[mrjh]

A bit tangential, but 'Leicester' is one of those wonderful British place-names that doesn't really follow any English pronunciation rules and you just have to know the right one...

In this case 'Leicester' is pronounced 'Lester'.

[JdeBP]

All of the recent fuss about Welsh placenames only serves to highlight that places in England, in contrast, are usually named in languages that no-one speaks any more. At least Welsh is still spoken.

Latin gives us, via Old English, the "-cester" in all of the placenames mentioned elsethread, as well as "-chester" and "-caster". Old English gives us all of the "ton"s, "hamp"s, and whatnot. The "win-" in "Winchester" is Celtic, as are the "dor-" in "Dorchester" and the "man-" in "Manchester". The "lei-" in "Leicester" means an unploughed meadow, a.k.a. a lay or lea.

* https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lay#Etymology_6

When one isn't a native Latin or Old English or Celtic speaker and cannot even understand placenames in England, it does seem a little silly, and missing a huge elephant in the room, to be worrying about Welsh placenames. (-:

This is why the names don't follow Modern English pronunciation rules. They aren't actually Modern English.

[russdill]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOd3lwluQIw "it just might be a shibboleth"

[vincent-manis]

I was born in England, but we emigrated to Canada when I was 5. A few years later, we returned for a visit. My mother and I were on the Tube when I announced loudly `Ooh look, Mummy, the next stop is Lye-ces-ter Square!'. She shushed me and said she didn't want the other passengers to think we were Canadians.

[technothrasher]

We've got a Leicester here in Massachusetts which is also pronounced 'Lester'. It is just West of Worcester, which is pronounced 'Wuster'. But they become 'Lestah' and 'Wustah' with a Boston accent.

[weevil]

True to their namesakes then; Leicester is pronouned by the locals as 'Lestah' or 'Lestoh'.

[kinbiko]

In the UK instead of “booster shot” they say “borcester shot”.

[laputan_machine]

Towcester (Toaster) , Gloucester (Gloh-ster), Worcester (Wuh-ster)...

cester -> ster (or 'stɜː' round my end)

[gokhan]

Bournemouth Worchester Southwark ...

[throwaway426079]

Marylebone...

Mornington Crescent!

(No pronunciation trickery on that last one, it is just the name of an absurdist parlor game)

[timthorn]

...Happisburgh

[benjamta]

Ha! Norfolk's a treasure trove of interesting place names. Wymondham also trips outsiders up.

I was here for almost 20 years before I learnt that Heighham is pronounced as just "Ham".

[UncleSlacky]

Woolfardisworthy.

[meekaaku]

Gloucester Southwark (pronounced sutherk) Warwick (pronounced wo-rik)

[jjgreen]

Locals call it "Lesstaaah"