I didn’t know that British pronounce St. John “Sinjin”, but I’m rarely surprised anymore by these things.
What really got me was learning why: apparently the French Saint-Jean morphed into it.
What REALLY got me was learning that Sinclair is evidence of the same: St. Clair! 🤯
@danielpunkass That’s a new one to me! I grew up in a suburb of the UK called “St Johns” and it was pronounced “Saint Johns” by everyone
@danielpunkass @samclarke that is a new one on me. Was this British person from Scotland? I can imagine this being an accent thing.
@Munish @samclarke No, it’s not a phenomenon of a single person. If you Google it you’ll find all kinds of explanations.
@Munish @samclarke I think it’s more common, if not exclusively, done when it’s part of a person’s name.
@danielpunkass It’s only when it’s part of a person’s name. If you’re talking about St John’s Church, or the biblical guy, it’s ‘Saint John’, just as you’d expect.
There used to be a politician called Norman St John Stevas, which is where I first heard the ‘Sinjin’ pronunciation.
@danielpunkass There was a Saturday-morning comedy/variety CBC Radio show for nearly 20 years called Basic Black. It had a recurring character named “George St. John Quimby” who did BBC World News-style reports. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_Black_(radio_program)
@tantramar @danielpunkass Of course, having only ever heard “George Sinjin Quimby” made it hard to find it years later.
