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Showing posts with label Brit Brit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brit Brit. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Paris, Perth, Georgia and Hillview road - Errors in Spelling names on Letters and in Introductions


Paris, Texas
In Europe, when you say Paris, everybody assumes you mean Paris, France. But in the USA, especially 

You are going to Paris? In Europe many people would assume you mean, Paris, France.
However, in the USA, especially in Texas, many people would assume you meant Paris, Texas.

Hicksville, USA
In the USA I met a man who said, "I am from Hicksville."

I had always heard of Hicksville as meaning a place which the Brits might also call 'the back of beyond'. I didn't know it was a real place. 

But I could tell by his glum expression, it was not a joke - unless he was depressed about where he lived. When I raised my eyebrows in query, he quickly said, "I don't live in Hicksville. I only work there."

Do people ever make amusing mistakes, misdirections, and mis-spellings of your name, workplace or home? I live in London, England, and have done so since childhood, on an off.

UK
In London, England, I lived in a Hillview Road and received a letter addressed to Millview Road. Another came to Illview Road. We had no mill. I was not ill. And our view was quite good. So I was able to laugh.

You might notice that in my blog posts I always specify London, England.

I once had a letter from the USA addressed to me in London, without specifying England. It reached me via another country. Which one?

Canada.
 

That's because there's another London in Canada. After I left America and went back to London, I received post months later, mailed from the USA with London as the last line of the address. The envelope had been delivered to Canada and redirected to the UK. Canada also has a river Thames. And a Shakespeare festival.

Lots of names from the UK have spread around the world. From York to New York. As far as Australia. Perth is in Scotland. Also the city in Western Australia.



Australia
Alliterative place names in Australia can provide hours of amusement. They did yesterday. They do today. They will tomorrow.

B
For example, a couple of place names in Australia: Bet Bet. Brit Brit. I bet people misunderstand or makes jokes about these. 



M
I have a friend in Singapore called Mi Mi. I thought she said me me. 

Do people get your name or place name wrong? Or make jokes? Which other funny names and place names do you know or have fun making jokes about?

  • About the Author
    Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
    I and my family have lived in the UK, Spain, the USA and Singapore. I am a travel writer and photographer and teacher of English A level and English as a foreign language.

    Please come to a Toastmasters International Club where the English clubs have a language evaluator or grammarian.  We also have French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Tamil and other language clubs based in Singapore and many more online around the world which because of Covid-19 are now meeting online.

    I am President of Braddell Heights Advanced, meeting every Wednesday, on zoom the first Wednesday of the month but the other Wednesdays are workshops on app 
  • https://www.facebook.com/angela.lansbury.121

  • learncool.sg

  • Or quicker to type and easier to remember: 

  •  tinyurl.com/BHACOOL

    Useful Websites
  • https://www.facebook.com/groups/polygotcommunity/

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_reduplicated_place_names

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_reduplicated_Australian_place_names

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_reduplicated_New_Zealand_place_names

  • https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogs
    https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/04/how-to-say-thank-you-in-several.html
    https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/05/introducing-yourself-in-english-spanish.html
    https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2020/01/second-set-of-portuguese-words.html Please share links to your favourite posts
    https://www.toastmasters.org/find-a-club
    translate.google.com
    duolingo.com
  • Australia's Amusing Alliterative (Reduplicated) Place Names



