How to pronounce "England"?

Dena Jo

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Nov 18, 2002, 3:41:25 PM11/18/02

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"Geoff Pearson" <gspe...@btopenworld.com> wrote:

> I have a standard RP accent, am aged over 50, and pronounce the word
> "England" so that the "eng" sounds the same as "ing" on the end of verbs.

I pronounce it as you do, but I'm Leftpondian, so take it for what it's
worth.

--
Dena Jo

Geoff Pearson

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Nov 18, 2002, 3:36:40 PM11/18/02

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I have a standard RP accent, am aged over 50, and pronounce the word
"England" so that the "eng" sounds the same as "ing" on the end of verbs. I

am beginning to notice people pronounce it to match "eng" in "length".
Aubrey Manning did it on "Talking Landscapes" on BBC4 tonight and his accent
is otherwise much like mine - I have met him.

When did this vowel change occur and why or is it a regional accent
re-surfacing from RP suppression?

Dave Swindell

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Nov 18, 2002, 5:25:20 PM11/18/02

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In article <arbj5o$h7bvv$1...@ID-120835.news.dfncis.de>, Geoff Pearson
<gspe...@btopenworld.com> writes

I doubt that it is a genuine vowel change. I have detected all sorts of
such peccadilloes over the years. The strangest was a short period
during the early 1970s when many broadcasters pronounced "canal" as
"car-narl". A more recent one was "may-YOR'l" for "mayoral" during the
London mayoral elections. Either sanity will return, or England will,
indeed, return to a pronunciation it had centuries ago, as you heard it
from Aubrey Manning. It is up to history to decide.

--
Dave dswindel...@tcp.co.uk Remove my gerbil for email replies.

Bike's are bosh, PC's are pointless, and the 1990's are nuts!
Bikes are great, PCs are super, and the 1990s are the time to be!
Save the apostrophe! Get 'em right! If in doubt, leave 'em out!!

Howard G Walker

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Nov 18, 2002, 6:55:01 PM11/18/02

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Geoff Pearson wrote:

As it was named for the Angles, I suggest that "ANG land" would be close to the
truth. Of course, a BBC newsreader would discount my opinion.

John Dean

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Nov 18, 2002, 7:53:25 PM11/18/02

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I have a Manchester accent and say ing-land. And I always shall.
--
John Dean
Oxford
De-frag to reply

meirman

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Nov 19, 2002, 2:59:26 AM11/19/02

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In alt.english.usage on 18 Nov 2002 20:41:25 GMT Dena Jo
<den...@csNOSPAM.com> posted:

Ditto, ditto, ditto.

s/ meirman If you are emailing me please
say if you are posting the same response.

Born west of Pittsburgh Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis, 7 years
Chicago, 6 years
Brooklyn NY 12 years
Baltimore 17 years

Peter Duncanson

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Nov 19, 2002, 8:30:07 AM11/19/02

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On Tue, 19 Nov 2002 00:53:25 -0000, "John Dean" <john...@frag.lineone.net>
wrote:

For John Dean, in the words of the wartime song, "There'll Always Be An
Ingland". I agree.

--
Peter D.
UK
(posting from a.e.u)

John Dean

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Nov 19, 2002, 9:23:32 AM11/19/02

to

And I like Ralph McTell's 'England' :

''What is it about you
makes me feel this way?
When I'm leaving you
When I'm coming home
I'm lost for words to say''

Roberta Davies

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Nov 23, 2002, 5:28:23 AM11/23/02

to

Probably a new pronunciation taking its cue from the spelling. Every
now and then there seems to be a wave of spelling-based pronunciations.
Sorry I can't think of any right now, but I've just woken up.

Robbie

Alec Owen

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Dec 2, 2002, 3:48:32 PM12/2/02

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"Roberta Davies" <roberta...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:3DDF5847...@ntlworld.com...

I have been away from the country for many years but regularly watch
programs (programmes)
from the BBC and listen to the BBC news and am au fait with modern UK usage.
I find that the opposite is also the case.
Nowadays "medieval" (mediaeval) is now pronounced with three syllables
whereas in my youth it was always
pronounced with four. The "d" seems to be disappearing and now "water" has a
d sound which was never there
before my cheeks met a razor and "Wednesday" now always has 2 syllables.

A Owen

Krayy

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Dec 2, 2002, 4:11:21 PM12/2/02

to

>> Geoff Pearson wrote:
>> > I have a standard RP accent, am aged over 50, and pronounce the
>> > word "England" so that the "eng" sounds the same as "ing" on the
>> > end of
> verbs. I
>> > am beginning to notice people pronounce it to match "eng" in
>> > "length". Aubrey Manning did it on "Talking Landscapes" on BBC4
>> > tonight and his
> accent
>> > is otherwise much like mine - I have met him.
>> >
>> > When did this vowel change occur and why or is it a regional accent
>> > re-surfacing from RP suppression?
>>

I prefer to follow the standard set by Roger Miller in his song "England
Swings", where he pronounced it as "Inger-lind".

david56

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Dec 3, 2002, 5:56:15 PM12/3/02

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Alec Owen wrote:

> I have been away from the country for many years but regularly watch
> programs (programmes)
> from the BBC and listen to the BBC news and am au fait with modern UK usage.
> I find that the opposite is also the case.
> Nowadays "medieval" (mediaeval) is now pronounced with three syllables
> whereas in my youth it was always

Not in Warrington it isn't. Med-ee-ee-val. The three syllable version
sounds rather affected.

--
David
... there ain't no Devil, it's just God when he's drunk ...
=====
The address is valid today, but I will change it to keep ahead of the
spammers.

Dave Swindell

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Dec 4, 2002, 3:57:39 AM12/4/02

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In article <3DED368F...@ntlworld.com>, david56
<bass.b...@ntlworld.com> writes

>Alec Owen wrote:
>
>> I have been away from the country for many years but regularly watch
>> programs (programmes)
>> from the BBC and listen to the BBC news and am au fait with modern UK usage.
>> I find that the opposite is also the case.
>> Nowadays "medieval" (mediaeval) is now pronounced with three syllables
>> whereas in my youth it was always
>
>Not in Warrington it isn't. Med-ee-ee-val. The three syllable version
>sounds rather affected.
>

I never say it any other way, sounds perfect to me, and it's medi-eeval.
And I deplore the modern elimination of the diphthong.