Are Wickham and Wycombe pronounced the same way?
Posted by RestingSnerkFace@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 166 comments
I was watching Fry & Laurie, and the subtitles said “Wycombe”, but Stephen pronounced it wick-um. I had always thought first syllable was pronounced like “why”.
ElectricalPick9813@reddit
Yes, pronounced ‘yes’.
Pleasant-Put5305@reddit
Because we made it all up, right from the beginning.
Hytyt@reddit
Now try Loughborough and chelmondistan
soundman32@reddit
Low-brow?
Crivens999@reddit
Pretty much identical. Now go for a top tier hard to guess pronunciation like Bicester
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
Ummm… BISS-ter?
ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit
The stress is not as accentuated as that, but you get the general idea. Rhymes with sister. Next up: Cirencester
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
Kern-ster?
ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit
No, I'll give you a clue, locals often just refer to the town as "Ciren" (sounds similar to "Siren"). - it's just see what you say Siren - sester. No funny games there
Now try "Trottiscliffe"
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
Wow, I don’t think I’ve seen the “cester” fully pronounced in any other words—interesting.
Trottiscliffe -> Trots-cliff?
Orange_Codex@reddit
I used to live next to Trottiscliffe and some locals seem to think it's pronounced 'Trosley' (the name of an old mansion and country park).
Maybe that's true (just like Wriothesley is 'Rise-lee'), but I just called it 'Trotscliff' and so did most other people.
ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit
I've never lived there, only gone walking round there but had it on good authority it was pronounced "Trosley" although I'm also not surprised the other pronunciation exists and maybe prevails. The only remotely similar case I could think of was Stiffkey in Norfolk, pronounced something like "Stookey"
English place names are fun.
Orange_Codex@reddit
The existence of Stiffkey does up the argument for Trosley a bit. I'll have to do some digging.
stinkyswife@reddit
Now try Leominster and/or Caldmore
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
Lome-stir and Cod-more?
stinkyswife@reddit
Try again 😁
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
😂 Are they just said the way they’re spelled?
stinkyswife@reddit
Nope
MiserubleCant@reddit
Cirencester is a double bluff
Ophiochos@reddit
Academic_Shoulder959@reddit
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
Huh.. Tor-no?
Academic_Shoulder959@reddit
/trəˈpɛnə/ (Truh-pen-uh). So good they named it thrice (Tor, Pen & How all meaning ‘hill’ in successive languages/dialects).
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
Hillhillhill! 😂 I love it! Definitely would never have guessed that pronunciation.
Hytyt@reddit
And despite technically being truh-pen-uh a lot of the locals just say trep-nuh
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
Crin-lark?
itsnobigthing@reddit
If you’re taking submissions, have a crack at Slaithwaite
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
Oh, gosh. Slate-wit?
One_Of_Noahs_Whales@reddit
This is fun, Towcester, Alcester, and Loughborough are always my faves....
itsnobigthing@reddit
Good try! Slawit, or even Sowt. Yorkshire has its own rules 😅
Ophiochos@reddit
Years ago I was trying to buy a train ticket there in Glasgow. The lass selling tickets kept pretending not to understand me as I tried to workout where the stress fell in the word.
Ticket to CrianlariICH please.
I’m sorry?
Etc.
Eventually I held the map up to the glass and pointed.
‘Oh, CrianLArich’
Astr0Scot@reddit
Next time try and take a train to Milngavie.
EldritchSorbet@reddit
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
Man-AY-uh? Am I even close?
Spank86@reddit
Why not go straight for Towcester.
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
Is it pronounced Toaster?
EarlyAd8964@reddit
Yes!
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
Yay! I finally got one!
EarlyAd8964@reddit
Our town names (and spelling/pronunciation in general) can be a mess.. we have somewhere called Ashby-de-la-Zouch lol
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
Haha! There are a lot of charming and cute names, too. At least I can take a stab at the pronunciation. I don’t even try with Welsh towns. It’s like someone forgot to issue them vowels with their alphabet!
