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Hermes! How do you pronounce it

(152 Posts)
Audi10 Sat 27-Nov-21 15:55:31

Please settle a disagreement ? three in my family insist it’s Hermies, while I think it’s actually pronounced how it’s spelt! I could always ask the driver I suppose! It’s like Matalan a couple in my extended family insist it’s mataland ??

nanna8 Sun 28-Nov-21 05:45:41

Hermees, never heard it any other way. I have a grandson called Leif but they pronounce it as in leaf not layf as the Norwegians do. I also have a Tania that the locals always pronounce tan- ya but we pronounce it Tarn-ya. Guess it doesn’t matter that much really unless you are a total pedant.

Mamie Sun 28-Nov-21 06:16:37

Whoops yes, should have said Penny-lope French media style is 3 syllables. ?

Mamie Sun 28-Nov-21 06:17:57

Whoops yes, should have said Penny-lope (Fillon) French media style is 3 syllables. ?

MayBeMaw Sun 28-Nov-21 08:34:55

Urmstongran

You could try hundreds of pronunciations of "Cholmondeley" (in Cheshire) before hitting on "chumley," and the sixteen-letter "Featherstonhaugh" (in Northumberland) drops more than half its weight to become "fanshaw."
?

I try not to smirk at “foreign” eg BBC pronunciations such us Milln- gavvy and of course Kirk- cud-bright.
(I expect you all know the places I am referring to. ) smile

Baggs Sun 28-Nov-21 08:40:13

MayBeMaw

Urmstongran

You could try hundreds of pronunciations of "Cholmondeley" (in Cheshire) before hitting on "chumley," and the sixteen-letter "Featherstonhaugh" (in Northumberland) drops more than half its weight to become "fanshaw."
?

I try not to smirk at “foreign” eg BBC pronunciations such us Milln- gavvy and of course Kirk- cud-bright.
(I expect you all know the places I am referring to. ) smile

There's a name place like that in South Lanarkshire: Strathaven that's pronounced Straiven.

Baggs Sun 28-Nov-21 08:44:59

I once had a two-headed wooden ornament, a present form a school friend. I named the horses Sigismund and Bellerophon, which latter I pronounced Beller Offon until someone kindly corrected me ?

kittylester Sun 28-Nov-21 09:27:25

Dinahmo

We knew some one called Persephone Booth!

I have a granddaughter called Persephone. Fondly known as Persie - often spelt Percy by people not in the know. She is also known as Perse or Purse.

Grandma70s Sun 28-Nov-21 09:35:57

Persephone is a beautiful name. Percy, not so much.

I had a maiden name that was very difficult to pronounce or spell, so I am sensitive about the subject.

JackyB Sun 28-Nov-21 09:59:26

In German, Hermes is pronounced Hair-m(shwa)s. Or even hair-ms.

Just throwing that into the mix. Doesn't answer the OPs question. As I am confused in my head with German and French jostling in there for position, now I think about it, I wouldn't know how an English person would pronounce it.

I would guess Her-mees, though.

MayBeMaw Sun 28-Nov-21 10:06:08

Baggs

I once had a two-headed wooden ornament, a present form a school friend. I named the horses Sigismund and Bellerophon, which latter I pronounced Beller Offon until someone kindly corrected me ?

And of course the ship, HMS Bellerophon was generally known to sailors as the “Billy Ruffian”!

Baggs Sun 28-Nov-21 10:12:36

MayBeMaw

Baggs

I once had a two-headed wooden ornament, a present form a school friend. I named the horses Sigismund and Bellerophon, which latter I pronounced Beller Offon until someone kindly corrected me ?

And of course the ship, HMS Bellerophon was generally known to sailors as the “Billy Ruffian”!

smile

Baggs Sun 28-Nov-21 10:13:57

Baggs

MayBeMaw

Urmstongran

You could try hundreds of pronunciations of "Cholmondeley" (in Cheshire) before hitting on "chumley," and the sixteen-letter "Featherstonhaugh" (in Northumberland) drops more than half its weight to become "fanshaw."
?

