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ArishMell · 70-79, M
You will hear many variations due to the very wide range of regional accents in Britain, but the general pronunciation of [i]Worcestershire[/i] and of its county-town (Worcester) shortens but stresses the first, and passes over the second, syllables.
Similarly with its Southerly neighbouring county and county-town, [i]Gloucestershire [/i]and [i]Gloucester[/i] - the "est" syllable left unsaid.
The neighbour to the NE, though, [i]Warkwickshire[/i], tends to be pronounced with a hard "orr" as in "on", rather than "ark+w" in the middle. I assume this is because "Warricksher / ~shire" is easier to enunciate than the purely phonetic way!
Then travelling on, Leicestershire and Leicester follow the same silent-"est", then we reach Nottinghamshire & Nottingham which most English do pronounce pretty well phonetically, fully and with first- or second- syllable stress. The "ham" syllable is always slightly weakened, often with a touch of a hard "u" to the sound.
Generally, the "shire" root is spoken as a short "sher" sound, slightly longer "shire" or a hybrid "shiur", again depending on the speaker's accent.
I have seen a SW thread titled something like "I love the British accent", prompting British readers to ask, "[i]Which[/i] British accent?". Apart from the very distinct English, Welsh, Irish and Scottish generics, there are very many regional accents and dialects. England alone would fit in a rectangle not much more than 450 miles long by 250 or so wide, but has an enormous range of accents that can differ noticeably across only a few tens of miles, or even across a conurbation like Greater London or the West Midlands county encompassing Birmingham and the Black Country. ("Black" describes its 19C industrial condition.)
'
By the way, a point sometimes missed is that not all English counties carry that "shire" suffix, originally an administrative term.
Similarly with its Southerly neighbouring county and county-town, [i]Gloucestershire [/i]and [i]Gloucester[/i] - the "est" syllable left unsaid.
The neighbour to the NE, though, [i]Warkwickshire[/i], tends to be pronounced with a hard "orr" as in "on", rather than "ark+w" in the middle. I assume this is because "Warricksher / ~shire" is easier to enunciate than the purely phonetic way!
Then travelling on, Leicestershire and Leicester follow the same silent-"est", then we reach Nottinghamshire & Nottingham which most English do pronounce pretty well phonetically, fully and with first- or second- syllable stress. The "ham" syllable is always slightly weakened, often with a touch of a hard "u" to the sound.
Generally, the "shire" root is spoken as a short "sher" sound, slightly longer "shire" or a hybrid "shiur", again depending on the speaker's accent.
I have seen a SW thread titled something like "I love the British accent", prompting British readers to ask, "[i]Which[/i] British accent?". Apart from the very distinct English, Welsh, Irish and Scottish generics, there are very many regional accents and dialects. England alone would fit in a rectangle not much more than 450 miles long by 250 or so wide, but has an enormous range of accents that can differ noticeably across only a few tens of miles, or even across a conurbation like Greater London or the West Midlands county encompassing Birmingham and the Black Country. ("Black" describes its 19C industrial condition.)
'
By the way, a point sometimes missed is that not all English counties carry that "shire" suffix, originally an administrative term.
Crazychick · 36-40, F
@ArishMell It's Warwickshire, not Warkwickshire.
ArishMell · 70-79, M
@Crazychick Thank you for spotting my error!
- That's my typing, not my odd blend of ancestral Notts, native Hants and off-cumden Dorset accents with touch of Yorks dialect!
Incidentally I was in Warwickshire (pauses to confirm spelling) for a few days last year, and noticed many locals seemed to have little discernible accent - suggesting to me that of course they do, but my own is very close to theirs.
- That's my typing, not my odd blend of ancestral Notts, native Hants and off-cumden Dorset accents with touch of Yorks dialect!
Incidentally I was in Warwickshire (pauses to confirm spelling) for a few days last year, and noticed many locals seemed to have little discernible accent - suggesting to me that of course they do, but my own is very close to theirs.
