Welsh pronunciations on R4

[KirstenBlest]

Will someone please tell presenters on Radio 4 that y is NOT a 'oo' sound.
Last Words yesterday: 'Ann Cloyd MP for Coonon Valley. '
It's not Coomry.
It's not Plide Coomry.
😠
Cynon is pronounced CUN-on, cun like in Scunthorpe. How hard is that to understand?
Y is NEVER a oo sound.

They’d certainly struggle with ysbyty (uhs-buh-tee)! I agree that Cymraeg for idiots should be compulsory for British broadcasters.

Totally agree! It’s infuriating as they seem to manage many other tricky names. Laziness

@BeardieWeirdie , It's not that they don't try to get it right - it's that someone seems to have decided that on the BBC Cymru is pronounced Coomry/Cwmri and Ynys Môn as Eennees Mon/Inis Mon. I wonder who is advising them.

The worst one was Gwenlli (Is it a name? I thought it was Gwenllian) said as Gwentchy. (NR on Today ages ago)
They are starting to get Geraint right now. I heard Nia said as Nigh-a about a year ago. Grrr!

Googled how to pronounce Cymru and it says Come-ree. Does that mean Cum-ree, comb ree, or what? This thread doesn't actually answer the question either. I'd like to get it right.

@Footle , Cymru is pronounced CUM-ry
CUM as in you-know-what and ry like in Bryn (pr. Brinn)

Yes, Gwenlli is a pretty popular name for girls now, I know of a few.
They've absolutely mangled Rhun ap Iorwerth's name so many times. And they can never manage Guto! (Mind you, Guto Harri started referring to himself as Gittow after a while...)

I think it was Katie Razzall I heard recently saying Ghee Toe Hari (like in Mata Hari). The chap's been well known for ages.

Gwenlli shows up on darkgreener, there seem to be 24 of them. Seems a bit made up to me (Gwen+Enlli). Gwenllian is a very old name but the stress is on the lli not the Gwen.

Guto isn't difficult. Guto Bebb is pronounced GITT-ob Ebb (ob like in object)
Hari is pronounced Harry

I hear you. Regular BBC mispronunciation of 'taoiseach' drives me mad. No, it's not 'tee-sack'. And how hard is it to say 'Donegal'???

Sorry, what is the difference in pronunciation with Cum-ree and Come-ree, please?

And why don't you email and tell them?

They'll more likely read and change the pronunciation that if you whinge about it with a load of randoms on here.

I imagine people are told, and practise it then sometimes forget and are subject to human error. I know I would if there were names from a potential 7,000+ languages to contend with.

@floribunda18 , a pp thought the come might be pronounced as comb.
the ry bit isn't really ree, it's like the ry in Bryn.

@Paperclipped , I'd say taoiseach as Tee-ooch (ch like in loch). Is that correct? Friend from Donegal says it as Donneh Gaul, I think.

I would pronounce it more like Teeshook, but am not sure that is right.

A lot of it depends on the speaker's accent.

People from Northern Ireland would say something like Weeeeshtminsterrr (to my ears) than Westminster, for example.

@floribunda18 , have you ever complained to the BBC? You get a reply saying pretty much that Auntie knows best.
Welsh is an official language of the UK, most of the 7000+ languages you refer to aren't. Cymru is one of the 4 countries that make up the UK.

You might get that sort of reply but I'm sure they would take it into consideration. Especially if was picked up on Feedback or something like that. You could try tweeting them.

You're already doing better than the average BBC newsreader, @KirstenBlest -- you're right on the soft 'ch' ending. Irish doesn't have clipped consonants. The 't' sound at the beginning is also soft, more like the 'th' sound at the beginning of 'thee'.

And the 'aoi' sound (though I wouldn't expect most foreigners to get this, and am more than happy if they get the initial and terminal sounds right) is a triphthong, not a flat 'ee' sound.

Also, regional to an extent, also, like lots of Irish -- the Ulster swallows the ending to an extent and flattens the triphthong:

https://www.teanglann.ie/en/fuaim/taoiseach

I say it like an Ulster person! Sort of, with a Manchester accent anyway.

Sorry, @Paperclipped I managed to miss out the sh
I meant Tee-shooch, like the Connacht one.

I'd have to hear (and see) the th sound.

I think you should record that. And probably put out a rap single.

They pronounce Llanelli as lan-eth-lee. I'm sure non Welsh/Welsh speakers can pronounce LL in a word of they can be bothered to try or do they have a different oral set up to the Welsh?

@TroysMammy , it's difficult to learn new sounds. Some people just can't seem to hear any difference between Welsh CH and LL, THL and LL, or between TH and DD, or even between N and NG.

I could have complained about how whoever reads the sports news saying Foss-Lass, but it doesn't bother me too much. It doesn't sounds right but not enough to annoy me.

Cymru said as COOM-ree does because they seem to consistently get it wrong.

Ann Cloyd, Coonon Valley MP? Clwyd could be a bit tricky, I suppose, but COONon was way off mark.

I've heard Rhun ap Iorwerth said in a strange way and had to rewind to get the context to know who they meant.