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Note: For purposes of this page, "non-intuitive pronunciation" means a pronunciation that is not easily deducible from the spelling. Included are placenames in English-speaking countries, surnames of British origin, and first names widely encountered in the English-speaking world.
- Arkansas, pronounced "arkansaw" IPA /ˈɑrkənˌsɔ/. Compare Kansas
- Caius (as in Caius College, Cambridge), pronounced "keys" /ki:z/
- Cholmondeley, pronounced "chumley" /ˈtʃʌmli/
- Cirencester, now usually intuitive /ˈsaɪrənˌsɛstə/, but formerly and occasionally still pronounced "sissiter" /ˈsɪsɪtə/ *
- Cockburn, pronounced "coburn" /ˈkoʊbɜ:n/
- Cosham (Hampshire town), pronounced "koss'm" /ˈkɒsəm/
- Dalziel, pronounced "dee-ell" /di:ˈɛl/ or /di:ˈjɛl/ (as in the U.K. television series Dalziel and Pascoe)
- Des Moines, Iowa, pronounced "d'moin" /dəˈmɔɪn/
- Edinburgh (capital of Scotland), pronounced "edinburra" or "edinbra" /ˈɛdn̩b(ə)rə/
- Etobicoke, Ontario, pronounced "etobicoe" /əˈtoʊbɪˌkoʊ/
- Featherstonehaugh, pronounced "fanshaw" /ˈfænʃɔ:/, "festonhaw" /ˈfɛstənhɔ:/, "feecenhay" /ˈfi:sn̩heɪ/, "fiercetonhaw" /ˈfɪəstənhɔ:/, or intuitively as /ˈfɛðəstənhɔ:/ *
- Frome (UK town), pronounced "froom" /fru:m/
- Gloucester (UK city and Massachusetts city), both pronounced "gloster": /ˈglɒstə/
- Greenwich (UK town), also Greenwich, Connecticut and Greenwich Village in New York City, pronounced "grennich" /ˈgrɛnɪtʃ/
- Holborn (London district), pronounced "hoe-burn" /ˈhoʊbɜ:n/
- Illinois, pronounced "illinoy" /ˌɪləˈnɔɪ/
- Islay (island of the Inner Hebrides, Scotland), pronounced "eye-la" /ˈaɪlə/
- Keighley (West Yorkshire town), pronounced "keithley" /ˈki:θli/
- Kirkby (town on Merseyside), pronounced "kirby" /ˈkɜ:bi/
- Kirkcudbright (town in Scotland), pronounced "Kirkoobry" /kɪrˈku:bri/
- Leicester (UK city) and Leicester, Massachusetts, pronounced "lester" /ˈlɛstə/
- Leominster (UK town), pronounced "lemster" /ˈlɛmstə/. Compare Leominster, Massachusetts which is more intuitively pronounced /ˈlɛmənstə/.
- Mackinac Island, Michigan, pronounced "mackinaw" /ˈmækɪˌnɔ:/
- Magdalen(e) (as in Magdalen College, Oxford and Magdalene College, Cambridge), pronounced "maudlin" /ˈmɔ:dlɪn/
- Manchaca Texas, pronounced "manchack" /ˈmæntʃæk/
- Marjoribanks, pronounced "marchbanks" /ˈmɑ:tʃbæŋks/
- Menzies (as in Menzies Campbell, Liberal Democrat member of Parliament) , pronounced "mingiss" /ˈmɪŋɪs/
- Mousehole (Cornish village), pronounced "mowz'l" /ˈmoʊzl̩/
- Natchitoches, Louisiana, pronounced "nackatish" /ˈnækətəʃ/
- Pedernales River (in Texas), pronounced "perdenallis" /ˌpɝdəˈnæləs/
- Sean (first name of Irish origin), pronounced "shawn" /ʃɔ:n/
- Siobhan (first name of Irish origin), pronounced "shevawn" /ʃəˈvɔ:n/
- Slough (Berkshire town), pronounced to rhyme with "cow" /slaʊ/
- Spokane, (Washington), pronounced to rhyme with "can" /spoʊˈkæn/
- Taliaferro and Talliaferro, American place & family names, pronounced "tolliver" /ˈtɑlɪvɚ/
- River Thames, pronounced "tems" /tɛmz/.
- Towcester (Northamptonshire town), pronounced "toaster" /ˈtoʊstə/
- Warwick (UK city), pronounced "worrick" /ˈwɒrɪk/
- Worcester, England and Worcester, Massachusetts, both pronounced "wooster" /ˈwʊstə/. Compare Wooster, Ohio
- Woolfardisworthy, pronounced "woolsey" /ˈwʊlzi/ or "woolsery" /ˈwʊlzəri/
* Pronunciations from J. C. Wells, Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, Longman 1990.
See also: English spelling
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