Whats Australias hardest place name?
Wooloomooloo? Its certainly hard to spell. Canowindra? Theres just a few too many letters that arent pronounced. Oodnadatta? We do like our different o sounds.
According to the rest of the world, the place name that trips non-locals more than any other is Melbourne.
Mel-bn, not Mel-bourne. Gets them every time.
online language tutors at Preply.com analysed 谷歌 search data for 68 well-travelled and well-known places to determine which names are the worst pronounced worldwide.
The Victorian capital city made the list alongside Brisbane and Bondi
Tutor Nicolette Filson compiled the list, ranking the cities based on how often people were googling the pronunciation. The theory is, that the more times a pronunciation is 谷歌d, the harder it must be to say.
Some of the results might surprise you.
1. Cannes, France
Correct: KAN
As any native French speaker will be able to tell you, an s on the end of a French word is generally silent.
So its not CON or CONZ or CANS. Its KAN.
It might be that this one TOPs the list because so many people have mispronounced the iconic Cannes Film Festival in the past.
And lets be honest, the French are brutal when it comes to their proper pronunciations and the apparent butchering of their language.
The sound of fingernails on a chalkboard is badly spoken French
2. River Thames, England
Correct: TEMZ
The TH make a hard sound, but its pretty usual to look at it and assume it must make the usual soft th sound. So many other words use the soft th. Theatre, three, thou language is uncomfortable to learn.
Couple with your weird ts, youve got an AMES thats spoken like an EMZ. Cruel. Why is it this way? Preply believes it has something to do with King George I of great Britain. He was German and unable to say the soft th sound. So he pronounced it Temmes.
What? You going to tell the king hes wrong?
3. Yo百度竞价推广ite, USA
Correct: yoh-SEH-muh-dee.
Well, even former US President Donald Trump couldnt get that one right ... Despite it being Americas most famous national park ...
4. Louvre Museum, France
Correct: LOO-vr
Very few English words will ever combine the letters V-R-E in one, so its uncomfortable to our English-speaking mouths to say a word that does.
Keep that r sound lightly rolling, dont hit it too hard. Its not loo-VRA or loo-VER. Its loo-vr.
5. Versailles, France
Correct: vair-SIGH
Oh, end-of-word s, we meet again! But theres just a whole heap of letters here that arent doing much work.
Wher did those Ls, that E, and that S go at the end? Its a lot of letters for just two syllables.
6. Seychelles, East Africa
Correct: Say-shellz
The popular tourist destination in the African archipelago actually has a surprisingly easy name to say.
Nicolette Filson recommends you use this fancy little memory line to pronounce it properly:
Sally sells seashells in Seychelles.
7. Ibiza, Spain
Correct: ee-BEE-tha
The Spanish island has welcomed many visitors, and many, many pronounciations. But the correct way to say it, the way the Spanish do, is with a soft th sound at the end.
In Spanish-derivative languages, the zs are always softened.
8. Phuket, Thialand
Correct: poo-KET
Look, this one will get you into trouble if you try it phonetically. Thats not an f sound, and its not an u sound, as you might think. Its poo-KET and nothing else!
9. Antigua, Guatemala
Correct: an-TEE-guh
The u is silent at the end of the word, and honestly, thats something we are used to with words like tongue. it sits there at the end with another vowel that does most of the work.
10. Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Correct: Du-BAY
Some say it doo-BYE, but its more of a doo-BAY sound according to the locals. Both have become accpetable forms of pronunciation, but the more correct one is the one the locals use.
But hey, 85 per cent of Dubai is made up of ex-patriates and immigrants, so you probably wont turn too many heads if you pronounce it the anglicised way.
11. Oaxaca, Mexico
Correct: wah-HAH-kah
Sorry, what? How does a word spelt like that sound so radically different?
Its a native Aztec Nahuatl word. Much of the Mexican language has derived from this dialect. According to the rules of the ancient language, the x is a h, the oa is a wah, and the ca is a kah.
Put that together and you end up with wah-hah-kah. Simple.
12. Maldives, Indonesia
Correct: MULL-deevz
And you thought that one would be easy, didnt you? Its mull-deeves, not mall-dives.
13. Laos
Its like the word blouse, but without the b. Some pronounce it without the s to end, and this is also acceptable.
14. Beijing, China
Correct: bay-JING
Many pronounce the Chinese city as beige-ing. In fact, during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and this years Winter Olympics, there were many commentators who did in fact popularise the beige-ing pronounciation.
But its wrong. Bay-JING. Thats it.
15. Seoul, South Korea
Correct: SUH-ool.
Thats a city that has soul. So much soul thats pretty much how you say its name. SOLE or SUH-ool, not SEE-ool or see-YULE.
16. Reykjavik, Iceland
Correct: RAKE-yah-veek
The Scandinavians love their jumbles of sounds. The name comes from Viking roots. It wasnt only village plunder they were hoarding, they also had quite the thing for consonant lettering.
Still, the Welsh have them beat with the Anglesey island village by the name of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.
Apparently people dont 谷歌 how to prounce that. They just faint at the sight of it and never attempt.
Now, lets not get started on New Zealands Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhen.
Cruelty, thy name is [redcated because we cant pronounce it anyway].
17. Worcester, England
Correct: Wuss-tuh
The United Kingdom is the land of optional syllables, as Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings described it.
Rooster sooster? Warsha chester? Worst sister? WHAT IS THIS PLACE?
18. Budapest, Hungary
Correct: boo-da-PESHT
Black Widow said it best. Im pretty sure its Buda-pesht. It is, its Buda-pesht.
19. Qatar
Correct: KUH-ter
A q that isnt followed by a u is a strange sight to the English-speaker. Unless youre talking about Qantas.
Some sounds are just unique to the Arabic language, and this word is full of those sounds. So, the best an English-speaker can do, is aim for KUH-ter and try to avoid kuh-TAAR.
20. Edinburgh, Scotland
Correct: ED-in-bruh
This feels cruel. If Pittsburgh then why not Edin-burg? The Scottish dont like to waste time on unneccesary syllables, but at times they might like to add a few too. Theyre mavericks.
So, its ED-in-bruh or ED-in-bur-uh. Leave the berg well out of it.
