"How should Havelock be pronounced?" Topic

i.e the British General, and that bit of cloth from the back of a Kepi named after him.

Came up on a Terry Pratchett site while discussing the pronounciation of various character names.

So how did Gen Sir Henry Havelock pronounce his name?
(In my head it is Hav-e-lock, fairly soft 'e').

Have a lock.

I thought it was 'have a look'?

Webster's Dictionary: Pronunciation: 'hav-"läk, -l&k

Whatever that means.

It would obviously differ by accent from the US to England. Perhaps 'Ave-e-lowck to the Brits and Havelock to the unimpressed US civil war soldiers forced to wear the head covering designed by him :-)

I've always pronounced it Hav-Lok…

There are two towns in New Zealand named after him – or his relatives.

They are both prononounced Have-a-lock.

Mind you, we New Zealanders are quite capable of mispronouncing anything.

My dad who is from the northeast of England, where there is a hospital named after the General, he says it Hav-lock.

General Havelock never got over his unfortunate duel with General Boltcutter.

There are actually about three accents mixed up in ave-e-lowck. In proper English, ie south of the Watford Gap, it should probably be 'averlock.

The two towns in New Zealand named after him are indeed pronounced Hav-a-lock, although it comes out more like Haverlock in the local vernacular. But, I have also heard Havelock North pronounced Havlock. So who knows.

"In proper English, ie south of the Watford Gap, it should probably be 'averlock."

Excuse me? "Proper" English? Wotch wot your sayin, mate, they'rs more sorts of ways of talkin ovreer than just wot they talk like in Sarf Lundn.

Sue K.
Father Kentish.
Mother Cockney (yes, the real thing).

The Cheshire family by that name is pronounced HAV-LOK (used to work with one of them) but them poncy southerners say (H)AVER-LOCK or (H)AVER-LEWK.

Tony H

Let's try:

He's-not-feeling-too-well,-right-at-the-moment-!"

That should work out just about fine as far as pronunciations are concerned!

"Havelock" in the ACW was pronounced, "Crap"! The soldiers hated them. They were better gun rags then items to be worn. After wearing one in the Summer I'd venture to guess they lasted about… 3 hours.

Being from the north-east of England, as was General Havelock, I pronounce it Hav-lock

Hav-lock is how I would say it (being from up north east way)

"Cohen"

Burma!!

I panicked…

So that's what that stupid bit of cloth is called. I had no idea.

Stupid bit of cloth. Is the translation of the ancient english word Havelock

And now you know, and knowing is half the battle! GI JOE!

My manager is called Havelock. It is pronounced Have-lock.

To add to the problem, most people associate the havelock with the French Foreign Legion. What do the French call it?

The French call it 'the wiper of other people's bottoms'.

I always had it as Hayve-lock. Now I stand corrected. Thank you, TMPers!

When I reenacted I pronounced it "Heat – Stroke".

When they mentioned Havelock Ellis the (1930s?) sexologist back in my student days they pronounced it Hav-lock