New Zealand just smiles.
Technically two double Ls, but the question is moot if you can’t pronounce even one pair.
It’s a proper name pronounced “Smith’
Amusingly, one of the most commonly mis-pronounced place names in England is “Frome”. At first sight everyone says Froam, but it’s actually Froom.
Icelandic draws another card…
Vaðlaheiðarvegavinnuverkfærageymsluskúrslyklakippuhringurinn
(Okay, not a place name - more of a car crash of an entire sentence into one word)
None of this is as difficult as the word “scone.”
Burgh-by-Sands would be up there too, if anyone knew where it was. It’s where Edward I of England died and an alien visited, if that helps.
It’s pronounced Bruff-by-Sands.
After pronouncing that I have a need for a refreshing carbonated beverage.
The big stone in the chair or the smaller stone-like baked good on the table?
That’s rock cakes for both, Shirley?
Specifically, the little edible ones with the contentious jam/cream order debate.
Never!
I wonder how the world’s newscasters are doing with Gqeberha.
Rating time:
UK: 2/10 Barely even tried. Got to admire the conviction with which it was said though.
Italy: 9/10 Very good. Exactly what it would sound like if I tried to fake an Italian accent.
Japan 8/10 Nice try! Japanese speakers are at a serious disadvantage here especially with that last syllable.
France: 7/10 Fails to stick the landing. Extra points for trying again.
@anon61221983 posted a good pronunciation video (this one has a different take on the trailing -ll), but maybe I can help break down why the spelling is such an eye-full
Eyjafjallajökull is a compound word, Eyja + fjella + jökull = Island + mountain + glacier. My understanding is that Icelandic always has the emphasis on the first syllable of the word, and on the first syllable of each…subword?..of a compound word. So that’s where the stress pattern of EH-ya-FYEH-tla-JO-kutl comes from.
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