An opportunity to rib one of my colleagues about a misspelling in a recent email. Trying to indicate a street near our office as our meeting point in case of fire, he alerted everyone to meet at ‘Gentile’s Entry’. Where are our Jewish, and any other faith, visitors meant to go? (Edinburgh residents can work out the original version.)
But I had the opportunity to hear a more regular mis-pronunciation the same day, heading up the close that leads up to the Royal Mile. A tourist stopped me and asked for ‘Princess Street’.
‘Princes’ is not used in so many place names, I’ll grant you, which I think is why ‘Princess’ seems to be said by various visitors to Edinburgh. It made me think that there are probably not so many mispronunciations that give you another word instead of your original choice.
Dan and another friend who grew up in London used to come up with alternative pronuncations for London areas. ‘Streatham’ became ‘St Reathams’, and so on. Dan equally was very pleased a few years back to hear me saying ‘An-tig-u-a’ for another Edinburgh street name, rather than ‘An-teeg-wa’. I had to make the joke against myself for a long time to stop that one being repeated back at me.
My brother came up with two of my favourite mishearings of place names. When a school friend got into an Oxford college (Somerville), he managed to understand that she had got a job at the then local supermarket (Somerfields). Equally, when I got the news of where I was going to be during my gap year teaching (Warsaw), he thought I would be just up the road, so to speak (Walsall).
New housing estates breed rather odd names (Edinburgh will currently offer you Q, The Visio, along with the lovely East Pilton Farm Rigg – try saying that to your taxi driver after a hard night out). I can’t help but think they’re missing out on some great mispronunciations to come.