Unpredictable placename pronunciations

Discussion of natural languages, or language in general.
Vijay
Smeric
Smeric
Posts: 2244
Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2016 3:25 pm
Location: Austin, TX, USA

Re: Unpredictable placename pronunciations

Post by Vijay »

Oh! I just remembered one in Malayalam (so much for Malayalam orthography being "phonetic")! The name of the village where my dad spent his childhood, not far from his hometown (some of my relatives still live there):

ഇരവിപേരൂർ

The spelling suggests /iɾaʋipeːɾuːr/, but in reality, it's pronounced [(j)ɛɾɯˈʋeːɾi].

Post Reply