EarlyAd8964@reddit
😂 that’s so true, so many y’s! What country are you in? (Wondering about your town names)
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
I’m in the U.S. and I’ve lived all over—Georgia, Arkansas, Michigan, Oregon, and Idaho. We definitely have our share of weird town names: Toadsuck, Bald Knob, Chugwater, Boring. I live now in Coeur d’Alene. I even have a tshirt explaining that it’s pronounced core-duh-lane. 😂
Duc_de_Nevers@reddit
Can’t believe nobody has suggested Cholmondeley yet.
Dranask@reddit
Or Beaconsfield, pronounced ‘Beh consfield’
bondinchas@reddit
The best one is Loughborough, with two identical syllables pronounced differently. "Luff-bur-uh".
Crivens999@reddit
I never had a problem with that one. Bicester though I got completely wrong. Amusingly in school, while reading out a page of a book to everyone in class, I read out Berkshire as Barkshire. Everyone laughed as it was a Welsh school and I was in the learner class with English kids (I’m Welsh but RAF meant I didn’t live there for years). Then years later I lived there for work.
Come to think of it, thinking a bit English here. If you want hard to pronounce places for English people, then go to Wales. It’s ask a Brit, so look up Llanfair PG and pronounce that one
Neat-Ostrich7135@reddit
Not loo-ga-ba-roo-ga?
Weak_Yam_6579@reddit
it’s luff-bruh
Fred_Blogs_2020@reddit
Don’t you mean Loo-gah-buh-roo-gah? Lol
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
Clearly the right answer.
mewikime@reddit
I would always say "luff-bruh"
VitaObscure@reddit
Towcester...
Icantspellforship@reddit
I used to live in Bicester and my grandmother, who did not live in in Bicester, would correct me on how to pronounce it. Until the day she died, she called it Bi-sester and she became irrationally angry if me and my siblings called it otherwise.
GoonerCharlie1963@reddit
In most place names that I know 'Wyc' is pronounced as 'wick'. It changes to sound like 'why' when the spelling is 'wyk'.
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
Thank you—that’s a good tip!
StillJustJones@reddit
Have a go at Happisburgh.
That’s one you can’t really take a stab at.
You have to know it.
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
I’m guessing .. haps-burr-ah
StillJustJones@reddit
No… it’s actually ‘Haysbruh’.
It’s a lovely we place on the Norfolk coast.
The old Norfolk dialect is a treat on the ears!
Norfolk’n’good and all that.
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
You’ve made me want to visit!
StillJustJones@reddit
Take a look at the pictures of its lovely lighthouse.
I love the fact that one of the village’s big boasts is that they have a car park! Big news in Norfolk that. A car park AND toilets for visitors.
Grumpy_Wombat55@reddit
But for how much longer? I seem to recall the car park and toilets are not that far from the cliff edge!
StillJustJones@reddit
Yes… really flamin close. It’ll be in the sea before long. but…. work is underway for a nu car park!
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
It’s so cute! And, speaking as a tourist, available public toilets figure greatly in my travel plans!
StillJustJones@reddit
I love that bit of England…. A few miles down the coast, just past a place called Waxham, there’s an area called ‘Horsey Gap’…. Where you are almost guaranteed to see some wonderful wild animals.
Spoiler - not horses!
Old_Introduction_395@reddit
Wymondham is a good one too. Also Norfolk.
Wolfdarkeneddoor@reddit
Somewhere I drive through to & from work every day. It was actually a bit windy last night.
nixtracer@reddit
What do you mean? It's totally intuitive (if and only if you were born there).
stinkyswife@reddit
Now try Leominster and Caldmore.
SomethingMoreToSay@reddit
The thing is, it's impossible to know how to pronounce names of places without being told. There are no grammatical or contextual clues to help you, even if it looks obvious.
For example the big town near where I live is Reading. How would you pronounce that? If you didn't know, you'd probably go for "reeding", but it's actually "redding". There's just no way to know.
