You're (Probably) Pronouncing These English Counties Incorrectly ❌ | English Pronunciation Lesson

- Hello, this is Jack from ToFluency.com

and welcome to this English lesson where

I am going to test your ability

to say certain counties in England.

So I'm going to put the county on your screen,

give you a few seconds to think about

how best to say it.

Then I'm going to give you the answer,

some tips in this area.

And then I'm also going to talk about these counties

and give you more knowledge about England.

Now, if you don't what a county is,

it is a territory or region

that has been setup for local government purposes.

It's a little bit like an American state

but it's different.

For example, this is a county

and within this county there are towns and cities

like Blackpool, Preston,

Blackburn, and Burnley.

So again, you're going to see these counties

and I'm gonna share some key facts

about these regions too.

Now, stay until the end

because I have a question for you

and let's get started.

The first one is on your screen now.

This is Lancashire.

Lancashire.

Now, in this there are two schwas

and you're going to find that to be a common theme

throughout this lesson.

So Lan-ca-shire.

Lancashire.

Lancashire is where I am from

and to be more specific, Preston.

Now, Preston is famous for its football team,

kind of, Preston North End.

But it's also famous because it has

a festival that's quite unique.

It's unique because it's celebrated

every 20 years.

The last one was in 2012.

I wasn't able to make it.

The one before that was in 1992

when I was 10 and I was involved

in a lot of the events for that festival.

And it was so much fun.

The next one is going to be in 2032

and I plan on making it.

I've got a lot of time to prepare.

But yeah, it's a unique festival

and it's a lot fun at the same time.

Now, I also think that Lancashire cheese

is the best cheese in England,

especially the crumbly type.

Unfortunately, they say it doesn't travel well,

which means that people can't export it

from Lancashire to other areas

because it just doesn't travel well.

And finally, the Ribble Valley in Lancashire

is known as one of the most beautiful places

in the UK, and in this area

is Stonyhurst College, which apparently

is inspiration for the Shire

in the books like The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.

Moving on now, the next one is on your screen.

This is similar to Lancashire

because you say it like this,

Leicestershire.

Again, two schwa sounds.

Leices-ter-shire.

Leicestershire.

The main city in Leicestershire is Leicester.

Now, there is a Leicester very close

to where I am right now,

about five miles that way,

but here there is a debate

over how you pronounce this.

It's either Leicester or,

using my best Southern American accent,

Lacester.

Leicester is said in the UK

to be the birth place of modern English.

So you can thank Leicester for this video.

But also Leicester became famous

when Leicester city won the Premier League,

when the odds of them doing this

was 5,000 to one.

So it was a big surprise to everybody.

The next one is on your screen.

And it's this, Tyne and Wear.

Tyne and Wear.

So the last part of this, again,

is using the schwa.

We-ar, wear.

Wear.

And also, everything gets contracted

and the end becomes very short.

Tyne and Wear.

Tyne and Wear.

New Castle is a city in this county

and I think this is one of the best big cities in the UK.

It's really vibrant, the nightlife is excellent,

if that is your type of thing,

and it's a very cultural city as well.

So there is a lot going on there.

Now, there's something about New Castle

that I didn't know and apparently

it's one of the driest cities in the UK

because there's a rain shadow

due to the North Pennines.

You can read more about that in the description.

The next one is on your screen.

Cheshire.

Che-shire.

This one is interesting because you go

from the ch sound to the sh sound.

Che-shire.

Cheshire.

And that is a schwa at the end.

Chester is in Cheshire

and Chester was voted as the fifth prettiest city

in Europe by Americans.

And it is a very pretty city.

There are Roman influences there

and also some of the Tudor style architecture, too.

I do know that a lot of football players,

players who play for teams like Liverpool,

Everton, Manchester City, and Manchester United,

they tend to live in Cheshire.

It's a beautiful part of the world

and they also have a really good zoo there.

The next one is on your screen.

Yorkshire.

Yorkshire.

Now, Yorkshire borders Lancashire

and there is a big rivalry between those two counties.

And this goes back to the Battle

of the Roses centuries ago,

where the House of York and the House of Lancaster

went to war to contest the throne.

