To pronounce this street correctly

[wherethestreetshaveasillyname]

I just moved into small business premises locally and people have been asking for the address.

Now the street shares the name with a North American location that’s semi well-known in the UK - to avoid outing myself, let’s call it Illinois Street (it’s similar).

But every time I pronounce it (ill-ih-NOY street), I get blank looks. Then, when I describe the location, I get “ah you mean ill-ih-nwahh street!” and a raised ‘are you a bit stupid’ eyebrow.

What should I do?

A)keep saying it correctly

B) say it like everyone else seems to- but then look weird when I encounter someone who says it correctly

C) do as I am currently and long-windedly doing and say “oh it’s on Illinois Street, or, ill-i-nwa street as people seem to pronounce it round here.

(this is life-and-death and not at all lighthearted btw)

It's definitely Annick. Lots of places in Northumberland aren't pronounced how you'd think.

Anyone mentioned Frome? It rhymes with broom, not Rome.

Poughill in Cornwall is pronounce Puffle.

And the one in Devon is pronounced 'powill'!

Thar's right.

Accept that the pronunciation most people use where you are is correct for this street. It happens the other way round all the time, e.g. the Cairo in the US is KAY-ro and the Norwich there is Nor-witch and so on.

i can’t believe Slaithwaite hasn’t cropped up yet (Slahwit - said quickly). that one blew my mind.
i live on a street named after a european town that no bugger has ever heard of and is a right mouthful to say. security checks on the phone are quite funny when people try and pronounce the street name. you can feel the pause as they prepare to have a bash!
i won’t say what it is as we are the only street in the world called this so as outing as it is possible to be

Yes - Ansty has the long Y! I only found out about Horsted Keynes myself recently. I’m not a native Sussexer.

We were briefly tourists in Brechin last year… breaking up a drive from Glasgow to Banff, we decided to stop there for lunch and a mooch around. Turns out Brechin isn’t great for lunch options, or mooching options, to be honest, but we did get excellent pie from a local bakery, and free parking, because the payment machine had gone kaput.

My local cinema is called the Scala. It’s pronounced Scale-ah to rhyme with sailor not Scar-la to rhyme with parlour here, otherwise you’d get looks.

Gotham in Nottingham is not pronounced in the same way as Batman etc do it either.

You're verging on arrogance here, OP. You've just moved into the premises but you are insisting you are right and local people are wrong. Take your cue from the people who are actually local and know how it's pronounced locally. That's what matters, not how a visiting American might. Your example, Illinois, is actually a French place name (it was founded by the French) and I'm certain no French person would pronounce it Illanoy anyway.

Ooh, that's a shame for hilarity reasons; but probably a sensible thing to do for practical reasons!

Oops, I probably would have incredibly taken a guess at something sounding very unpleasant!

Don't go to Ponteland.

Wow - there isn't even a street IN that European town, or close by to it, with that name?!

It's a frenchification of a native american name, @Floatlikeafeather2 , and I'd take a look at myself before accusing the OP of arrogance.

I got the impression that OP was local to the area, but not to the place named in the street name.

How about Kirkby (Merseyside)?

Or Cambois.

One that caught me out in Gloucestershire was 'Beauchamp'; I was saying 'Bow-shom' [sort of French sounding.] In the end, I wrote it down. The guy said 'Oh. you mean 'Beecham'. Then there is Frome, which doesn't rhyme with 'home' but is pronounced FROOM. It was years before I discovered Worstun Lane, in Birmingham was, in fact, Warstone Lane. So listen to the locals and go with them.

We live in a small market town in the south east which is a tourist destination. It has two pronunciations.

There is a village down the road which also has two pronunciations.

Another not much further on.... and so it goes on.

Anyway, you know that 'famous' street in London, Conduit Street. The correct pron of that is apparently Cundit Street. So there!

My friends live there!!!!! Ponty land 😂

I like to pretend I'm French driving there.... cambwaaaa... I can't even remember what the correct way is... I have been told many times and refuse to listen ha

@IfYouPutASausageInItItsNotAViennetta
nope! i’ve checked. there is this european town with a complicated name and our street in a village in England.

PontEEEEland!

Cammus, apparently. I tend to forget, too.