# Weird British pronunciation **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [May 24, 2018, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738 "2018-05-24T17:08:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![porkbroth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/87869e/32.png) [@porkbroth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porkbroth)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738/1 "2018-05-24T17:08:21Z")
I remember reading that some British names and places weren’t pronounced phonetically as a shibboleth for the aristocracy to determine who was merely a bourgeoisie pretender with “new money”. A couple of other examples from the nobility: Spelling - Pronounciation Belvoir - Beaver Beaulieu - Bewlee ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738/2 "2018-05-24T18:05:42Z")
This one for “schedule” irks me: Us: Skedule British: saidule ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738/3 "2018-05-24T18:20:39Z")
All the above examples seem to depend on the degree to which the speaker is open to French influence. Is is the case that British aristocrats generally speak French? ---
**Author:** ![Corner\_Case](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/corner_case/32/234_2.png) [@Corner\_Case](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corner_Case)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738/4 "2018-05-24T18:34:24Z")
How about Featherstonhaugh pronounced /fanshaw/ or /fenshaw/? And then Worcester pronounced /wooster/? ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738/5 "2018-05-24T18:58:16Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > This one for “schedule” irks me: > > Us: Skedule > > British: saidule Actually I think its Shed-u-al For some reason the c isn’t pronounced. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738/6 "2018-05-24T19:02:35Z")
I assume [this](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3365/what-s-with-the-weird-british-pronunciation-of-words-like-gloucester/) is the column? ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738/7 "2018-05-24T20:05:22Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Actually I think its Shed-u-al > For some reason the c isn’t pronounced. I think they’re trying to schmooze us. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738/8 "2018-05-25T01:17:20Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > This one for “schedule” irks me: > > Us: Skedule > > British: saidule I always hear it as “shed-jewel”. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738/9 "2018-05-25T02:15:54Z")
No one’s mentioned Quixote, St John, or jaguar yet? I remembered being baffled when I learned that Thames doesn’t rhyme with James… ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738/10 "2018-05-25T02:43:51Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I always hear it as “shed-jewel”. Drunken French, then. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738/11 "2018-05-25T03:03:46Z")
Right up into Victorian days, it was pronounced “sedule” on both sides of the Atlantic. ---
**Author:** ![porkbroth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/87869e/32.png) [@porkbroth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porkbroth)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738/12 "2018-05-25T05:53:12Z")
The latin schedula became the French cedule on the way to our schedule. Schmooze is a great example. Have you heard how the Dutch pronounce “sch”? That’ll throw you off the scent. Be warned before you try it yourself, it can get a bit phlemy! ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738/13 "2018-05-25T07:46:03Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > No one’s mentioned Quixote, St John, or jaguar yet? > > I remembered being baffled when I learned that Thames doesn’t rhyme with James… It’s Americans that mispronounce Jaguar as “jag-wah”. Everywhere else, it’s jag-you-ah. And if we’re talking big cats, I was completely mystified as to what a “poo-ma” was until I saw a picture and realised it’s what Americans call a puma. Which is correctly pronounced “pew-ma”, in case you’re wondering. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738/14 "2018-05-25T09:03:34Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > This one for “schedule” irks me: > > Us: Skedule > > British: saidule It irks me too, because Aus has a holier-than-thou attitude towards pronunciation that they turn on themselves. It was skedule in my school, which was 75% hereditary Australians, and skedule all across northern Victoria according to my friends and contacts. But shedule is the “correct” pronunciation, and anyone who doesn’t pronounce it that way isn’t Australian enough. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738/15 "2018-05-25T10:37:27Z")
> [@porkbroth](#): > > I remember reading that some British names and places weren’t pronounced phonetically as a shibboleth for the aristocracy to determine who was merely a bourgeoisie pretender with “new money”. A couple of other examples from the nobility: I want so, so much to believe this about enlisted men in the British Army. “Sergeant, what is your report?” “Well, Lieutenant…” [smirks] “That’s _leff-tenant_.” [/sing-song] ---
**Author:** ![eastcheap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@eastcheap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eastcheap)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738/16 "2018-05-25T12:00:55Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > It’s Americans that mispronounce Jaguar as “jag-wah”. Everywhere else, it’s jag-you-ah. Both are mispronunciations, though I’d argue that jag-wahr is a darn sight closer to what they’re called in their natural range. The same holds double for “puma” (they’re _our_ cats, for crying out loud). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738/17 "2018-05-25T17:46:26Z")
Two I’ve noticed: Aluminum American: A LOO mi num British: Al you MIN you mum Nicaragua American: Nic a ROG wa British: Nic a RAG you wa ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738/18 "2018-05-25T17:51:08Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Two I’ve noticed: > > Aluminum > American: A LOO mi num > British: Al you MIN you mum The spelling is different: aluminum vs aluminium ---
**Author:** ![piston\_broke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/278dde/32.png) [@piston\_broke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/piston_broke)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738/19 "2018-05-25T22:21:20Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > No one’s mentioned Quixote, St John, or jaguar yet? > > I remembered being baffled when I learned that Thames doesn’t rhyme with James… I don’t think any English speaker knows the correct pronunciation of Quixote. Is it kee-o-tay or quik-sot? Lord Byron went for the latter: A jest, a riddle, Fame through thin and thick sought! And Socrates himself but Wisdom’s Quixote? Another oddity is Magdalene College - _Mawdlin_ College to you and I. But, for me, the stupidest pronunciation of all is Cholmondeley - which of course we all recognise as _Chumley_. Really. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738/20 "2018-05-25T22:50:38Z")
[Enroughty](http://www.americanheritage.com/content/enroughty-darby-and-general-mcclellan), of course. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-british-pronunciation/814738.md?page=2)