    Name of placeState or territoryMeaning and notes
    Bael BaelVictoriaA locality of the Shire of Gannawarra. It contains Lake Bael Bael and the heritage listed Bael Bael Homestead.[3]
    Balla BallaWestern AustraliaAn abandoned town and port for the Whim Creek Copper Mine
    Ban Ban SpringsQueenslandBan means "grass" in the local Kabi language.[4]
    Ban Ban SpringsNorthern TerritoryA cattle station
    Banda BandaNew South WalesA mountain in the Great Dividing Range near Kempsey, New South Wales
    Bang BangQueenslandA solitary rocky hill in Shire of Carpentaria
    Banka Banka StationNorthern TerritoryA cattle station
    Baw BawVictoriaA local government area in Victoria. The name is also applied to a mountain (Mount Baw Baw), and to a national park (Baw Baw National Park). Baw Baw is an Aboriginal word meaning "echo".[5]
    Beek BeekVictoriaEmu. A parish in the County of Buln Buln
    Beggan BegganNew South WalesA locality in Harden Shire and a parish in Harden County [6]
    Bet BetVictoriaA locality of the Shire of Central Goldfields. Bet Bet had its own local government area (Shire of Bet Bet) from 1864 to 1995.
    Bindi Bindi [7]Western AustraliaA small town in the Shire of Moora [8] The name is Aboriginal in origin and is the word for stick or skewer on which a coat is hung. The doubling of the word is to indicate many of them.
    Billa BillaQueenslandAboriginal word of unknown dialect meaning pool or reach of water[9]
    Bli BliQueenslandNamed after "billai billai", Aboriginal for swamp oak.[10]
    Bom BomNew South WalesSmall village near South Grafton
    Bon Bon ReserveSouth AustraliaA nature reserve
    Bong BongNew South WalesThe place name is Aboriginal for "blind or a watercourse lost in a swamp" or "many watercourses; many frogs".[11]
    Bongil BongilNew South WalesThe name Bongil Bongil is the name of a sub-group of the Gumbaingerie tribe which occupied the general area bounded by the Clarence River in the north, the Nambucca River in the south, Dorrigo in the west and the Pacific Ocean.[12]
    Book BookNew South WalesA rural community within the local government area of the city of Wagga Wagga
    Bookal-Bookal CreekQueensland?[13]
    Boonoo BoonooNew South WalesThe place name means "poor country with no animals to provide food" and is Aboriginal in origin.[14] The name is applied to a locality, a national park (Boonoo Boonoo National Park), a river (Boonoo Boonoo River) and a waterfall.
    Booti Booti National ParkNew South WalesThe place name means "plenty plenty" in the local Aboriginal language.
    Brim BrimVictoriaA parish of the County of Dundas
    Brit BritVictoriaA locality of the Shire of Southern Grampians
    Bruk BrukVictoriaA parish of the County of Dundas
    Budgee BudgeeNew South WalesBudgee Budgee is a locality near Mudgee. The origin of the name is unknown, but it first appeared on old maps so is possibly a surveyor's interpretation of an aboriginal name.[15]
    Budgee BudgeeVictoriaA parish of the County of Wonnangatta
    Bulla BullaVictoriaThe original name of the township of Bulla. An Aboriginal term meaning either 'two' or 'good'.[16]
    Buln BulnVictoriaA locality in the Shire of Baw Baw. The name is also applied to a county (County of Buln Buln) in Victoria.
    Bungle Bungle RangeWestern AustraliaA corruption of "bundle bundle", a grass common to the Kimberley region.[17]
    Burra BurraSouth AustraliaFormer name for the town of Burra. The name is also applied to a creek and a copper mine near the town.
    Burrah BurrahVictoriaA parish of the County of Ripon
    Burrin Burrin ReserveNew South WalesA nature reserve in south-eastern NSW
    Burrum BurrumVictoriaA parish of the County of Kara Kara
    Carag CaragVictoriaA parish of the County of Rodney
    Colac ColacVictoriaA locality of the Shire of Towong
    Collum CollumNew South WalesA locality within the Clarence Valley LGA.
    Coomoo CoomooNew South WalesThe name was derived from the original station name, which used a local Aboriginal word meaning "much water".[18]
    Cope CopeVictoriaA locality of the Shire of Northern Grampians
    Curl CurlNew South WalesName may be derived from Aboriginal phrase "curial curial" meaning river of life.[19]
    Cut Paw PawVictoriaA parish of the County of Bourke."Maribyrnong: Action in Tranquility", the history of Maribyrnong, gives the meanings of several aboriginal terms. Cut Cut Paw is a corruption of the words for "a clump of she-oaks".
    Dom DomVictoriaA mountain in Victoria, 65 km from Melbourne
