Slaugham - how is it pronounced?

[ArcticBlue]

and radio travel news presenters.

Yeah, and it's probably fair to say they meet the criteria of an idiot.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

A place that is close to my heart (In Nottinghamshire, not in Sussex) ...

Basford - pronounced Baseford.

My ancestors came from Leicestershire. We can't agree on how our surname is spelt, but we all agree it should be pronounced differently from the place in Nottingham.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

I suppose it's a little unfair to expect someone who doesn't live locally to be an expert on place name pronunciation.

I'll take a punt that plenty of NSCers couldn't nail the pronunciation of all of this lot without Googling them first.

Belvoir (Leics)
Mousehole (Cornwall I think)
Woolfardisworthy (Devon)
Alnwick (Northumberland)
Cholmondeston and Cholmondley (Cheshire)
Frome (Somerset)
Fowey (Cornwall)
Gillingham (Dorset)
Happisburgh (Norfolk)
Hawick (Scottish Borders somewhere)
Kirkcudbright (Scotland)
Great Barugh (Yorkshire)
Wymondham (Norfolk)
Prinknash (Gloucestershire)

 

[generation x]

A place that is close to my heart (In Nottinghamshire, not in Sussex) ...

Basford - pronounced Baseford.

My ancestors came from Leicestershire. We can't agree on how our surname is spelt, but we all agree it should be pronounced differently from the place in Nottingham.

Mrs X is from here & she pronounces it Baysefud.

 

[perseus]

Second "h" is silent in Sussex usually Sloffam (not Sloe'am), Shoram (for Shoreham) etc. Don't tell foreigners though.

 

[the wanderbus]

Second "h" is silent in Sussex usually Sloffam (not Sloe'am), Shoram (for Shoreham) etc. Don't tell foreigners though.

Is Withyham an exception to the rule, surely it should be Withyam?

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Nah. It might be Shore'um, but it's Withy-Ham and Etching-Ham (as in the American pronunciation of Birmingham, Alabama).

A related pronunciation, with the emphasis on the final syllable, is, of course, SeaFORD (as opposed to Seaf'd)

 

[HovaGirl]

Sloffum

This.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

HovaGirl's post reminds me that "Hove" was originally pronounced "Hoove". Just as "Brighthelmstone" was originally pronounced "Brighton".

 

[wehatepalace]

I'm with this, we have a training centre there & it's always been Sluffum to me.

Slaugham Manor, used to be the sports & social club, and section house too, used to have some good times up there as a kid, my dad was in the job as well.

 

[perseus]

Is Withyham an exception to the rule, surely it should be Withyam?

It is NOT a rule. It is a habitual natural way of pronunciation by local people. Shoram not Shorum. I don't know about other -hams. Large -hams are only indicative. I am not sure if the "h" is silent in Littlehampton.

Shoreham was also spelt Shoram.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Moving on ... How do people pronounce Moulsecoomb?

MOLE or MOOL? SCOOM or SCUM?

I'm ignoring the other question ... how do you SPELL Moulsecoomb?

 

[perseus]

Moving on ... How do people pronounce Moulsecoomb?

MOLE or MOOL? SCOOM or SCUM?

I'm ignoring the other question ... how do you SPELL Moulsecoomb?

Hold on, the separation is wrong!? Moles and coombe. Coombes is pronounced coomes.

 

[GoldWithFalmer]

Moving on ... How do people pronounce Moulsecoomb?

MOLE or MOOL? SCOOM or SCUM?

I'm ignoring the other question ... how do you SPELL Moulsecoomb?

Mole-scoom..........BE!!

 

[Weststander]

Slaffem.

Mate lives there.

Yep.

 

[Weststander]

Bicester = Bisster

Rocester = Roaster (not to be confused with Sunderland players hotel habits)

Towcester = Toaster

Thakenham = Fake-en-am (as pronounced by most southerners)

Brighton = Brighten

 

[perseus]

Hunstanton ?

 

[Gwylan]

I suppose it's a little unfair to expect someone who doesn't live locally to be an expert on place name pronunciation.

I'll take a punt that plenty of NSCers couldn't nail the pronunciation of all of this lot without Googling them first.

Belvoir (Leics)
Mousehole (Cornwall I think)
Woolfardisworthy (Devon)
Alnwick (Northumberland)
Cholmondeston and Cholmondley (Cheshire)
Frome (Somerset)
Fowey (Cornwall)
Gillingham (Dorset)
Happisburgh (Norfolk)
Hawick (Scottish Borders somewhere)
Kirkcudbright (Scotland)
Great Barugh (Yorkshire)
Wymondham (Norfolk)
Prinknash (Gloucestershire)

I know about half of those - some great names there

Moving on ... How do people pronounce Moulsecoomb?

MOLE or MOOL? SCOOM or SCUM?

I'm ignoring the other question ... how do you SPELL Moulsecoomb?

I pronounce it MOLL SCOOM - and I was brought up there (it's how people around me pronounced it)

 

[Barrel of Fun]

I was wandering in Oxford with a friend and we past an advert for the Glyndebourne Touring Opera. He said "Where on earth is Glin-dee-born"?

Bicester perplexed me for a little while. I assumed Biss-ter and Bye-sester were different places.

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

Can we have the Hoathly debate?

East Hoathlee and West Hoathlye, I'm given to understand.

Correct, though plenty of locals manage to get it wrong. Arding-lye, or Arding-lee? The former is correct, though not all of those who get it wrong are from far away. And many locals emphasise the ly(e) bit at the end.