What is the phonetic pronunciation of the name Greenwich?

Answer 1

In as far as the pronunciation of Greenwich, England, then there are two possible pronunciations in use in the UK although one is quite incorrect! For hundreds of years the working class shipbuilders of Deptford and poorer parts of Greenwich lived a stones throw away from the gentry of Blackheath and the richer parts of Greenwich famous for the Royal Naval College and the Royal Observatory. Both classes played an important role at Greenwich to guard Britain and increase her claims for the Empire. That's the history bit! Both the working class and gentry pronounced Greenwich as "grin - idge" - where the "grin" is softly sounded rather than as a hard "IN" and the "idge" is somewhere between that written and a soft "ich". There is no pronunciation of the "w" ever!- that probably became obsolete along time before. So, "grinidge", that's your answer! The other pronunciation is likened to that of the American place name, but being pronounced as "grEnICH" - again, no pronunciation of the "w". This pronunciation is quite wrong, not because people are trying to sound American but due to snobbish gentrification of the area in the Yuppie 80's, to the amusement of the working class and the gentry who lived here, as a means to creating their own intellectual distance and identity. We have them to thank for 30 years of a corrupt pronunciation that has become so well engrained by ignorant people throughout the UK, exacerbated by estate agents and even some dumbies at the BBC of all places just to sound "contemporary" or "educated". There is now a risk of losing the original pronunciation altogether! Next time you intend to buy a phonetic dictionary, check the pronunciation given for Greenwich. A good one will undoubtedly give you an historically accurate, pre Yuppie, phonetic entry. And when in Greenwich try to afford the beloved place the dignity its name deserves - the locals will appreciate it too!