Place name mispronunciation

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Some Aussies:

The English probably get it right (their way) but AFAIK " Launceston " in the UK is pronounced Lawn-stn

The family after which Hobart is named (Lord Hobart) pronounce their name Hobbert (as in Robert).

Ouse in Tasmania is pronounced ooze
 
You've got to love Wales, I had some fun driving through there a few weeks back. Spent the night in Betws-y-coed, feel free to give that a go. The GPS and I were not get along well on that trip!
 
People looked at me oddly when I said Moz-man Coo-jee and I'm glad I never had to ask for directions to Minto
 
I always have to laugh when I call QF and hear their spiel about Suvarnabhumi International Airport - the "i" is actually silent, so you actually pronounce it: Su-var-na-buhm, not Su-var-na-buhm-ee.
 
I always have to laugh when I call QF and hear their spiel about Suvarnabhumi International Airport - the "i" is actually silent, so you actually pronounce it: Su-var-na-buhm, not Su-var-na-buhm-ee.
Or you can pronounce it Su-wa-na-poom. ;)
 
Bli bli was one I got corrected for, it's in QLD

Use to call it bill bill, when it is more like Bly Bly - like fly, but a b instead of a f
 
More importantly, how do you pronounce it :?:

Could have a whole book on Kiwi names...

The Whong at the start is the catch as it is pronounced "Fong" as in pong but with an f at the start. "Fong a ray"

My son got in trouble with his teacher for swearing and sent to the principles office for correctly pronouncing Whakamaru and that he went to Whakamaru school before returning to his Brisbane one at the time. Yes it is pronounced "cough uh maru"

same goes for Whakatane

Paengaroa is one that only the locals pronounce correctly, which I was a local once upon a time. Correctly to pronounce is along the lines of "poi an ga roa" and most people try to pronounce it as "panggaroa" which gets locals backs up.

And Te Puke is not "tea puke (vomit)", it is "Tee pook key" with pook sounds like look but with a p instead

Still cannot figure out how someone can miss pronounce "Mount Maunganui", but they do, "Mount Mon gar nu ee"
 
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In the quiz, the attempted phonology was doing my head in to select a correct answer. I only got 6.

The pronunciation explanation of Reims is not quite correct. It is actually difficult for most people who haven't spoken French before to get it right; it's the same error as people correctly pronouncing Paris. As it's the Telegraph (UK), you have to pronounce the guideline with a posh accent or you won't even get close to the pronunciation.

I suppose many places also have been "Anglicised" in pronunciation, so they sound different in English communication compared to when pronounced in their native language. Paris is a good example, as is my current city, Lausanne. And, maybe thankfully, there are many Anglicisms of other locations in Europe which make it easier to pronounce compared to that in the official language, e.g. Geneva, Munich, Cologne, Venice and Florence.

Most people have trouble pronouncing most place names in Asia, even the more well known locations like Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo, Kuala Lumpur or Manila.

A tough one to pronounce in South America is Sao Paulo, Brazil. The other day, my mother struggled to pronounce Buenos Aires.

It's sometimes close to impossible to get people to pronounce Cairns correctly.
 
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One common one, is due to the movie "Meet Me in St Louis". Locals never pronounce it St Louey, always St. Lewis. Another interesting one is Houston. It's Who-ston, Texas but in Manhattan, Houston St is known House-ton St.

Back in Straya, Goondiwindi and Toowoomba can be problematic.
 
Most people have trouble pronouncing most place names in Asia, even the more well known locations like Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo, Kuala Lumpur or Manila.

Was thinking about that also last night, most people miss pronounce Guangzhou.

Then there is my favorites:

Suzhou = sue joe
Xuzhou = shoe joe
Qingdao = chin dow
Xiamen = shar men
 
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