Back to Basics
Why do many English people pronounce Loch as Lock? And yet they say the composer Bach's name correctly. I don't think there is something genetic that has malformed English vocal chords and prevents them making the "ch" sound in Loch. To pronounce Bach as Back would reveal ignorance. But then again the Welsh word Bach is often pronounced Back by English people. These are not bad people. But they are buying into an arrogance which says We Don't Care how You Say It, This How We Say It and That's What Matters. The same goes for North Americans who call Edinburgh Edinburg. I recently heard either Americans or Canadians interviewed on the Royal Mile say Edinburg. I'm pretty sure that by that point they'd heard it correctly pronounced Edinburra several times during their visit to the city.