Hi, I'm Jenny Dance, a British English pronunciation coach based in Bristol, on Gloucester Road - pronounced /ˌɡlɒs.tə ˈrəʊd/ (Make ROAD the strongest part of this phrase: glos-tə ROAD).
For the last 20+ years I've coached international professionals on their spoken English, and I regularly find one thing: people with excellent English still hesitate over pronunciation. Bristol's place names are a good example of general English words (important everyday words, if you live here) which can be difficult to pronounce. I sometimes have to check with my students: 'Did you say Clifton or Cleavdon?' The relaxed /ɪ/ vowel in Clifton is not always easy to say clearly if you don't have a similar sound in your language.
If you want to know whether 'Leigh' rhymes with 'high' or 'see', or how to say 'Cabot Circus' correctly, you've come to the right place! And even native speakers might struggle with the Bristol pub, the Llandoger Trow...
I built Say Hello Bristol - an interactive map and pronunciation guide, where you can hear how to actually say the street names, landmarks and neighbourhoods - to help visitors and international residents get around the city with confidence.
For each entry, you can see the phonetic spelling, get a quick tip on how to pronounce it, hear the model audio, and record yourself to compare.
Each card uses the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) - symbols that represent sounds, not letters, so you always know exactly how a word is said. Two small marks help with rhythm too:
A mark like this ˈ shown before a syllable tells you that one is stressed - say it a little louder and stronger than the rest. A mark like a comma: ˌ shows the following syllable has a secondary, weaker stress. A dot . simply marks where one syllable ends and the next begins.
For example, in /ˌɡlɒs.tə ˈrəʊd/, the dot splits Gloucester into two syllables, and the mark which looks like an apostrophe tells you the main stress is on "road".
If you want to explore the full set of English IPA sounds, take a look at my interactive British English sounds chart.
I'd love to hear from organisations supporting international visitors, students, professionals or residents in Bristol - universities, hospital trusts, relocation teams, tourism bodies, or anyone who thinks their community might benefit from a bespoke version of this app. My mission is to help people communicate with confidence!
I also offer one-to-one pronunciation coaching for professionals working on their spoken English. Find out more at jdenglishpronunciation.co.uk
Or get in touch with me: jenny@jdenglishpronunciation.co.uk
Say Hello Bristol is created and run by Jenny Dance, trading as JD English Pronunciation. By using this app, you're agreeing to the following.
A small number of pins are free to use. Full access to all pins is available either by entering an access code (for example, if you've been given one as part of a trial or partnership) or, in future, by paying a one-off or subscription fee through our payment provider. Prices and payment options will be shown clearly in the app before you pay. All payments are processed securely by a third-party payment provider; we never see or store your card details.
If you use the "Record" feature to practise and compare your pronunciation, your recording stays on your own device. It is not uploaded, stored, or listened to by us — it exists only in your browser for as long as you keep that page open.
We use Google Analytics to understand, in general terms, how the app is used (for example, which pins are popular). This does not include your voice recordings and does not identify you personally.
Say Hello Bristol is provided as a helpful guide to pronunciation and local information. While we do our best to keep it accurate and up-to-date, we can't guarantee it's error-free, and we're not liable for any loss or inconvenience arising from its use. Place information (opening times, whether a location still exists, etc.) may change and should be checked independently if it matters for your plans.
If you have any questions about these terms, payments, or how the app works, please get in touch: jenny@jdenglishpronunciation.co.uk
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