North/south divide - girls names pronounced dramatically differently?

[Stulbam]

Like Sandra, Alexandra - they'd be pronounced with a 'sand' sound up north, but a 'sarrnd' sound down south. Not just a subtle difference in emphasis - a black and white divide.

I've spent the last month straining my brain in disbelief that I can't think of a single other example for girls (I've come up with Grant/ 'Grarrnt' for boys). My husband claims there's no other examples (exarrmples!) - surely this can't be?!

Help me prove him wrong Mumsnet?!

[SuperBeagle]

Tbtt Which state are you from? As far as I'm aware, only SA uses that pronunciation.

[CourtneyLoveIsMySpiritAnimal]

Shaun/Sean

There have been a few threads about posters in some parts of the country not getting the joke of 'Shaun The Sheep' i.e Shorn the sheep because of the difference in pronunciation.

Also, there was a thread recently where posters almost came to blows over the pronunciation of Frances/Francis.

[CourtneyLoveIsMySpiritAnimal]

When I was a kid I knew a Naomi, her parents were very well to do and said it was not pronounced “Nay-o-mi” or “Ny-o-mi” but more like “Nairmi”, with less emphasis on the “O” sound. To be more posh

I knew a Naomi that was pronounced 'Nay-mee' (Like Amy but with an N). I didn't realise for years that she spelled it 'Naomi'. I don't think her parents were posh though. I think they liked how it looked without knowing how it sounded

[DiegoMadonna]

I don't think it's anything to do with poshness. Some people put the emphasis on the first syllable so it's NAY-o-me rather than nay-OH-me. As such, the oh sound gets shortened a bit.

[reetgood]

We’ve got a southern Charlotte in the family, and the way I pronounce her name cracks my Northern partner up. SharLOT not sharlet

My reasoning is that lotte makes the o an ‘oh’ instead of an ‘uh’. Cos it’s a French name and thats the sound otte makes in french.

[CountFosco]

We are Scottish living in England, we rejected the name Kirsten (pronounced KURR-sten) because I couldn't cope with the non-rhotic pronounciation which to me sounds like you are straining to do a poo: Keh-sten.

So, any name with a vowel followed by an r will be pronounced differently by the rhotic Scots and the non-rhotic English.

Speaking of Shaun the Sheep, I also never understood 'Fah, a long long way to run' because to a rhotic speaker Fah and Far are not homophones. Also, Orchard Toys, Farmers and pyjamas don't rhyme for most English speakers so stop putting it in your rhyming jigsaw.

[pigeondujour]

I did a double take when I first heard 'Pearl' in a Scottish accent... Thought it was 'Peril'!!

I avoid ever saying the name Carl in England for this reason, it really does sound ridiculous and like I'm saying Carol. I know lots in England but none in Scotland - I wonder if people don't call their sons it there.

[Dolwar]

Lancelottie....Francis/Frances....they are two different names. Francis is the boys' name, Frances is a girls' name. So nothing to do with north/south divide.

[CappuccinoCake]

However I say farmers and pyjamas (southern) they rhyme. And yes I'm here sounding out all the above words...

[BrawneLamia]

Cassandra

Also, not a north south thing, but my 4 year old tells me off for calling the frozen character 'anna' not 'ah-na'.

[TinklyLittleLaugh]

I have two daughters with "ie." ending names, similar to Katie. Unfortunately when we moved up north they became Kateh, which I am not keen on at all.

And slightly outing, but my southern niece named her baby Daisy. I did actually cringe at northern accented DD crooning "Oh you little sweetie Derzeh" at her.

Disclaimer; I am an adopted northerner and wouldn't live anywhere else now. Still not quite sure about our local accent though.

[RebeccaWrongDaily]

how do people disagree on Frances? Surely it's fran (like in Frank) with siss. Or do those people say Frarnk?

[DiegoMadonna]

No Rebecca, but people in southern England do pronounce France with a long ahh sound (I'm sure you've heard people pronouncing grass, bath and laugh in the same way), and Frances follows that pattern.

Frank does not.

[Heratnumber7]

PAUL-ine rather than Paul-EEN

MICH-elle instead of Mich-ELLE

JAN-ine instead of Jan-EEN

[OneMoreTune]

Beware- Lucy is Lerr-see up nirth

[OneMoreTune]

North!

[RebeccaWrongDaily]

oh, i live in north. I know that Francis is pronounced Fran (to rhyme with Ban) siss, trying to work out how south people think they can be right with Frarnsiss.... or frarnsess.

[squoosh]

'how do people disagree on Frances? Surely it's fran (like in Frank) with siss. Or do those people say Frarnk?'

There was a thread.It went on for approximately 98 years. All about the pronunciation of Frances...

It was almost as though the idea that different people had different accents was a whole new concept.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/baby_names/2974801-how-would-you-pronounce-frances

[Lancelottie]

I think you missed my point, Dolwar - I was offering the OP two names, one male, one female, for her little list. Both would be pronounced differently north to south.

[RebeccaWrongDaily]

oh blimey Squoosh!

[CappuccinoCake]

Brawne- but her name is pronounced Ah-na.

At uni we had a Swedish girl in our college and again pronounced Ah-na. It would have been rude to Anglisize it!

[ArbitraryName]

(Scottish) DS1 had an encounter yesterday with an english teacher who refused to believe that roar and raw are homonyms. In fact, he said he couldn’t figure out at all what the homonyms were supposed to be. He even demonstrated to the teacher that they sound nothing alike (other than starting with r) but she was insistent that he was simply wrong.

They put this sort of shit in exams.

[DullAndOld]

roar and raw are homophones not homonyms!!
Homo = same
nym = name

[DullAndOld]

oh ok it could be homonym.
Anyway to my ear, raw and roar are identical..:)
But then I come from London.
Perhaps the books are culturally biased towards London and the south east.

[FetchezLaPhoque]

Arbitrary I went mad at my son's spelling homework where saw and sore were presented as homophones. I think to non-rhotic speakers they are but my son now thinks that saw is pronounced with an "r" sound To me they are totally different. Julia Donaldson books are full of rhymes that don't rhyme in my accent.