...a lot of people have started assuming that Mrs Bob, who's an Eleanor, pronounces it Eleanorrrrrrr. I don't know why at all. She pronounces it Elunnuh, like a normal person would. Where did this Eleanorrrrr bumwash suddenly come from?

(No offence to anyone who is, knows, likes or loves an Eleanorrrr. But they're WRONG! WRONG!)

I will pronounce the name as the person wants.

It is just unusual pronounciations that seem to grate with me. I am sure I will get over it!

...pronounced Sarah by all, from birth. Her mum once, in my hearing, called her Sarrrra. The air turned a fetching indigo colour about a picosecond later, GF1 being of the dramatic persuasion. Hilarious.

and the Hungarian pronunciation is 'Kish'.

Kiss Island is pronounced Kish Island.

How naieve!

After all, we all seem to like exactly the same comedians.

....

And, I'm sorry, but it's pron*UN*ciation. There is no "ow" in the noun like there is in the verb. I don't know why.

I'm not normally this pedantic. But it so happens that mispronunciation of the word "pronunciation" is of my pet gripes.

from the many occasions I've been in the company of our American friends. What do they do to "Ian"?

It's pronounced how he wants you to pronounce it. I'm sure he'd show you that much respect at least.

'Ming-izz'

Kirsty Young on Desert Island Discs now refers to the composer of The Lark Ascending as "Rayf" Vaughan Williams.

That wasn't always the case, was it?

but Fetherstonhaugh is, erm, Fetherstonhaw, as I was soundly told by someone of that spelling.

The brothers Powell, who were government advisors, pronounced their surname differently.

Charles, who advised Mrs Thatcher, had it rhyming with pole whereas Jonathan, who advised Tony Blair had it in the normal way, rhyming with towel.

After 30 seconds in his company my brain had melted.

And talking of names...
Louis Armstrong will always be Luw-ee not Luw-is and Candi Staton will always be Stat-On and never Stayt-On.
Or something like that.

...is infuriating.

It's the Mother Of All Affectations. He should be Fienned for it.

It was so posh they had the "Sinjunn"'s Ambulance there.

It's an interesting one that, wonder if over time the pronounciation has morphed owing to one person's unusual way of saying it.

This thread made me think of the Football Commentator one-upmanship thing where they try to pronounce a player's name in ever more complicated ways, trying to sound closer to what's assumed to be the real thing than their rivals.

Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer went from plain old Solshyer to Solshheeeearrrgghha in a reasonably short time.

when they're American place names. Like names on this lil island. As for comical pronunciations of French words...

I vaguely remember reading in a Bill Bryson book that French place names, by law, were renames - La Fayette became Lafeyette etc. Something to do with the Post Office I think. Vaguely.

always gets me when the College of that name in Indiana is always pronounced 'Noter Dame' as in the 'Noter Dame' vs Purdue (Pronounced Pur-doo) football game.

Cretin always pronounced as "Creet'n" - they must get plenty of practice!

...of an old episode of QI when Rich Hall was joking on about ridiculous English place names, and said something about "Satan-is-my-Master On Thames".

Bill Bailey cuts in, quick as a flash, and goes "Actually, it's pronounced Semster."

Both in Cheshire, or should that be Cholmondeshire?

In answer to the OP, I'm all in favour of oddball pronunciations. Why just have one silent letter when you can have five? I stop my trains at Slaithwaite in Yorkshire and even the posh totty automated announcer calls it 'Slawet'. But the winner is Woolfardisworthy in Devon, which I think I'm right in saying has a silent 'fardith'.

Anyway, remember Pamela Stephenson taking off Angela Rippon's enunciation on Not the Nine o' Clock News? It explains why I still know more about African politics from the 70s than any other era.

Cholmondeley in S.W Cheshire...
4 silly bubbles bad, 2 silly bubbles good.

was based on the founder's name Adi (Adolf) Dassler. His brother Rudolph broke away and founded Puma.

Except I couldn't do the sign for "not quite equal to"...

My surname is pronounced differently in the US to the way it's pronounced over here.

In the UK, it rhymes with 'swearing'. In the US, it rhymes with 'boring'.

After a while, I started using the local pronunciation depending upon which country I was in. Much simpler all round and no skin off my nose.

I had a lovely slice of towcest for my breakfast this morning.

Is very funny.

...called Cowbit. Pronounce 'Cobbit'.

:-)

an amazing number of people of a certain age in Ireland say thremendious
(soft t, extra syllable).

I've even heard epitome pronounced eppy-tome (ouch!).

Quite often stick more closely to the pronunciation in the country where the word originated: Pasta, Gourmet, Herb. It's our version of English that has gone off at a tangent.
In New England, Worcester, Massachusetts has the same pronuciation as here, probably because English settlers named it. There is a Leicester too but I've yet to find out if it is pronounced the same way as here. Thames isn't.
As for Oregano, it became the accepted pronunciation in the Irish-Italian Neighbourhoods of New York and spread from there. I know this for a fact as I just made it up.

Definitely use that form. It was drilled into me at school complete with a rule across the knuckles.

