There are plenty of places across the city and beyond which may have you stumped
You’ve got to love our Brummie accent. The gentle rise and fall in our intonation as we speak each sentence, with our last word slowly, but surely facing away.
There have been times when Brumagem tongue has been criticised for being monotone. We don’t often win the most popular accent awards - but it is what it is.
And with the popularity of the likes of TV stars Alison Hammond and Joe Lycett - not to mention Tommy Shelby from the Peaky Blinders - a new dawn could be on the horizon for the appreciation of Brummie speak any day.
In the meantime there are some of our place names that people just don’t know how to pronounce.
In fact some people have problems with pronouncing Birmingham, itself. We don’t say - Burning ham. It’s not Bermin-um either. Bascially you just say Birming-um - the ‘h’ is silent, not the like American city in Alabama. It’s easy when you know how.
Here are 17 other place names in and around the city which are often misprounouced:
And with the popularity of the likes of TV stars Alison Hammond and Joe Lycett - not to mention Tommy Shelby from the Peaky Blinders - a new dawn could be on the horizon for the appreciation of Brummie speak any day.
5. Caldmore
Now this one could catch anyone out, unless you are familiar with the area. The best advice we can give if you want to speak of this suburb in Walsall is to ignore all the letters - and just say Karma!
6. Knowle
Over Solihull way you will find this affluent village full of village charm - and a few silent letters that can cause issues, if you’re not familiar with the area. It’s not K-nowl-e, or Now-le. Just ignore the ‘k’ and ‘e’ and say ‘Nowl’ (as in know - with an ‘l’ on the end).
7. Moseley
It’s one of the best known areas of Birmingham, considered the city’s cosmopolitan village and admired for its spacious homes, beautiful parks and lively nightlife. But people unfamiliar with south Birimingham have come unstuck when they first attempt to say it. So our top tip is to just say Mowz-ley (as in mow the lawn) not Mossley - don't get caught out by the vowel sound.
8. Nechells
There’s a bit of an urban myth that a BBC presenter once pronounced this as you would the Seychelles - saying Neychells. If you’ve ever been to the inner city Birmingham neighbourhood, you’ll be aware that it has little in common with the tropical Indian Ocean islands. And you pronounce it Nee-chells (a hard ‘n’ and ‘ch’)
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