How to say.... (street name)

[Nero]

..Friern. Apparently, it is Fry-un, not Freern. I know that because the nice, invisible lady who always seems to be on the 63 telling people what stops are coming up says so. Nero

[Pierre]

I'd always pronounced Free-urn, 'cos my friends who lived on that road pronounced it that way...

: P

[tiddles]

yes, I agree with pierre...

[PeckhamRose]

Is that pronounced "pee er" or "pee-ear"

I always pronounced it the way Friern in Friern Barnet. "Free urn"

Now, how dya pronounce De Crespigny?

[macroban]

Free-urn all my life.

Dee-cress-pig-nee.

[JohnL]

Words and especially placenames mutate over the years (which deprives us of the original meanings)

The street I grew up in was Regit then Regate then Reigate. Regit means stream, some of the older residents use the old term - the council prefers a the latter and encouraged the change if anything.

[chuff]

wurlingham or whorlingham has always been a confusing one for me

friern has always been freeurn to me and was pronounced freeurn when the girls school was open too

[????]

And the bint on the tube calls Plaistow - "playstow", silly stuck up old cow

[VeryBerryCherry]

And Ondine Road. I have now been 'educated' by the 176 bus!

who needs English teachers!

[PeckhamRose]

Is it OnnDyne then? Or Onn Deen?

[macroban]

I've always known it as On-dean.

[VeryBerryCherry]

Yeah, I don't know who Dean is, or how clean he is. But we're supposed to get On-Dean

[Vik]

I've always pronounced in On-Dyne?

[Pierre]

PeckhamRose Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Is that pronounced "pee er" or "pee-ear"

> I always pronounced it the way Friern in Friern

> Barnet. "Free urn"

> Now, how dya pronounce De Crespigny?

It's "Pie. Rrrr!"

Not really, just the standard "Pea-air"

And I'd say "De Cress Pin Yee"

: P

[Mark]

Matham Grove:

May'thum Grove, Math'um Grove or Mar'thum Grove?

[Pierre]

ooh, good one. I've always said Math'um but, thinking about it, May'thum makes sense.

We'll get on to how to pronounce "scone" if we're not careful - sorry, best keep it on topic ;)

: P

[James]

Whateley Road:

"wait-lee" or "what-lee"?

[benjaminty]

It's def "Wait-lee" ......

[Asset]

I say wait-lee.

On-deen is correct as I used to know someone of that name and that is how she was called. I think Ondine is a goddess.

[macroban]

I know it as Wait-lee, but I remember some old folk in the 1950s calling it Wait-tell-lee.

[James]

Sounds like a village that might be featured in Last of the Summer Wine (as some old men roar past it in a bathtub on wheels and crash-land in a ditch)

[candj]

I've always said 'what lee' but have always heard everyone else say 'wait lee' and 'de cress pin nee' no?

[HonaloochieB]

It's Free-urn, Wait-lee and On-deen as far as I'm concerned despite how matey-girl on the bus pronounces them.

Ondine was an associate of Andy Warhol I think. Talking of whom his mate Billy Name sounds like the sort of chap who could arbitrate over pronounciations, doesn't he?

[Peckham native]

Lived in SE15 for 50 years and Mum has been here for nearly 80 years (went to Adys Road School) and it's always been On-dine to us and all our neighbours

[professordingo]

On the point of 'scone' (among many others), see:

http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/guardian.htm

John Wells (emeritus professor of phonetics at UCL) edits the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary and writes an interesting blog, see the link on his page:

http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/

If you're interested in such things, his blog is well worth perusing.