Longest village name in the world!

[annathepiper]

This is too quirky and cool not to share; I learned today of a village in Wales that's set a record for the longest official recognized name of a village anywhere in the world: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, a.k.a. Llanfair or Llanfair P.G. for short. It has a Wikipedia entry as well as its own Internet site, which in 2002 was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest valid Internet domain name. It isn't actually the longest anymore, as the page specifies, but it's still pretty damned impressive.

So's the sound bite file on the village's site that tells you how to pronounce the name. It's all sing-songy. It ought to be set to music.

Comments

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

It means (as closely as I can remember, having been there and being able to pronounce it) Little Red Church of St. Mary by the Round Lake Under the Tree.
:)

[annathepiper]

"St. Mary's church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the church of St. Tysilio near the red cave," says the Wikipedia page.

Cool that you've been there, too. :) I would like to see Wales someday myself.

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

I was twelve at the time. I'm proud that I remembered as much as I did ;)

[annathepiper]

Hee! Neat!

[kathrynt.livejournal.com]

That was the password in Barbarella.

[annathepiper]

So I read! And so spazzkat confirms. :) I hadn't remembered; it's been a while since I saw the movie.

[lethendy.livejournal.com]

Hehehe - it's years since I've been to Llanfair P.G. The railway station was always packed with people wanting to get their picture taken in front of the sign! It was actually quite hard to fit all the name in a photograph!

Welsh is a very sing-songy language, although my knowledge of it is now sadly diminished :(

[annathepiper]

Yeah, I got a look at the photos that they had on the Wikipedia page! I can imagine photographing those signs being a bit of a challenge.

I haven't heard too much Welsh at all, but that one little sound bite file sounded very pretty. :)

And that's two folks on my Friends list who have been there. I'm impressed!

[lethendy.livejournal.com]

My maternal Grandfather was Welsh and my Mum was schooled there, although she doesn't remember too much of the language these days. The first six years of my life, our annual vacation was spent in Wales. I've been to some odd-sounding places in my time!

Did you know that Welsh is also spoken in the Patagonia region of Argentina? A group of Welsh moved there in the late 19th century as they felt their way of life was being threatened in Wales.

[annathepiper]

Oh cool--on both counts. :) Argentina would definitely not be a place I'd expect to have Welsh speakers.

[autumnwinds.livejournal.com]

My friend studied in Wales and brought me a coaster from there...it's written all around the edge and it barely fits.

[annathepiper]

Cool!

Nice icon, too. :)

[kissare.livejournal.com]

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.... it actually has 4 Ls in a row? For real? How do you even distinguish, linguistically, between 2 Ls, 3 Ls and 4 Ls in a row? What does it sound like, different from only 3 Ls? Amazing.

[annathepiper]

That is indeed for real--it's the spelling straight off of Wikipedia! But damned if I could tell you how that pronunciation works in Welsh. :)