How do you pronounce...

[toastedteacake]

Benbecula?

I have only heard it pronounced Ben beh 'queue' la. Emphasis on the 3rd syllable.

I was half watching a programme about Estate Agents last night and the guy working in Perthshire pronounced it differently. Ben beck you la, with emphasis on the 2nd syllable.

So is the 1st or 2nd pronounciation correct?

I thought it was the second, with emphasis on the second syllable

Always heard it with the stress on the 2nd syllable, yes.

No idea how it's pronounced as I've never heard the word before, but reading it for the first time I read it as Ben beck u la.

2nd.
And the 3rd is cu not qu.

What does it mean please? I've never even heard the word.
While we are on topic; is segue pronounced "seg-way"?

I used to live in the Outer Hebrides - in fact we were there last week!

Up there, there's no stress on any syllable, it's just straight Ben-Bec-You-la. If there ever is a stress it's on the "bec" part of it. Never heard it on the "you" bit, and I lived and worked there for 10 years.

But just start trying to pronounce Lionacleit (Linna-clit).

Thanks

Only ever read it or heard it in Southern England in reference to MoD testing ranges.

So can I still pronounce Kirkcudbright Ker coo bree, or have I misheard/ read that one too?

CuntyBunty - Benbecula is an island off the West coast of Scotland.

Thanks, Toasted.

Definitely stress "beck". I think that the people stressing the "cu" were probably just trying to think of the closest sounding English word and thinking "Barbecue"!

Yes. Segue is prounounced "seg way". I pronounved it seeg for years till someone explained .

Think somewhere along the way it has lost its umlaut.

Min-ooh-sha = minutiae.

Toastedteacake...your pronunciation of Kirkcudbright is correct.

I agree with weegie I have friends from there and it's just Ben beck you la with no particular emphasis.

I don't think it's linguistically possible to have a polysyllabic word with no stress on any syllable MrsBungle, though the stress may not be particularly pronounced/obvious.

Well that's what I mean jessie, surely it's obvious what I meant.