I asked this question a few years ago whilst in Cairns and didn't get very satisfactory answers. perhaps the older and wiser might know.
Why is CAIRNS pronunced like CANS? A CAIRN is a pile of rocks to mark a grave etc and the ai is pronounced like the ai in air. See the link below and click the speaker icon beside 'Cairn'. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cairn
Perhaps it was someone's name and had been pronounced that way for centuries?
Cheers

I think thats a good question to send into Can We Help on the ABC TV show

We always pronounce it like the "Pile of rocks", never heard anybody say "Cans" ... maybe its a locality thing. Theres lots of examples of different pronunciations around the country.

I've always heard it pronounced as Cans and have wondered why, thought it must be an Aussie thing. Me being an ex Kiwi. I used to say Cairns (the pile of rocks) until i was told it is Cans !!!! Oh well....

I think you will find it is just "strine" when it is pronounced CANS - you know like - "oright" -"howyagarn" - "melbin" - "bewdy" oright?????Jules

As "C end D" cim frim New Zullend meybi Cairns sounds lik Cans to thim

Just the good old Qld slang :)

Well, I'm a kiwi living in Vic and forever correcting people down here. They say Cans I say Cairns (air) They say I am saying it wrong.

Happywanderer wrote:

---

Well, I'm a kiwi living in Vic and forever correcting people down here. They say Cans I say Cairns (air) They say I am saying it wrong.

---

Australia may be an English speaking country but a lot of the English spoken is a foreign language.LOL

 

The North Queenslanders call it Cairns, eh, they live there, eh, so eh, they should know, eh!

Victorians also call Newcastle "New cas (long a as in cat) tle"  We pronounced it "New cas (rhymes with car) tle"  Those of us who live in Newcastle should know.

PS: don't try to correct a Victorian, it's a lost cause!

(ok Mexicans I'm only joking!)

-- Edited by jimricho on Friday 10th of December 2010 07:21:45 PM

jimricho wrote:

---

The North Queenslanders call it Cairns, eh, they live there, eh, so eh, they should know, eh!

---

Whatever the residents call it is good enough for me.

 

I think you might be right eh!! jumricho

Happywanderer wrote:

---

I think you might be right eh!! jumricho

---

There appears to be conflicting ideas on this one too.
So, how do we get Sydney to sound like Seedney. And what about feesh and cheeps. Don't forget last chance.
It's all interesting though, where would we be without conflict.
I know some of us sound atrocious - generally those from the South Island, a different place. (Present company excluded of course.)
The home of English has some choice sounds too.

Who CAIRES

Over here in the West we have a town called C.o.c.k.burn but it is pronounced Coburn as in Coe burn.

We have one called Waipukerau and it's pronounced the same way. Yeah, there's ome funny pronunciations alright and Kiwis have most of them.

I reckon curiosity keeps the brain cells ticking over.

I'll throw in Mackay Qld. I've only ever heard it said as Mack-eye, but friends who come from there say it's Mack-ay.

So now everytime I hear someone say Mack-eye I tell them the story.

In England Derby is Darby, but in WA dont dare call it anything but Derby

Ah yes -- Albany WA (short 'a'), Albury NSW (long 'a'); Malvern Vic (long 'a'), Malvern SA (short 'a'); and so on. As a professional freelance editor I often despair, though, about words like 'nuclear' (nu-clear), so often pronounced 'nucelar' (and many other examples), as well as about advertising-speak, where words are deliberately misspelt -- and we then wonder why our kids and young adults cannot speak clearly, or write or spell coherently, or believe that correct use of the language is unimportant...arrrggghhh! OK -- off the soapbox! ;) Andrea

Try the Maori language where 'wh' is pronounced 'f' in words like whare - pronounced 'forry' meaning house, Whakatane, Whakamarama etc - place names.
Then in the Samoan language, wherever there's a 'g'  in a word, an 'n' is placed in front of it, eg Palagi (European person) is pronounced Palangi, (Parlangee.)
Language is a confusing thing, even if you're raised with it, especially English.

Gerty Dancer wrote:

---

In England Derby is Darby, but in WA dont dare call it anything but Derby

---

Is it true that in Derby (WA) at the annual races they have a race called the Derby Derby  pronounced Derby Darby?

Also In "English" English (ie "King's English") "clerk" is pronounced "clark".  In America it's pronounced clerk (rhymes with work).  In America a clark is a thing on the wall that goes tick tark!

 

C and D wrote:

---

Try the Maori language where 'wh' is pronounced 'f' in words like whare - pronounced 'forry' meaning house, Whakatane, Whakamarama etc - place names.
Then in the Samoan language, wherever there's a 'g'  in a word, an 'n' is placed in front of it, eg Palagi (European person) is pronounced Palangi, (Parlangee.)
Language is a confusing thing, even if you're raised with it, especially English.

---

Well I'll be whucked!  I never knew that!

 

jimricho. I knew that one eh !! Love your spelling, you can use that everytime now without getting asterisks.

C and D, You have started something now !!

I hope it's not as big as Wikileaks! I can't afford the legal dudes.

I know you're older than me JimRicho, but there's always something new to learn, even from a whoreigner. Not much of one tho, only a few Ks across the sea.

Move over here and lets all be whriends together.

Hey C and D how is our small holding going at the moment? LOL