB Agents travel to Versailles at times, for hearings, elections and to investigate labor law cases.

Cheers,

**creagdhubh** · 3rd July 12, 08:33 AM

Originally Posted by ThistleDown

Now why is that? American visitors most often pronounce it as you do, Scotfree: AR-gile, whereas the local emphasis is on the second syllable making it ar-GILE. In the same sentence those same visitors will pronounce one of Argyle's largest towns as o-BAN, when it should be obn.

***

Lochaber and Monadhliath are other good ones, but honestly, we could go on and on with this!

Cheers,

**Blupiper** · 3rd July 12, 08:42 AM

I guess it's all where you're from. In Washington, we have a lot of place names deriving from Native languages and European language influences. So you have Pend Oreille, Sequim, Puyallup, Spokane and Kittitas. All require some figuring out in the pronunciation. In order (phonetically): POND or-ray, Skwim, PYOO-al-up, spo-KAN and kit-ti-TAS. Oh, and SlackDrummer, I hear you: we have a town here named Mesa. Not pronounced MAY-suh, like in Arizona, but MEE-suh. <sigh> x2.

JMB

**David Thorpe** · 3rd July 12, 10:18 AM

Originally Posted by Blupiper

Not pronounced MAY-suh, like in Arizona, but MEE-suh...

So, more like Jarjar Banks, then.

I find the differences in pronunciation between the UK and the US (and Canada) in general fascinating. Dictional differences are easily attributed to localities with their individual traditions, but syllabular emphasis?
With virtually any multi-syllable word, if one accents a particular syllable, the other will accent a different one. Are the media responsible for this? Is there a government conspiracy involved? Perhaps some clandestine group in one or both countries bound and determined to maintain a separate national identity by perpetuating the division of a supposedly single language?

BTW, I lived for two years near "HOK-yum" (Hoquiam).

**ThistleDown** · 3rd July 12, 10:25 AM

A really simple one in Fife that causes no end of trouble, but shouldn't, is Burntisland.

**ScotFree** · 3rd July 12, 11:04 AM

Even Chicago gives people problems. Locally we call it shi-KAW-go. The New Yorkers would say shi-KAA-go. But here we'd say new-YORK, and there they say new-YAWK. Boston would say new-YAAK. Gotta love that English silent "R" that so characterizes the East Coast.