That's another one, a 12" wooden (or plastic) tool with s straight edge is, apparently, a rule. A ruler is the sovereign of a nation. My knuckles suffered for that one as well :-)

Wayfarer (or I'll call him RayBan) was correct. Most US pronunciations (on the coasts) are closer to their country of origin. Boy howdy there are some deviations. I've been to Ver-DIE, NV and didn't like it one bit. But that paaaarsta crap is largely that. No amerikun puts an 'r' in it. Engerlish, however cannot say a word that ends in 'a' without turning it into an 'er' ending. To whit; 'Marier went to Eye-beefer to see her mar and par where she et some paster.'

You know, this whole 'fuck me that sounds weird and must be wrong as wrong' is a bit tribal and islandy. Folks is diffr'nt.

...time and time again saying "Burrekkfast".

how come it's French for the (preposterously overinflated in its importance) restaurant guide and English (Mitchell-In) for the manlier world of tyres?

I seem to recall it was always ♪ "Nestle's Milky Bar" ♫ rather than ♪ "Nestlé's Milky Bar" ♫.

Surely it's the Bubba See these days?

...there are some of yer older folk who insist on Har'fordshire. True fact. Seems to have fallen entirely out of use now, a bit like the Nene Valley, which everyone seemingly now pronounces "Neen" but which an elderly acquaintance of mine is adamant should be "Nenn".

I grew up there and never got it. "Shrowsbury"or "Shrewsbury". I still use both pronunciations, depending on mood and general loveliness of those present.

My dad was a football ref in Notts for many years. He often used to referee the wonderfully (and accurately!) named Southwell City FC. They were always referred to as 'Suthell' by the club officials who used to ring our house ("Hi. Is Mike there? It's Jim here from Suthell City...")

Other teams he refereed included Blidworth pronounced 'Blidduth' and Rainworth pronounced 'Rennuth'.

Humberside too, I think. My Cleethorpian best mate says it occasionally.

My hometown.

Anyone who calls it Pontyland gets lamped.

Or 'state of the art subliminal light fitted' if Darras Hall

Port Mad Dog - it really ought to be.

...is that of ALL the various ways of spelling it (Meadhbh, Meabh, Maeve...) NONE spell it like the female equivalent of Dave (ie Mave).

I've never understood that.

I mean, we'd never tolerate a Deadhbhid Hepworth, would we?

And as for this current ridiculous fad for parents adding completely unnecessary extra vowels to 'Rachel' (Raichael, Raechael, Raichelle et al) - grow up!

Mayve?

Route is pronounced in both ways in the UK. The Americans just use one of the options for all meanings.
Aluminium is pronounced how it's spelt in both places as is zed/zee.

The ones that I find oddest is in the US they say sodder instead of solder. Another oddity is their use of boo-ee instead of boy for buoy (I can see where they're coming from with that one though).

Aluminum was so-called in the USA to prevent rights infringement (Aluminium having originally been a Registered Trade Mark.)

Some say Marlabone. The rest of us say Marralabone.

Richard Hawley has been 'tong-tied' in song, and the Monkeys and Little Man Tate also have form in this area...

Liverpule

Mancheshtoh

Sunnerlun

Bratford

Ull

Glazgae

Bilfaast

or, internationally

Dobblun, Noo Yoik, or Toronno, A!

I used to read the travel news for BBC local radio stations including Newcastle. I'm from London. I used to say Newcarstle (i.e. the same way I'd say "castle", with a long a). I was told - pretty quickly and in no uncertain terms - to stop it and say Newcastle with a short a.

Similarly, BBC Radio Sheffield's management sent me a note: "There is no arse in Doncaster".

Anyway, I thought it sounded patronising talking London and then dropping into regional pronunciation for just the one word here and there, but that's what the bosses wanted, so I did it.

... they're always saying aleebee on that.

Mount Everest was named pronounced his name EVE-rest.

I don't believe anyone pronounces his mountain that way.

(just the one) is the preferred pronunciation of dreadlocked trustafarian gap year layabouts, as in "Josh and I are going to build an orphanage in the Himalaya using nothing but recycled water bottles and mummy's credit cards"

standing at Clapham Junction station on the way to the cricket I heard someone ask a railway employee "Which platform for The Oval?"

After some thought the reply came: "Platform six, change at Bristol..."

giggling, and seemingly high, yoofs if I knew the way to Southend. As this was in Milton Keynes and the enquiry was accompanied by much laughing and "Look at his reaction, the old fart" nudging, I simply thought about it for a moment and replied: "Yes."

The looks on their faces were well worth the distraction.

Is referred to by those In The Know as Saint Amshaw.

(Stamshaw, of course..)

another London borough I believe.

Battersea: Barzy
Clapham : South chelsea

Shapen

By any chance is he from Switzerland?

Along similar lines - my GLW used to work in a social services office here in California processing birth certificates. One woman had twins, boy and girl. Their names? Male (pronounced Ma-Lay) and Female (pronounced Fe-Malay)...

....calls Kincardine - KINK-er-DEEN.

in Scotland too. But were you working in a pet shop or what?