According to research by a team of linguists from the University of London, "Millwall" is the only word in the English language containing four letter "L"s, none of which are actually pronounced when the word is spoken.
This linguistic phenomenon is most notable in the local dialect of South East London, where the spoken word "Mi-war" (as represented phonetically) is the norm.
The researchers found that the "Sarf London Quadruple Glottal Stop" as they have termed it, is due to a little known ancient local by-law which permits parents in the districts of New Cross, Peckham and Bermondsey to withold pocket money from their children if they hear them pronouncing any "L"s. The amount witheld is strictly limited by the legislation to one sixpence for each "L' pronounced, up to a maximum of two shillings or one florin.
In this way, successive generations of local children have learned not to pronounce their "L"s, so that today "L"s have entirely disappeared from local speech.
The research team are currently embarking on a new project to ascertain the causes of the lost letter "T" in the word Charlton when it is spoken by inhabitants of SE7 and North West Kent.
Any Charlton Lifers who know the whereabouts of the missing letter "T" are asked to contact the research team immediately.
Comments
Excellent description of the double glottal stop but I would spell it as mi waw
Agree bing. it is in fact Cheow'en. I obviously dont know my double glottal stop from my elbow.
reckon its char un
Strange
We have our very own professor Henry.
I know where the "T" is.
There's a guy who sits a few rows behind me in the NW Quadrant who has it, together with our "L "
" We are charLTon, super charLTon, covered end " .....Very strange sound.