Or, just around the corner from me is a road called Gringer Hill. I've lived here 30+ years and I have no idea how it's supposed to be pronounced? Is it like "ringer", or like "ginger", or like "gringo"? I've heard people use all three.
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
In Idaho, where I live, we have a major city called Moscow, which, naturally, newcomers pronounce like the one in Russia. But no, it’s MOSK-oh. I guess it’s a regional tell, to signal you’re one of us. I always thought it was weird, like Young Frankenstein insisting that it’s pronounced “Frahnk-en-STEEN”! 😂
Active_Definition_57@reddit
MOSK-oh is actually the British English pronunciation of the Russian capital.
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
Oh, interesting! I did not know that!
SomethingMoreToSay@reddit
Like the one in Russia? That'll be MOSS-ko then.
The "standard" American pronunciation, moss-cow, is the same as German instead of the same as English. I wonder why that is?
Beartato4772@reddit
Yes. At least in the towns of High Wycombe or West Wycombe which are local to where the show was filmed.
Dutch_Slim@reddit
And West Wickham is pronounced exactly the same.
ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit
As is East Wickham, which is quite some way north of West Wickham (in suburban Kent/SE London) and only got that name after some prudish Victorians characteristically disapproved of its forner name of Fanny On The Hill.
symbister@reddit
That puts it in the same camp as Nottingham (formerly Snottingham) and Ucksbridge that had its F removed, and Effingham that had its uck removed. Also the river Piddle in Dorset made more palatable than its former name the river Piss.
ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit
Ha! I didn't know that about Uxbridge....nor about the river Piddle's old name, although I did know about Piddletown becoming Puddletown. No such rebranding for Shitterton though.
Dysentery_Gary182@reddit
As is Wickham Market in Suffolk.
Fyonella@reddit
As is Whickham in Tyne & Wear.
Pukit@reddit
As is Wickham, in south Hampshire.
mckjerral@reddit
West Wickham is also in Cambridgeshire, we once had people knock on the door looking for an address which turned out to be the London one, for a party.
MorningSquare5882@reddit
Yup. I have a colleague who lives in one of them, she mentions it fairly often, and to this day I have no idea if she lives in West Wickham or West Wycombe.
Fauxboss1@reddit
Had an Australian colleague who pronounced it high why-com-bay….. but never again 😂
Historical-Rise-1156@reddit
Wait until you hear the pronunciation for wymondham then lol
kalendral_42@reddit
Yes Wycombe (as in the place High Wycombe) would be pronounced Wick-um
Steenies@reddit
As a resident of High Wycombe (God help me) they are. Assuming you don't pronounce wickham like you would West ham.
Outside_Cap_6092@reddit
I can’t imagine why anyone would choose to live in High Wycombe; my parents live in Gerrards Cross (which is just as bad), and when I was living with them the only reason I ever went to Wycombe was to the Eden Centre. My mother used to work for Bucks CC and she had to go to Wycombe two days a week (the other three she was in Amersham) and she HATED it - then they started making her go to County Hall in Aylesbury and she used to say that made her feel ill.
davidbrianson23@reddit
I don’t think I’ve ever seen GX compared to Wycombe before!!
Steenies@reddit
Technically I'm not in high wycombe. I'm in a village about halfway between Beaconsfield, Amersham and wycombe. But it does occasionally feel like a suburb of Wycombe. Eden centre is relatively nice and there's a fantastic game store in the town too. We moved during lockdown and life felt very different back then.
EmuSea4963@reddit
What's wrong with High Wycombe? (Genuinely asking, I've never been).
ambiguousfrog69@reddit
I read an article discussing the worst places to live in the UK. High Wycombe was no. 11. The accompanying descriptive piece started with: “Walking onto the High Street, the smell of skunk hits you instantly.” And ended with: “With little else to do in High Wycombe, it’s no surprise the residents have turned to drugs.”
