Llanfair PG
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Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (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), a village on the island of Anglesey in Wales is the longest official placename in the United Kingdom and the third-longest in the world. However, not everyone realises that the name is an invention, the real name of the village being Llanfairpwllgwyngyll. For day-to-day purposes, the name is abbreviated to Llanfair PG or Llanfairpwll, which is sufficient to distinguish it from the many other Welsh places named Llanfair. It is a popular tourist destination, many people stopping at the railway station to have their photos taken next to the station sign, visiting the nearby visitors' centre, or having "passports" stamped at a local shop. Another tourist attraction is the nearby 27m high Marquess of Anglesey's Column, giving views over Anglesey and the Menai Strait (designed by Thomas Harrison, the monument celebrates the heroism of Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey at the Battle of Waterloo).
The name was contrived in the 1860s by the village council, specifically for the privilege and prestige of having "the longest name of a railway station in Great Britain". It could not be considered an authentic word in Welsh.
Llanfair.750pix.jpg
A reasonable attempt at a pronunciation would be Clan vire pulth gwinn gith gor gerrick win drob uth clan tay see lee oh go go gogch. (The "gch" in the final syllable is the "glottal h" sound, similar to the sound used in the Yiddish "l'chaim". Saying gok glottally produces more or less the same effect.) Two lls can be pronounced either as 'cl' or 'l', or more precisely as an 'l', while passing air around the tongue (try blowing while saying "l").
There have been several unofficial attempts to steal Llanfair PG's record - for promotional (Gorsafawddacha'idraigodanheddogleddollônpenrhynareurdraethceredigion) or protest (Llanhyfryddawelllehynafolybarcudprindanfygythiadtrienusyrhafnauole) reasons, but none of these "new names" have yet won the widespread recognition gained by Llanfair PG among key official bodies and transport authorities (though in practice the shorter form tends to be used on a day-to-day basis).
The name Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is also used as a password in the movie version of Barbarella.
See also
External links
- Llanfair PG (http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A403642) - article at H2G2
- llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.co.uk (http://www.llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.co.uk/) - official village website, which has the longest Internet domain name.cy:Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
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