# Name pronunciation: "Townshend" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 1, 2007, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112 "2007-07-01T09:40:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112/1 "2007-07-01T09:40:03Z")
How do you pronounce the family name of The Who’s front man? Is it Towns-Hend, with S and H being pronounced as distinct consonants, or is it Town-Shend, with S and H drawn together to form the sh sound? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112/2 "2007-07-01T09:41:55Z")
“Town’s end”. Never heard it said any other way. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112/3 "2007-07-01T09:42:32Z")
I always thought it was pronounced “Townzend” (with the English Z sound, not the German). ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112/4 "2007-07-01T09:42:54Z")
The H is silent. ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112/5 "2007-07-01T09:44:31Z")
Well, I pronounce it ‘Towns und’ but that’s probably just my accent coming into play. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112/6 "2007-07-01T09:47:13Z")
So the S sounds like an S and not like a Z? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112/7 "2007-07-01T10:43:43Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] So the S sounds like an S and not like a Z? [/QUOTE] No, it’s a hard “z” sound, like “town’s end”. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112/8 "2007-07-01T11:06:22Z")
I always hear TOWNZ’nd (the ’ marking a schwa sound). ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112/9 "2007-07-01T11:12:29Z")
[QUOTE=Schnitte] How do you pronounce the family name of The Who’s front man? [/QUOTE] Roger Daltrey is the Who’s front man! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112/10 "2007-07-01T11:16:45Z")
Fairly sure it’s “Town’s end”, thanks to my remote family connection (too often mentioned here). Mrs M’s mother’s younger sister (one of twins) was the first Mrs [John Entwistle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Entwistle). ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112/11 "2007-07-02T01:14:27Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] So the S sounds like an S and not like a Z? [/QUOTE] It sounds like an S used at the end of a word, which is to say it sounds like a Z and not like an S used at the beginning of a word. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112/12 "2007-07-02T02:20:15Z")
Just call him Pete. All of us Who-geeks do. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112/13 "2007-07-02T03:27:02Z")
Definite minority vote here. Our high school history teacher always pronounced it just like it’s spelled when discussing the Townshend Acts.\* Actually you pronounce it however the person named Townshend pronounces it. - 1767 - The perfidious British Parliament wanted us to pay for the French and Indian Wars just because they were fought in our defense. Can you imagine such gall? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112/14 "2007-07-02T03:34:59Z")
[QUOTE=David Simmons] Definite minority vote here. Our high school history teacher always pronounced it just like it’s spelled when discussing the Townshend Acts.\*… - 1767 - The perfidious British Parliament wanted us to pay for the French and Indian Wars just because they were fought in our defense. Can you imagine such gall? [/QUOTE] Town-shend? Maybe he wanted to sound like Sean Connery. 😃 And yeah, those _bastardos!_ ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112/15 "2007-07-02T13:42:18Z")
[QUOTE=David Simmons] - 1767 - The perfidious British Parliament wanted us to pay for the French and Indian Wars just because they were fought in our defense. Can you imagine such gall? [/QUOTE] Um, the British government thought that the colonies should be more revenue neutral, including covering the cost of protecting the crown’s possessions from the perfidious French. They most certainly were not fighting in defense of the colonists, per se. 😃 Hijack!!! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112/16 "2007-07-02T13:57:13Z")
From individuals I’ve met named Townshend, I’ve normally heard it pronounced like “TOWNZ-hend” or “TOWNZ-end”. I have never heard it pronounced with the SH together. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112/17 "2007-07-02T14:18:12Z")
Roger Daltrey pronounces it “CUNT”. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112/18 "2007-07-02T15:15:23Z")
[QUOTE=DSYoungEsq] Um, the British government thought that the colonies should be more revenue neutral, including covering the cost of protecting the crown’s possessions from the perfidious French. They most certainly were not fighting in defense of the colonists, per se. 😃 Hijack!!! :eek: [/QUOTE] Hairsplitting. The colonists were living on the crown’s possessions and it was hardly possible to protect the possessions without protecting the colonists, surely. “…Not while she poured from Pole to Line Treasure and ships and men; Those worshippers at Freedom’s shrine They did not quit her then.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112/19 "2007-07-02T17:49:38Z")
[QUOTE=don’t ask] Roger Daltrey pronounces it “CUNT”. [/QUOTE] Do they not get along? I thought that the only reason Townshend was still touring with The Who was because the other bandmembers needed the money even though he doesn’t because he gets tonnes of royalties. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112/20 "2007-07-02T18:08:08Z")
i can’t see how we can trust the Engligh on pronunciation of their language. Anyone who would pronounce “Magdalene” as “Maudlin” is way around the bend. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pronunciation-townshend/410112.md?page=2)