UK staycations have bene popular in recent years, particularly when international travel was difficult due to the pandemic. No doubt the cost of living crisis could see some choosing to holiday closer to home again this summer.
But before you pack your suitcase and race down the motorway, ask yourself this - how confident are you in pronouncing the UK town or city you are holidaying to? With this in mind, the language experts at Preply have provided a roundup of the classic UK tourist hotspots that tend to get mispronounced.
Edinburgh
Scotland’s capital city may be considered a tongue-twister to pronounce, with many calling it ‘Edin-bra’, but in theory, the pronunciation of Edinburgh is easier than you may think. In fact, there are two universal pronunciations - the short being ‘Ed-in-bruh’ and the longer being ‘Ed-in-bur-uh’.
Gloucestershire
Non-UK residents tend to pronounce the ‘shire’ in UK places, like the Shire from Lord of the Rings. That said, the South West county of Gloucestershire is a spot that tends to get mispronounced, with the correct pronunciation being ‘Glost-uh-shuh’.
Derby
Even though it only contains two syllables, Derby is surprisingly a common UK destination that tends to get said wrong. A lot of people actually pronounce the city like how it’s spelled, but the actual pronunciation is ‘Da-bee’.
Loughborough
Even mispronounced by actor Taylor Lautner himself, the town of Loughborough in Leicestershire is another one that confuses many. Again contrary to its spelling, it is actually pronounced ‘Luhf-buh-ruh’.
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Yeovil
From its stunning architecture to many visitor attractions, Somerset is considered a glorious place to visit. A prominent town in the South West country is Yeovil, which funnily enough tends to get mispronounced by non-UK residents as ‘Yeo-evil’. Rather, the correct pronunciation is actually ‘Yo-vil’.
Worcestershire
When it comes to the commonly mispronounced UK places that end in ‘shire’, Worcestershire definitely ranks top. Not only do people mispronounce the ‘shire’, but they also tend to get the ‘Worcester’ wrong, pronouncing it exactly how it is spelled. That said, the correct pronunciation of is ‘Wu-stuh-shuh’.
Bicester
From its lush green spaces to cultural heritage, the market town of Bicester is indeed a popular tourist destination in the UK, which makes it all the more important to get the pronunciation of the location right. Rather than ‘Bic-stir’, it is actually pronounced ‘Bi-stuh’.