EmuSea4963@reddit
So that's why it's called 'High' Wycombe
ambiguousfrog69@reddit
Yes indeed
ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit
It's a decaying post-industrial town (famous for making furniture in general but chairs in particular) in a part of the country that has no idea in general of the concept of an industrial let alone a post-industrial town, let alone bow to regenerate one. It's just miserable and charmless and filled with hills at every turn, without quite being in a beautiful bit of the Chilterns. And the football team certainly used to fake injuries to a degree otherwise unheard of in England.
AnnualMarzipan@reddit
But everyone forgets Westerham
AnnualMarzipan@reddit
Or Caterham
MarzipanElephant@reddit
Sending thoughts and prayers.
(And yes it is pronounced like that.)
Eggtastico@reddit
Are ham & combe pronounced the same way?
Active_Definition_57@reddit
Not when they stand alone.
Otherwise_Craft9003@reddit
Tho both start the same I thought there was a subtle -mmm-b with Wycombe.
No_Art_1977@reddit
Yes- like Windham and Wymondham
VFrosty3@reddit
The first satnav I had pronounced it Why-coom. It’s what Wycombe is called now in our house.
miggyuk@reddit
I work with a polish lad who was told with words to say it as you see it.
He pranouces it why-com-be mutch to are amusement.
BuncleCar@reddit
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uYNzqgU7na4
Well known video on the subject
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
That was delightful! Thank you!
teflon2000@reddit
No but yes. Wycombe sounds sadder somehow
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
I can see that. It’s that mournful O.
Moorhenlessrooster@reddit
Yes. But probably somewhere in the UK is a Wycombe pronounced why-coom and a wickham pronounced wim. Driving in an unfamiliar area, you're not always sure how to say the place names.
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
So true.
ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit
Yes, unlike Gillingham and Gillingham, and unlike Witham and Wytham.
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
Those pairs have different pronunciations? That’s crazy!
ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit
Hard g for the one in Dorset l, soft g for the one in Kent
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
I love it—this is truly esoteric knowledge!
flippertyflip@reddit
Also Southwell and Southwell.
Nottingham - Suthall Dorset - South well
Alexander-Wright@reddit
I live near to High Wycombe. There's a slight difference is pronounciation. Wickham is definitely pronounced 'Wick' as in candle wick followed by a strong A ham.
Wycombe has a more rounded 'W' at the start, like the 'W' in Woad. I wish I could write phonemes. It would be a lot clearer.
TLDR; there's a slight difference, but you'd have to listen carefully to spot it.
Cherrytree374@reddit
There used to be a USAF base on the outskirts of High Wycombe called Daws Hill, the American residents used to pronounce it High Wick-Om-Bee... But to everyone else it is Wick-Um.
kebabby72@reddit
The thing as well is that a lot of UK places were historically called something else.
For example, the village of Haydock was originally Hedoc (1169), Heddoch (1170), Haidoc (1212) and Heydock (1508).
Now, most people would see the word Haydock and pronounce it exactly as they would imagine it's spelt and they'd be correct. But some people from Haydock who have had families there for hundreds of years pronounce it Haddock, like the fish.
ImInTheMealDeal@reddit
They're the same, yes.
nonsequitur__@reddit
Yes they are pronounced the same way.
Neat-Ostrich7135@reddit
Yes wycombe, is pronounced as Wickham.
Wycombe comes from wye (river) combe (valley) making it possibly the least original place name in the country. Wye meaning river explains why there are at least three rivers called Wye in England.
kilgore_trout1@reddit
Yes - also in the town where I live there’s a road call Wykham Lane and that’s also pronounced the same.
pafrac@reddit
I was born in High Wycombe and the missus comes from Wickham. We've always pronounced both the same way and so far no-one has complained.
jeanclaudebrowncloud@reddit
Tell her it's still shit
pafrac@reddit
Depends which Wickham you mean. The one in Hampshire isn't too bad, although the incomers have done their best to ruin it.
bondinchas@reddit
I worked with an American once who insisted that I, a Brit living less than 20 miles from there at the time, was pronouncing it wrong and that it was pronounced "high why com bee" 🤣
ShotChampionship3152@reddit
Short answer: yes.
