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)

I live on a street that people can't pronounce. It's named after a local landmark. People also add extra letters to make it make sense to them, as in ill-inK-nwah!

I quietly correct them and, if local, mention the landmark.

Yes, I wouldn't expect everyone to have heard of High Wycombe, and round here I think people's first thought would be Wickham like the horse fair.

Yes! See also Pepys Road in SE14. My parents-in-law grew up round there and always talked about Peppies Road. My FIL lived as a boy on a nearby street, Avignon Road, which he pronounced with the stress on the second syllable and a hard g. I don't know if the locals there do that now.

Menzies - this is from Wikipedia.

The traditional Scottish pronunciation of the name is /ˈmɪŋɪs/ ⓘ MING-iss, reflecting the spelling of the name as Menȝies, using the letter ⟨ȝ⟩ (yogh). The current spelling arose when yogh fell out of use in the Scots language and was replaced with the similar-looking tailed variant (z) of the letter ⟨z⟩.[4]
However, outside Scotland the name is often given the pronunciation /ˈmɛnziːz/ MEN-zeez, reflecting the current spelling.

A Scottish limerick plays on the traditional pronunciation:

There wis a young lassie named Menzies,
That askit her aunt whit this thenzies.
Said her aunt wi a gasp,
"Ma dear, it's a wasp,
An you're haudin the end whaur the stenzies!"[a]

It also makes me think of the recent Hyundai adverts. Everyone I've ever heard say it says "Hi-un-die" but then the advert came out that we've all been saying it wrong and it should be "Hey-un-dai" (rough writing out)

Or how IKEA was always Eye-key-ah until recently when it's now Ick-Ear

Ever been to Mousehole? I got some mad looks there.

There's also a blackman (one word) road that everyone pronounced black man road. Didn't even register it wa done word until I was an adult haha.

@wherethestreetshaveasillyname I'd do this: "The address is Illinois St and I'm going to spell that for you." Get the "spelling" thing in before anyone can begin to question or knit their eyebrows.

Years ago, my girlfriend's granny used to go to The Orion bingo club. Not exactly outing myself there - it'll be dust now, and I'm sure there were hundreds of them. Making conversation, I said, "Do you go to the o-RI-on, then?" She looked aghast and replied, "Well, I've never heard it called that! Do you mean the O-rion?"

As they say, if a person mispronounces a word, it's because they've only read it - which is a good thing. Another girlfriend (I've had two! At least!) laughed her head off when I mispronounced "antithesis" in a fairly obvious way.

My ILs used to live near Theydon Bois (NE London)/Essex border, and called its Theydon ‘boys’ whereas I would have said it with French pronunciation - bwah. I still think they’re wrong but I had to change and call it Theydon boys or they would mock me. Just do whatever you need to do to get your deliveries to the correct address!

I haven’t read the full thread so this may have already been mentioned, my apologies for repeating if it has.
There’s a lovely historic town near where I live where streets and places are named after famous events and people. One of the roads is Pepys Street, after the diarist Samuel Pepys who had a strong connection with the town. Locally is it, and always has been, called Peppies Street. It’s actually quite charming and fits the local accent very well.
There are times where being pedantic might be appropriate. I would gently suggest that this isn’t one of those times. Do what the locals do and use their pronunciation.

I'm a bit confused by that one too!

HIGNFY last week was presented by American Roy Wood Jr and he got confused by Wycombe being pronounced as WICK-uhm and not as WHY-cuhm!

Exactly, I thought it was pronounced High Wickham!

Is that the one that's a couple of miles down the road from Borchthold Valley - pronounced 'Butt-head'?

Why do you think they are wrong? Do you think the residents of Beaulieu and Towcester are wrong too?

I'm glad you posted though. I've never known how to pronounce it.

In Oxford we pronounce Magdalen different to the rest of the country too.... gets people confused

I have been corrected for my pronunciation of Welsh names in the thousands. By non Welsh speakers. When I explain that Welsh is my first language people laugh. If any other language was treated with such disdain they would be called racist. But Welsh is considered a joke.

It is pronounced High Wickham. I'm really confused by who thinks it's pronounced differently

Put it in Google maps and see what she says. If Google agrees with the locals, go with the locals. If Google agrees with North American pronunciation, use that for non-locals and the other for locals.

I live in a city in the West of England, which I also prefer not to out, and have endless trouble like this. There's one place in particular which to me quite clearly should start with a sh- sound but is locally known with a s- sound instead, and I can't get it right and everyone laughs at me.

How is this life and death for you, though?

I think she was explaining how Wycombe was spelt, not pronounced.

The company always used to pronounce their name as High-un-die in the UK, until recently. Now they're claiming that WE got it wrong!

Same with Nestle, who used to pronounce their name as Ness-uhlls in their British adverts in decades gone by!

Beaulieu in Chelmsford is the one I’m thinking of. Pronounced Bewlee. In my head it’s Beau lieu with the French pronunciation (ain’t that beautiful a place…)

I use to live in a Knypersley Road. Bought the house on auction and didn’t know how to pronounce it until we mover in and asked a local.

Wisbech is another great place.

I’ve lived in a street for 30 years with a weird name which does not sound as it is spelled. Every. Single. Time. I say the address, be it to deliverers, taxi drivers, friends, over the phone, I say it, spell it and say where it is.
Its still grating three decades later.

Belvoir street in Leicester has similar issue. Pronounced Beaver.

I always remember a TV 'personality' with Welsh heritage but I gather is very much not a Welsh speaker (and who lives in England - maybe has done her whole life?) 'correcting' somebody who pronounced Plaid Cymru correctly, by insisting that the first word should be pronounced to rhyme with 'scythe', as though it were 'Plaidd'.

I agree it's horribly arrogant and often nasty when (usually thick) people try to gaslight you that you are wrong, when it's clearly them. I get it completely when English speakers don't know how to pronounce a word, or can't replicate a specifically Welsh sound; but to mock and insist that such a sound or pronunciation doesn't exist makes them sound like the stupidest person ever.

The one that always baffles me is Llandudno - where people will have a token go at the 'Ll' sound, but then merrily dismiss the other two vowel sounds, even when they've been told. If an English speaker can say the English words 'did' and 'not', they can pronounce the second and third syllables of Llandudno correctly.

Don’t know why, i am not from the area and just saw it written down and read bwah. 🤷‍♀️