Quennevais is really Les Quennevais but we get lazy and often drop the Les, Les is pronounced L' or some people do say Lay. It was rather amusing when there was an advert on local radio when the obviously English voice over artist pronounced it Lez as in the shortform of the name Lesley, presumably he thought that it was a person and not an area.

We have a Launceston in Tassie. We folks on the big island pronounce it LAWNceston. The folks on the little island call it LONceston. Then I heard Dermot thingie on "Eggheads" say LAWNston or similar. I had no idea what he was talking about until the conversation evolved further. I remember the first time I heard a Pom say "hessian". I'm sure it totally correct to say 'hess e an' but we Antipodeans say 'heshan'. Hearing 'hess e an' still brings a smile to my face as does 'hy dran gee a'. We say 'hy drain ja' but a Pommy ex of mine had me in stitches the first time I heard him talk about the hy dran gee as..

As for soft drinks, we always specify what we'd like (lest someone say 'I'm not a mind reader, tell me what you want!') but as a general term, I'd call soft drinks, water, juice etc 'softies'.

Here in the middle of the U.S. where I am, we have many corporate call centers because of our more subdued, neutral accent and classic pronunciation. We "ask" questions, we don't "axe" them. We are concerned about "noo-clee-er" weapons not noo-kew-ler" ones. We wear "joo-well-ree" not "jool-er-ee". We have "bars, cars, yards and stars", not "bahs, cahs, yahds and stahs". Don't get me wrong, I love linguistics and the sound of different accents, dialects, idioms and pronunciation but I have an easier time understanding Brits than I do people from the deep southern or far northeastern U.S.

Thanks Paul! (and welcome to Funtrivia!)
I agree with all who say that the difference in the way we express ourselves in English is fascinating. I find it delightful when I hear a new accent or a new word for something.
When I first went to London from the West Country at aged 18, I could tell that people were just not understanding a word I said (or "oi zed") Their eyes glazed over and they nodded and said "yeeees?" I had to adapt so quickly. This skill in itself is amazing in humans. Ah how wonderful the study of Language is...!

We pronounce Melbourne as Melbun. How dare Americans keep pronouncing it how it is spelt.

I know. I feel the same about Gloucester, Leicester, Worcester , Reading, Shrewsbury,
Warwick and most of all Mousehole. Not to mention Peasdown-St John.

OK, I'll bite. How do you pronounce Mousehole?

Mowzul or similar.

yep

My ex from Bummingham, AL, pronounced it co-cola.

We have a Ver sails in CT, too. And a Coventry, pr. Cah ventree, whereas I call it CUH ventree.

There is a Coventry in Kentucky too, just across the Ohio from Cincinnati. It's pronounced CUV-en-tree.

We pronounce Coventry 'social isolation'.

As for Mousehole, well Sue and Ren may call it Mowzul if they like, I call it 'that place where I was bashed on the head and robbed' - a seagull flew straight into me and stole my ice cream! I would tell you what I called the seagull but then Sue would ban me.

Where I grew up near Chicago, Illinois it was always route (as in out) and after living numerous places over the years I can't honestly say where I picked up the root pronounciation. After living in Texas for 23 years, I find myself saying both -- depends who I'm with - a northerner or a southerner.

Then there is pecan - is it peecan or picahn? Down here in Texas it's peecan pie! Yummy! People would wonder where I am from if I said it that way "up north."

And let's add one more. In Illinois the town of Des Plains is pronounced with the s sound. In Iowa one would pronounce another town, Des Moines, without the s sound. (By the way, Des Plaines claim to fame is Macdonalds. From Wikipedia: "The present corporation dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois, on April 15, 1955, the ninth McDonald's restaurant overall.")

I bet you called the seagull the same names I called the seagull that pooped on my head just after I had washed and dried my hair!

Ha! I used to live on the south coast and my job involved organising/participating in university graduation ceremonies - which meant wearing a dark suit and academic dress. So I came out of one ceremony, took my gown off, and a passing gull chose that moment to poop all over me! Now, you may say I should be grateful he missed my gown but actually I might have been able to claim a new one of those on the insurance - and getting a new one would at least have been tax deductible. But my own 'normal' clothes? Nope, I had to pay the cleaning. And walk through town to the car park with gull poop all over me - and as you know, it stinks!

I used to work in Portsmouth and one day a seagull decorated my grey suit, naturally I didn't have a coat that I could cover the mess with and I had to catch a train back to Southampton.

It reminds me a ditty we used to chant when we were children.

Little birdy flying high
Dropped a message from the sky
Angry farmer wipes his eye
And said "Thank goodness cows don't fly".

That's a good one, sue! I used to feed the local birds all winter, so in spring they paid it forward - by pooping on my sheets hanging out to dry. It's supposed to be good luck. It doesn't feel or look like it. You know that nice fresh air scent that sheets get flipping in the breezes...kinda put the kibosh on that!

In NYC it was always 'root', esp. in Bklyn and Queens. People who said 'rowt' were looked at suspiciously, possibly as enemy agents.

yes , in the West seagull is pronounced vermin.

Reminds me of Maynooth's grandmother. She had very little education and had never heard the word Egypt pronounced. She saw it written down in a newspaper and said "Who would name a country Egg-wiped?"

In my opinion, the one that really takes the cake is Featherstonehaugh. I knew an English person with this surname. Believe it or not, it is pronounced Fanshaw.

up here in Canada, gull is pronounced "flying rat". I live NOwhere near the sea and they are quite the pests (yes, even worse than Canada geese lol).

We always order EXACTLY what we want as in: I would like a 7-up (or whatever). Nothing is classified into groups like "soda", "pop", or whatever. The closest we get to categorising something like that is calling it a "soft drink" I suppose (as opposed to something with alcohol in it). We like to keep things clear and simple : ).

As for pecans, generally people pronounce it as "pee'kins" up here. But I was in South Carolina once and ordered pie for dessert. The waiter (who was really adorable, so I didn't take his criticism with anything but a laugh) said "Hey "hon"? We call it picawwwwwwwn pie here. A "peecan" is something you put under your bed at night if you don't have indoor plumbing" lol.

Egypt. As a child I came home from school and told my mum I was reading about the Eggyputyans. Of course the whole neighbourhood heard of my shame!
As to Featherstonehaugh, Carole, I have also heard it as Festonhay. Also there is Cholmondelay(Chummley) and Beauchamp(Beechum), and no doubt many other silly pronounciations.
My students ask me why English is so difficult( referring to rough, bought etc) and I usually tell them it is specially made that way so that only very clever people can learn it.

Having been brought up in Hampshire, home of Beaulieu which is famous for the motor museum I of course was taught that it was pronounced Bew-lee but then moving here to Jersey we have a school which is named Beaulieu and that of course is Bowl-yah (as in bow of ribbon), we also have Haulieu so that is Hol-yah (as in a hoe for the garden).