How are you with the correct pronunciation of Dublin place names?
Despite Dublin's popularity among tourists from all over the globe, a new observation by online Spanish lessons platform, Preply highlights that many of Dublin's famed landmarks tend to baffle visitors regarding their pronunciation.
In a fresh report, Dublin's most frequently mispronounced place names and ranked them according to the pronunciation challenge they present.
Top 16 Most Mispronounced Locations in Dublin (plus a handy pronunciation guide!):
- Donaghmede: Don't be thrown by the spelling. Just picture a "Donna" savoring "Mead” and pronounce it as “donna-mead.”
- Chapelizod: It’s not "Chapel-Lizard" despite appearances. Instead, it’s "Chapel-iz-ode."
- Leopardstown: Discard thoughts of big cats; it's simpler as “Lep-erds-town.”
- Ranelagh: Forget "renelagh," go with the easier "Ran-ah-lah."
- Ongar: Neither ONgar nor onGar. Say “on-guar,” similar to 'guard' minus the 'd'.
- D'Olier Street: Not "doll-i-ay"; it's pronounced as "duh-leer."
- Tallaght: The Irish tradition of silent letters comes into play here; pronounce it simply as “Talla.”
- Clonee: It doesn’t have any relation to George Clooney. Go instead for “Clon-knee.”
- Aungier Street: Fancy a French origin? Aim for a sound rhyming with danger; say “ain-jer.”
- Dorset Street: Dorset or Dor-sett Street? It's a bit of a controversial one. To side-step accent confusion, stick with: "dor-sett" street.
- Donabate: Even though it lacks the "gh" found in Donaghmede, the pronunciation remains the same. It’s pronounced as "Donnagh-bait."
- Dun Laoghaire: We all got a chuckle from Hilary Swank's mispronunciation of Dun Laoghaire in P.S. I Love You, but honestly, who can fault her? A true pronunciation test, it's correctly said as “dun-leery.”
- Conyngham Road: Despite the unusual spelling, it’s more simply pronounced as "Cunningham Road."
- Amiens Street - Quite straightforward when you know it: say it as "aim-i-enz."
- Parnell Street - Emphasising the latter half, the correct pronunciation is "par-NELL."
- Howth - To keep things simple, think "how" rhyming with "bow" from "bowtie," resulting in “hoe-th.”
Catch James Patrice & Suzanne Kane weekdays from 10am, only on 98FM ?
