Kiev, Kyev, Kif. WTF?

Sorry...

"Oodoss".

"Oo" as in the Spanish pronunciation of "U", and "doss" as in "dos" - the Spanish for "two".
 
Don't feel too bad. I was lost as well. She was looking at me incredulously saying "Oodoss, Oodoss" and I was thinking who the hell are Oodoss?
 
The subject line threw me. Three pages worth of thread and I still don't see how to pronounce wtf.
<g>
 
I think when you live in a part of the UK that uses three different languages (English, Gaelic and Doric dialect of Scots) it's no big deal to hear different pronunciations of place names.

There are usually two or three ways to say a place name and then there is the pronunciation the BBC uses which is only ever correct if Ken Bruce is involved.
 
AnyaKimlin said:
I think when you live in a part of the UK that uses three different languages (English, Gaelic and Doric dialect of Scots) it's no big deal to hear different pronunciations of place names.

There are usually two or three ways to say a place name and then there is the pronunciation the BBC uses which is only ever correct if Ken Bruce is involved.
Click to expand...
Wales is fun. Different Welsh and English words for many places, used respectively in Welsh and English language media.

There was a notorious murder in Machynlleth a few years ago, and it was in the national media for weeks, which caused some amusing workarounds as it was unpronounceable for some of the TV presenters.
 
hitmouse said:
Wales is fun. Different Welsh and English words for many places, used respectively in Welsh and English language media.

There was a notorious murder in Machynlleth a few years ago, and it was in the national media for weeks, which caused some amusing workarounds as it was unpronounceable for some of the TV presenters.
Click to expand...

Welsh villages names are the ultimate test for "are you local?". Once you have Machynlleth sorted (just call it Machy), how about trying the nearby village of Dylife.

Dye-life?

No, actually. It's more like... De-leafer! :D

But this isn't exclusive to the Welsh. Hop across the border to England, they're equally as guilty. There's a Norfolk seaside town called Happisburgh. Cute name! But the "PP"s are silent, apparently. And some other letters.

So it sounds more like... Hays-ber.

Best one I've had is someone asking directions for "Looga-barooga".

"It's in the East Midlands, near Leicester"

:unsure:

"Loughborough?" :LOL:
 
A tip to make the elusive welsh LL sound.
1 Place the tip of your tongue on the front teeth to make a long 'Th' sound.
2 Whilst doing that slide your tongue-tip a few teeth to the right until the air moves round the side of the tongue
3 Make that sound then add the rest of the word LL -an, Llan
You'll be pronouncing Llanelli like a local before you know it.
:cool:
 
hitmouse said:
Wales is fun. Different Welsh and English words for many places, used respectively in Welsh and English language media.

There was a notorious murder in Machynlleth a few years ago, and it was in the national media for weeks, which caused some amusing workarounds as it was unpronounceable for some of the TV presenters.
Click to expand...

I came up with a much more simple example of someone who definitely isn't local yesterday on the bus.

We passed a factory and they were on the phone telling someone they were going past the wood and paper factory.

Everyone local knows that is the cloud factory!
 
AnyaKimlin said:
I came up with a much more simple example of someone who definitely isn't local yesterday on the bus.

We passed a factory and they were on the phone telling someone they were going past the wood and paper factory.

Everyone local knows that is the cloud factory!
Click to expand...
We have a food processing plant near us that produces vapour from its chimneys, my kids call that the cloud factory.
 
When I was young, there used to be a factory that we passed driving to see my grandparents in Barrow. It made the dye that used to be put in 'Dolly Blue', an additive you put in your washing to make whites look whiter. The river below it, and the rocks along the shore were all bright blue, and there were huge rafts of blue foam in the pools (well before current pollution laws!). We always called it the 'Blue Factory' and my parents used to tell us that it was the factory that made the special blue water in the sea, as ordinary water was clear....
 
I once heard pneumatically operated valves referred to as ‘choo-choo’ valves. When I asked why I was told that when they opened, they went ‘choo’ and when they closed, they made the same sound. Made perfect sense after that:)
 
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