So any game between two teams

in Lancashire and Yorkshire

always has the added rivalry

and they're known as the Battle of the Roses

because Yorkshire has the white rose

and Lancashire has the red rose.

Even though we are rivals, I love Yorkshire.

It's a beautiful county.

It's known for its villages and its flowers

and its welcoming people.

I went to University in Yorkshire

and you might know Yorkshire from Yorkshire puddings,

which aren't a type of dessert

because usually when we say pudding

we mean dessert in British English,

but it's this like savory item

that you add to your roast dinners.

And I always used to get very excited

when we had Yorkshire puddings.

The next one is on you screen.

Again, we are using the schwa.

Suffolk.

Suffolk.

So that last sound is ek, Suffolk.

Now, I don't know too much about this county

and I don't think I've ever been

but I found an interesting fact about it.

At 15 feet by seven feet,

the Nutshell pub in Bury St Edmunds

is officially Britain's smallest pub.

It stands at the heart of that historic Suffolk town,

and has been serving beer since 1867.

The record for the most people

to have ever squeezed in at once

currently stands at 102,

though thankfully you can expect

far fewer than that on a normal Friday night.

Sounds like a very cozy pub.

The next one is on your screen.

Are you ready for this?

Worcestershire.

Worcestershire.

Again, two schwas, Worces-ter-shire.

Worcestershire.

Now, you probably have heard of this before

because of the famous sauce.

I know this is really popular,

or it's quite popular in the United States.

Is it popular where you live?

Worcestershire sauce.

It's quite difficult to say that

because you're going from the sh sound

to the s sound.

Worces-ter-shire sauce.

Worcestershire sauce.

In fact, we can make a tongue twister here.

Worcestershire sauce

is from Worcester

in Worcestershire.

Try and say that quickly.

Pause the video and try that.

The next one is on your screen.

This is Merseyside.

Merseyside.

No schwa.

No schwa in this one.

Merseyside.

And the name Merseyside comes from the River Mersey

and the most famous city here is Liverpool.

There's a very famous song

about the River Mersey too,

which many people think is ferry across the Mersey.

But it's actually used as an imperative statement.

Ferry, cross the Mersey.

Ferry, cross the Mersey.

It's quite a nice song actually.

So I'll leave a link in the description.

You probably know about Liverpool

through the famous football team

and also the Beatles.

The Beatles are from Liverpool.

Now, Liverpool also used to be part of Lancashire.

But then, I can't remember when,

they decided to create their own county

and call it Merseyside.

The last one is on your screen now.

This is Essex.

Ess-ex.

Essex.

Now, I've been to Essex a few times

because I have friends and family there

and many people live in Essex

and commute to London.

Colchester is in Essex

and this is the oldest recorded town in England,

and it was also the first capital

of the Roman Empire.

Essex is known as well for a certain TV show

called The Only Way is Essex.

I've never seen the show

but I know what it's about.

And I think it's quite similar to Jersey Shore,

which is from America.

Now, this show has often been criticized

for its negative and stereotypical representation

of people of Essex.

But one of the characters said this,

"We are all from Essex, so this is Essex.

"It's not acting.

"It's not like they've got people

"from America and said, "Right,

"act like you think you know where Essex is."

"We are Essex people so what you're watching is Essex."

Now, he said Essex quite a lot in that quote.

But check it out and then let me know

what you think of the show.

And if you've seen it before,

then please leave a comment

telling me what you think.

Okay, those are the counties of England

which you now know how to pronounce.

What I want to know is, have you been

to any of these counties,

and how was your experience?

So tell me if you've been to Lancashire

or Merseyside or Essex before,

or any of the other counties

that we have mentioned.

And then leave a comment telling me

if there are any counties

or towns and cities in the UK,

which you find hard to pronounce.

And maybe I'll make a part two of this video.

If you are new here, then please subscribe

and then also get my book,

The 5-Step Plan for English Fluency,

which is free to download.

I'll leave a link to that in the description.

Again, thank you for watching.

While you're here, why not watch another video?

I'll leave those on your screen.

Speak to you soon!

Bye-bye!