    Doon DoonNew South WalesFrom the Bandjalung-Yugambeh chain word 'doan doan' meaning black or dark.[20]
    Drik DrikVictoriaAn Aboriginal word for "Stoney Stoney"[21][22]
    Drung DrungVictoriaA former name of locality of Drung in the Rural City of Horsham
    Dum DumNew South WalesA locality near Uki, New South Wales
    Durren DurrenNew South WalesA locality near Wyong, within the Central Coast Council local government area.
    Elong ElongNew South WalesA locality on the Golden Highway in New South Wales
    Ganoo GanooVictoriaA parish of the County of Dundas
    Gatum GatumVictoriaA former name of locality of Gatum in the Shire of Southern Grampians and the name of a Melbourne Cup winner
    Gherang GherangVictoriaA parish of the County of Grant
    Ghin GhinVictoriaA locality east of Yea in Victoria
    Ghinni GhinniNew South WalesA locality east of Taree in New South Wales
    Gil GilVictoriaA locality of the Shire of Buloke
    Gin GinQueenslandThe name was derived from the original station name, which used a local Aboriginal word indicating "red soil thick scrub".[23]
    Gin GinNew South WalesA small town within the Narromine Shire in New South Wales
    GinginWestern AustraliaMay mean either "footprint" or "place of many streams".[24]
    Gol GolNew South WalesGol Gol got its name from the local Aboriginal word for 'meeting place', as recorded by the explorer Thomas Mitchell.[25]
    Gong GongVictoriaA locality of the City of Ballarat
    Goonoo GoonooNew South Wales"Plenty of water".[26]
    Gre GreVictoriaA locality of the Shire of Northern Grampians
    Greg GregNew South WalesA locality in the southern highlands of New South Wales
    Grong GrongNew South Wales"Very hot".[27]
    Guda GudaWestern AustraliaA small Aboriginal community in the Wyndham-East Kimberley local government area
    Gumly GumlyNew South Wales"Place of many Frogs" Near Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
    Gunyah GunyahVictoriaAn earlier name of the locality of Gunyah in South Gippsland Shire
    Gunyah GunyahVictoriaA parish of the County of Buln Buln
    Hie HieNew South WalesSee Terry Hie Hie, New South Wales
    Jellat JellatNew South WalesA locality south-east of Bega in New South Wales
    Jil JilVictoriaA locality of the Shire of Buloke
    Jim Jim FallsNorthern Territory
    Jimba Jimba StationWestern AustraliaA cattle station, east of Carnarvon
    Jingi Jingi CreekQueenslandA creek.[28] Jingi Jingi Creek rises on the western slope of the Great Dividing Range, in the locality of Diamondy, north-east of Jandowae. It flows south-west through Jinghi and Tuckerang to Brigalow, where it crosses the Warrego Highway and flows into the Condamine River.
    Jung JungVictoriaA former name of locality of Jung in the Rural City of Horsham
    Kadji KadjiWestern AustraliaA pastoral lease east of Morawa
    Karup KarupVictoriaA parish of the County of Dundas
    Ki KiSouth Australia
    Kin Kin [29]QueenslandMay be derived from the local Aboriginal word for 'black ants'.[30] or
    May be derived from an Aboriginal word, Kabi language, kauin kauin, a variant of kutchin indicating red, from the red soil area drained by Kin Kin Creek.[31]
    Koonung Koonung CreekVictoriaA tributary of the Yarra River
    Koort-koort-nongVictoriaA parish of the County of Hampden
    Korrak KorrakVictoriaA parish of the County of Tatchera
    Kunat KunatVictoriaA parish of the County of Tatchera
    Kurri KurriNew South WalesIn the Minyung language, which refers to this area, Kurri-kurri means 'the beginning, the first'.[32]
    Lal LalVictoriaLal Lal is a town in Victoria
    Lang LangVictoriaLang Lang was formerly known as Carrington, after Lord Carrington.[33] The town is named in honour of an early settler in region, called Lang.[34] In the Woiwurrung language, the name Lang Lang,[35] also spelled Laang Laang, meant "stones" or "stony".[36] Lang Lang is also believed to mean "bush bush";[citation needed] or a "clump of trees".[33] Also see Lang Lang River and Little Lang Lang River.
    Ma Ma CreekQueensland
    Mia Mia [7]Victoria
    Millaa MillaaQueenslandMay be derived from the local Aboriginal word for 'plenty water'.[37] or
    May be derived from a corruption of "millai millai", possibly Yindinji language, indicating a fruit-bearing plant Elaeagnus latifolia.[38]
    Milly MillyWestern AustraliaA pastoral lease in the Mid-West
    Min MinQueenslandA locality east of Boulia.[39] The location where the Min Min Lights have been observed.[40]