Long answer: still yes.
Acceptable-Fun640@reddit
They start the same, but they don't necessarily end the same
MixPlus@reddit
Yes they are.
oooohshinythingy@reddit
I would pronounce them both the same
crankgirl@reddit
Kinda. I find myself pulling a slightly different facial expression for each but the sound is more or less the same.
namiraslime@reddit
they sound super different in my head so it’s weird realising they’re pronounced exactly the same
PassiveTheme@reddit
Yes. Wycombe is pronounced "wick-um"
Defiant_Income_7836@reddit
I'm more of a wick-um and a wick-em kinda guy
S1nnah2@reddit
I grew in west Wickham and id say wick-am. It's just a silent H in a south london/Kent accent.
I_will_never_reply@reddit
Yes, although there's an extremely subtle difference in the last syllable - Wick HAM vs Wick COME but not as dramatic as that even
Billy_Rizzle@reddit
Wait until you hear how Witham in Essex and Witham in Lincolnshire are pronounced.
Slight-Brush@reddit
And Wytham near Oxford
hang-clean@reddit
Yes but don't confuse the residents of either with Wykehamists (also pronounced wick-um). That's a different thing.
ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit
And never mix up Wykehamists with mere Wintonians, who no less come from Winchester
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
For real? That’s hilarious!
hang-clean@reddit
Well, I mean some of the residents _could_ be Wykehamists (pupils of Winchester College), but not because they live in those places.
GenericBrowse@reddit
Yes, apart from when the member of staff in a furniture shop pronounced it wi-com-bee whilst taking our delivery address details.
TomL79@reddit
Yes, and so is Whickham
Outrageous-Arm1945@reddit
Yes
Rude_Rhubarb1880@reddit
Would not recommend you visit Wycombe
Depress-Mode@reddit
They are both pronounced Wik-um
horridbloke@reddit
I grew up near High Wycombe and can confirm it's pronounced "wikham" or "wickum".
Lazy-Field-1116@reddit
No. The "b" in Wycombe is subtle but noticeable when compared right next to Wickham. The inflection at the end of Wickham is slightly elevated compared to Wycombe as well, where you can hear the downwards "o". All very very subtle though.
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
My untrained American ear definitely hasn’t caught the difference yet, but I’ll be listening more closely next time!
Meowscles_dad@reddit
high why come for High Wycombe? Yeah, it’s better let’s change it.
JohnLennonsNotDead@reddit
Wickham is pronounced Gloucester and Wycombe is pronounced Why-cum
RestingSnerkFace@reddit (OP)
It seems obvious now that you explain it…
Oghamstoner@reddit
There’s a perfect illustration of this in Jeeves and Wooster. Watch from 3:00 to hear the same men saying ‘Wickham.’
fairenufff@reddit
They can be pronounced slightly differently in some English accents but the difference is very subtle and other English accents pronounce them exactly the same so you can take your pick and use whichever pronunciations are easiest for you.
skibbin@reddit
Ask Ann Widdecombe
atticdoor@reddit
Yes, the words are pronounced identically in England today. Wikəm.
SchoolForSedition@reddit
Yes
Cyan-180@reddit
c.f. Fircombe
celem83@reddit
Yes. This isnt universal there are a number of other locations beginning Wy and some of those are 'why'. But this one is very much 'Wi'
crapusername47@reddit
Depending on your accent, there might be a difference between wick-am and wick-um, I suppose.
toast_training@reddit
I (UK English) speaker Wick-um and Wick-am (the u is not very strong but noticeable).
non-hyphenated_@reddit
Pretty much they're pronounced the same. There may be a very, very slight variation at the end depending on your accent. Think "am" and "um" but it's tiny. I've just repeated it to myself repeatedly to check! Wick-am v Wick-um
tiptoe_only@reddit
Yes
Surreywinter@reddit
Yes
qualityvote2@reddit
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