1 week Ago By [email protected] (Will Twigger)
The iconic London Underground map is more than just a transit guide – it's a design classic. Originally crafted in 1931, the bright colours and simple layout make navigating the Tube a breeze, even if geographical accuracy takes a back seat. Yet, despite its clarity, visitors from abroad often trip over the capital's complex station names.
English pronunciation, with all its silent letters and idiosyncratic sounds, doesn't always follow straightforward rules. Step forward Arcangelo Martiello, an intrepid Italian who has taken on the task of demystifying the Tube for tourists. His creation? A phonetically precise map that lets everyone, regardless of their grasp of English, navigate London with confidence and ease.
Martiello, 48, arrived in London in 2015 with the goal of polishing his English skills. Even after years of study, however, he was thrown by the gap between how words were written and spoken. Arcangelo revealed: "Geographical names are always quite unpredictable.
The London Underground is full of unpredictable pronunciations either because there are dropped consonants or because there are letters that are very unusual in pronunciation. "If you think of Greenwich , there aren't any words that have two E's and are pronounced in the same way. So I felt like if I make a map there will be plenty of examples.
" He explained: "The fact that there are so many is really what made me want to do the map. I would say the two main things are the dropping of constants and the other one is that there are many vowel letters that are unpredictable." He gave an example of how the word 'Ham' is used in place names.
"When the word 'HAM' is at the beginning or is a separate word, it is produced 'HAM' with the H making a 'HA' sound, so like Hampstead or West Ham," he said. "When 'HAM' is at the end of the word or merged into one single word, then the 'H' is dropped and then the 'A' is pronounced. So for example, Fulham, Balham, Tottenham.
There are a few exemptions like Lewisham and Chesham where the pronunciations are 'LEWIS-HAM' and 'CHESH-HAM'." The idea for the map came to Arcangelo during the Covid pandemic. While taking online courses, he wrote down words phonetically to help him pronounce them correctly, using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).
Then, in June 2022, he watched a video about the pronunciation of Tube stops and was amazed at how difficult it can be to read. This inspired Archangelo to create his phonetic Tube map - or Chuûb map, as he writes it. The map includes station names such as Ländën Brij (London Bridge), Banxäîd (Bankside), and Oxfërd Sëërkës (Oxford Circus).
Initially, Arcangelo began with a hand-drawn draft, unable to utilise the official map due to copyright restrictions. His creation was a large map, crafted from cut and pasted pieces of paper. He later decided to refine it, creating a digital version that more clearly illustrated his work.
In total, it took Arcangelo 15 months, working intermittently, to finish his project. His map is now available online for everyone to view, complete with the phonetic alphabet he used to devise the spellings. This makes it much easier to read, not just for tourists, but also for anyone learning the words for the first time, providing an easier opportunity to match pronunciation with spelling.
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