    Mitta MittaVictoria
    Moona Moona CreekNew South WalesThe creek flowing into Jervis Bay that separates the towns of Huskisson and Vincentia.
    Mona Mona MissionQueenslandAboriginal community in far north Qld
    Mooney MooneyNew South Wales
    Morrl MorrlVictoriaA locality of the Shire of Northern Grampians
    Mundi MundiNew South WalesA cattle station in the outback
    Murrin MurrinWestern AustraliaAn abandoned gold and copper mining town and siding on the Malcolm-Laverton railway line.[41]
    Nap Nap MarraVictoriaA locality of the Shire of Wellington
    Nar Nar GoonVictoriaA town in Gippsland
    Nareeb NareebVictoriaA former name of the locality of Nareeb in the Shire of Moyne[22]
    Nerrin NerrinVictoriaA locality of the Rural City of Ararat
    Ni NiVictoriaA former locality of the Shire of Hindmarsh
    Nug NugVictoriaA locality of Alpine Shire
    Obi ObiQueenslandBelieved to be a perpetuation of the personal name of a prominent Aboriginal, known variously as Ubi Ubi, Wubi Wubi or Obi Obi.[42]
    Pandie Pandie StationSouth AustraliaA cattle station
    ParaparapNorthern TerritoryNow simply Parap, a Darwin suburb[43]
    Paw PawVictoriaSee Cut Paw Paw
    Pendyk PendykVictoriaA parish of the County of Dundas
    Perrit PerritVictoriaA parish of the County of Tatchera
    Pom PomVictoriaA parish of the County of Villiers
    Pura PuraVictoriaA locality of the Shire of Moyne
    Tabby Tabby IslandQueenslandDerived from a corruption of Bundjalung language, Ngaraangbal language, word dhube dhube, indicating crab place or shell place.[44]
    Terip TeripVictoriaA locality of the Shire of Murrindindi
    Terrick TerrickVictoriaA locality of the Shire of Loddon
    Terrick Terrick National ParkVictoria
    Terry Hie HieNew South Wales
    Tilba TilbaNew South WalesSaid to be a Thawa Aboriginal term for 'many waters'.[45]
    Tucki TuckiNew South WalesA locality of the City of Lismore
    Vite ViteVictoriaA locality of the Corangamite Shire
    Wagga WaggaNew South Wales'Wagga wagga' is probably a Wiradjuri term for 'many crows'; with wagga, an onomatopoeic word, imitating the sound of the crow's call. 'Waggan', for one type of crow and 'waggura', for another have been recorded; also: reeling (a sick man or a dizzy man); to dance, slide or grind.[46]
    Wal WalVictoriaA locality of the Shire of Northern Grampians
    Walla WallaNew South WalesProbably Wiradjuri in origin, but no meaning has been verified. Possibly from wallawalla for rain.[47]
    Walla WallaVictoriaA parish of the County of Ripon
    Wallan WallanVictoria
    Wangi WangiNew South WalesThe word Wangi has been translated variously as water, night owl or dark green tree so that Wangi Wangi would mean place of much water, many night owls or many dark green trees. Early settlers and fishermen used the word to mean peninsula and Point Wolstoncroft (in the locality of Gwandalan) was called "Little Wangi". Captain Dangar's 1826 sketch of Lake Macquarie marked Wangi Point as "Wonde Wonde". There is no explanation of the marked difference between spelling and pronunciation.[48]
    Warra WarraVictoriaA parish of the County of Borung
    Wat WatVictoriaA parish of the County of Croajingolong
    Wee Wee RupVictoriaA locality of the Shire of Gannawarra
    Whian WhianNew South Wales[49]A locality of the City of Lismore
    Will Will RookVictoriaA parish of the County of Bourke
    Wonga WongaVictoriaAn earlier name of the locality of Wonga in South Gippsland Shire
    Wood WoodVictoriaA locality of the Rural City of Swan Hill
    Wool WoolVictoriaA locality of the Colac Otway Shire
    Woy WoyNew South WalesSaid to be an Awabakal Aboriginal term for 'deep water' or 'lagoon'[50]
    Wujal WujalQueenslandAboriginal community in far north Qld
    Wuk WukVictoriaA locality of the Shire of East Gippsland
    Wurruk WurrukVictoriaA parish of the County of Tanjil
    Wyn WynVictoriaA former locality of the Rural City of Horsham
    Yabba YabbaVictoriaA parish of the County of Moira
    Yagga YaggaWestern AustraliaAn Aboriginal community near Halls Creek, Western Australia
    Yan Yan GurtVictoriaA locality of the Surf Coast Shire
    Yanac A YanacVictoriaA former name of a locality of Yanac in the Shire of Hindmarsh
    Yarram YarramVictoriaThe former name of Yarram, Victoria
    Yeo YeoNew South Wales(pron. yo-yo) A district between Wallendbeen and Stockinbingal where Don Bradman first lived.[51] Shell of the schoolhouse most significant remains.


