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For those whose curiosity was piqued: Reading - /rɛdɪŋ/ or "red-ing" Leicester - /lɛstər/ or "less-ter" No idea how they worked out that second one, and Wiki
by jdmichal 10y ago
For those whose curiosity was piqued:
Reading - /rɛdɪŋ/ or "red-ing"
Leicester - /lɛstər/ or "less-ter"
No idea how they worked out that second one, and Wikipedia isn't too helpful there.
- throwanem 10y agoProbably just elision for convenience in speech - the same reason the name of the state in which I live is usually pronounced "Merlin". Perhaps ironically, the only person I've met who pronounced the full name was an English fellow.
- CPLX 10y agoHey that's where I am from too. I call it merelan though.
- throwanem 10y agoThe second vowel sound seems to occupy a continuum of elision from "a" through "ə" to complete absence, depending on the speaker, the rate of speech, the degree of sobriety, and the phase of the moon.
- eru 10y agoMight be Schwa-deletion at work? It's a wonder we don't call the first two month Jan'ry and Feb'ry, yet.