I try not to smirk at “foreign” eg BBC pronunciations such us Milln- gavvy and of course Kirk- cud-bright.
(I expect you all know the places I am referring to. ) smile

There's a name place like that in South Lanarkshire: Strathaven that's pronounced Straiven.

Yep.

Then there's always Kirkoddy wink

Urmstongran Sun 28-Nov-21 10:33:00

Driving up to the West Highlands in the spring with my 89y old stepfather brought out some chuckles from him as I would say from the rear seat ‘.... such and such is the next town’. It was even more illuminating in gaelic!
?

Kalu Sun 28-Nov-21 10:49:10

I once took DD2 to buy some school books from a shop in Milngavie, not far from our area of Glasgow. Browsing through postcards she asked if she could send one to Daddy to which I replied, I’m sure he would like a postcard from Mulguy, she thought for a moment before saying, but I want to send one from here, Milngavie!
Scone Palace - Scoon.

Grammaretto Sun 28-Nov-21 10:59:04

I like Borrowstounness pronounced Bow-ness (West Lothian)
and Trottiscliffe in Kent, pronounced Troz-lee

I waited so long for a courier to arrive weeks that I made a model of their van. It was Yodel. I can not tell you here how I pronounce that name

MaizieD Sun 28-Nov-21 11:05:05

We had an aunt who lived in the US. From time to time in the 1950s she would send us parcels of goodies. One parcel contained a book of stories for children, which I loved.

But I had problems with 'clothespin', which I read as 'cloth/ee/spin and couldn't work out what on earth a cloth ee spin was!

I still see it as that on the odd time that I come across the word grin

(Yes, I do know now what it is)

And I read 'Lucy' in the Narnia stories as 'Lucky' until my big sister put me right...

Sago Sun 28-Nov-21 11:13:44

Some years ago I was in a delicatessen getting cheese for a dinner party I was having that evening.
Staff member patiently cut and wrapped all the cheeses.

Just before I was about to pay I saw some red wine on offer behind the counter so I asked him if I could have two bottles of the “Merlow”
He responded with “ actually it’s Merlot with a T”

I told him to forget the wine and the cheese as I flounced out.

Problem was it was late in the day so I had cut my nose of to spite my face?.
The cheese was purchased from a supermarket.?

annodomini Sun 28-Nov-21 11:32:04

As a six-year-old, in hospital for three weeks, I became a good reader. I was puzzled by the word 'together'. Who was the 'her' that they were going to 'get'?
My English granny had trouble with Scottish place names. We couldn't persuade her that Kirkcaldy was not 'Kirk-cal-dee' or that Kirkcudbright wasn't 'Kirk-cud-bright'. And yet she came from Leicester!

MissAdventure Sun 28-Nov-21 11:33:38

How do I pronounce it?
Wrongly, I should think. smile

Purplepixie Sun 28-Nov-21 11:36:10

I pronounce Hermes as RUBBISH as my parcel was found over the hedge in next doors garden after a very wet and windy night!!!!! The contents were ok but I was so annoyed. No joy after trying to complain on the phone. Hermeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzzz`!!!!!!

Elegran Sun 28-Nov-21 11:37:49

We bought a nice chintzy Impressionist-flowered bed-settee, . The spotty youth who put the order through said he was pleased to see we had picked the Ke-zany

MayBeMaw Sun 28-Nov-21 11:41:33

With apologies and all due respect to a certain regular poster, I still read her name as Hit-here - and I wonder “Why?”

hollysteers Sun 28-Nov-21 11:45:32

I remember my friend cracking up when aged 15 I told him I had just read “The Ballad of Reading Goal” as in football…

MayBeMaw Sun 28-Nov-21 11:47:12

Just before I was about to pay I saw some red wine on offer behind the counter so I asked him if I could have two bottles of the “Merlow”
He responded with “ actually it’s Merlot with a T
A bit like this?
Margot Asquith on meeting screen siren Jean Harlow
“[Jean Harlow] 'Say - aren't you Margott Asquith?' (pronouncing the hard 't')
[Margot Asquith] 'Yes Dear, But the “t” is silent as in Harlow” '

Daisend1 Sun 28-Nov-21 11:51:42

It sounds hurmeeez when I pronounce it. Tough if any one disapproves as long as I spell it correctly what's the problemhmm