I'm still amazed that English can be learned as a second language. It's full of rules that are then completely thrown out the window 70% of the time. Any more fine examples of words that make no sense unless you're told "that's just the way you say it" and then have to remember that for the rest of your life?

by lewisl7034

35 comments

  1. As a native English speaker…I’ll never pronounce that word as beaver!

  2. Apparently the shops called Nisa are pronounced like “Nicer”.
    I refuse. If you spell it “nisa”, then it’s clearly pronounced “nee-sah”.

  3. Good to see that my ex wife finally set up an official store front for her side hustle

  4. As someone in the East Midlands, this proper caught me off guard 😂. I’m assuming a chunk of the UK won’t understand why the name is quite so amusing?

  7. I’m down south and my block of flats is called this. This is one way to find out I might have been pronouncing it wrong this whole time.

  8. […]
    Finally, which rhymes with enough,
    Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?
    Hiccough has the sound of cup.
    My advice is to give up!!!

  9. Beaulieu – a village in the New Forest pronounced byoo-lee

  10. I do hope it’s parked in Cholmondeley and the manager is Mr.Featherstonehaugh…

  12. Baguley some people say baglee some say it bagooly

  13. for those unsure – it’s pronounced beaver

    Beaver castle, vale of beaver, hungry beaver

  14. Tbf this is more a mispronunciation of a French word than a complexity of English. The same thing happens with Bevois (Bee-vis) Hill in Southampton and Beaulieu (Bew-lee) in Hampshire.

  16. According to the wikipedia entry for Belvoir castle,
    ‘The castle’s name Belvoir means beautiful view in Norman French. Emma Manners, Duchess of Rutland has said the name Belvoir was brought over by the French-speaking Normans in the 11th century. As the Middle English–speaking Anglo-Saxons were unable to pronounce the name, they preferred to call it “Beaver Castle” – a usage which persists today.’

  17. That’s Belvoir Castle on the side. Beautiful building in the equally beautiful Vale of Belvoir, whose name comes from the Norman French for “beautiful view”.

    The castle can be seen for miles around. Used to love seeing it from the A52 driving from Lincs to my grandparents in Ruddington.

  18. Complexities of having once been in the loving care of the Normans and their insistence on naming things Frenchily

  19. My mate’s boss went bird watching in the Vale of Belvoir a few months back and didn’t understand why everyone fell about laughing when he told them.

  20. Just tell the owner that in French the word ‘voir’ means ‘end’.

  22. Strangest one is Froome which is pronounced Portsmouth

  24. French word that got anglicized to the nth degree.

  26. Where I used to live in Milton Keynes there are former villages within the city called Woughton (wʊftən), Loughton (laʊtən) and Broughton (ˈbrɔːtən), so 3 different pronunciations of “ought” within a few miles of each other.

  27. When I was younger I had a bit of a Hyacinth Bucket experience with that word.

    The posh ones said it with the French accent and the not so posh said Beaver. I didn’t know the area so thought they were talking about two different places until I saw it written down. Said it the posh way and someone corrected me.

  28. Beauchamp is another – as in Hatch Beauchamp off the A358. Beauchamp is pronounced bee-chum.

  29. I tell people its pronounced beaver, and no bugger believes me. Its not bel-voir, we arent stinky french surrender monkies

  31. wait until you get to the Cholmondeley Castle or the Featherstonehaugh family

    “Chumley” and “Fanshaw”

  32. In Scotland, Menzies was traditionally (or historically) pronounced as

    Ming-iz

  33. I’ve noticed that IKEA adverts in the UK have started using the correct pronunciation (*EE KEY AH*, not *EYE KEY AH*). I worked at one for 10 years and people thought I was mispronouncing it. Nope. When the founder of IKEA corrected you personally when he visited the store I worked at, you tend to remember lol.

  35. Subscribing to DAZN gave me a taste of what it must be like for foreigners to learn English. Apparently, it’s pronounced “Da zone,” but they never really tell you that.

    To me, it will always be Dazzin. 

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