Thank you for the hilarious image of an obnoxious American tourist shouting "I need to talk to the Mater DEE!" at a baffled Frenchman.

> (disclaimer: Brit here, not defending our pronunciation of Worcestershire)

The Americans typically pronounce it some form of "Wooshishurr".

I used to live in Massachusetts, and my wife would complain about the British-inspired place names and their local pronunciation. "I'm from Louisiana, I can't with your New England names! There's no 'lemon' in Leominster!"

I would gently remind her of how 'Natchitoches' is pronounced; it's certainly not as written.

The North Americans got their own back on me on one trip when I asked for a glass of 'water'. I increased my southern English accent until I was saying 'wart-er'. I then realised that I needed to say 'wadder' and then it worked; service with big smiles all round.