    Australian Flag

    I love this list.Should I begin with Beggan Beggan in New South Wales?

    B
    To be or not to be. The letter b provides lots of fun.

     My favourites are Bang Bang, Booti Booti.

    Do you really live in Bet Bet. You bet.

    Brit Brit. If I went there I would say, 'I am a Brit from Brit Brit.'  

    Budgee Budgee.
    A place to sell pets. The budgee Budgee pet store.

    D
    Then there's Dum Dum. And Durren Durren. Not a lace to live if your name is Darren. Hello, my name is Darren. I'm from Durren, Durren. Sure you are, have another drink, mate.

    G
    Gil Gil, Gin Gin, Gol Gol, Gong Gong,

     Greg Greg.
     I am Greg, from Greg Greg. have some more grog, greg from Greg Greg.

    Gud Guda, that must be a good place. The Guda guda guest house.I wonder if they have one. 

    J
    Then theres Ji Jil in Victoria. A place to live if your name is Jill. I am Jill  from Jil Jil. 

    How long have you had this problem. You should join Toastmasters.

    Then there's Jim Jim Falls. Does he really. Jim from Jim Jim falls.

    M
    What about Ma Ma Creek? Now ma is getting old she creaks a bit.
    Mia Mia, in Voctoria. Mama Mia, mia mia.  A good place for an Italian restaurant.
    Or take a picture of Mia Mia to decorate an Italian restaurant anywhere. 

    I'll be back in a min min. 
    Moona Moona creek. and Mona Mona Mission. Mooney Mooney. mooning or money. Mori Morri. and Nap Nap Marra.
    Will you nap in nap nap marra today or tomorrow?

    N
    Nap Nap. Just taking a nap in nap nap.

    W
    What about Wat Wat. in Victoria. or Will Will Rook, in Victoria. Or Wood Wood, spelled wood.in the city of Swan Hill.

    Or wool wool. 

    And Woy Woy, aboriginal for deep water or lagoon. And Wyn Wyn, a win win situalion, not speled with an i but spelled with a y.  Why y? Why not.

    Y
    Next up are Yabba Yabba and Yagga Yagga. Plenty of fine names. memorable. Easy to spell. Short one or two syllable names with vowels I can recognize.

    Y
    Finally you can yo yo betwee Yo Yo and other cities. It is spelled yeo yeo but pronunced Yo Yo. That's all right then.

    Easier for me than place names in Singapore, like Dhoby Ghat, Tan Kah Kee, and Chong Pang, not to be confused with Cheng San.

    Singapore Flag

    Back in Singapore I have a freind called Mi Mi. Who's that. Its Mi Mi. Yes but who are you. I'm Mi Mi. I usually have to call my husband, cover the phone and say, I don't know what this woman is saying it sounds like English but it isn't English. Can you translate.

    Asking 'How are you seplling that?' usually solves the problem.

    As the saying goes, you couldn't make it up. But, of course, somebody once did.


  • About the Author
    Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
    I and my family have lived in the UK, Spain, the USA and Singapore. I am a travel writer and photographer and teacher of English A level and English as a foreign language.

    Please come to a Toastmasters International Club where the English clubs have a language evaluator or grammarian.  We also have French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Tamil and other language clubs based in Singapore and many more online around the world which because of Covid-19 are now meeting online.

    I am President of Braddell Heights Advanced, meeting every Wednesday, on zoom the first Wednesday of the month but the other Wednesdays are workshops on app 

  • learncool.sg

  • Or quicker to type and easier to remember: 

  •  tinyurl.com/BHACOOL

    Useful Websites
  • Article on property in streets with strange names and the ebb and flow of popularity of Mandela and Petrograd
  • https://www.theguardian.com/money/2004/apr/18/property.
  • British place names:
  •  Dictionaries of English and London place names, by Dr David Mills, published by Oxford.
  • https://www.facebook.com/angela.lansbury.121

  • https://www.facebook.com/groups/polygotcommunity/

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_reduplicated_place_names

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_reduplicated_Australian_place_names

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_reduplicated_New_Zealand_place_names

  • https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogs
    https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/04/how-to-say-thank-you-in-several.html
    https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/05/introducing-yourself-in-english-spanish.html
    https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2020/01/second-set-of-portuguese-words.html Please share links to your favourite posts
    https://www.toastmasters.org/find-a-club
    translate.google.com
    duolingo.com