Musings on Language #2

[Yora]

ll is one of the easier sounds in my opinion, it just indicates a soft l - Llewellyn is the main example.

I agree that Gaelic or Celtic names are tricky - my wife still can't pronouce Aberystwyth correctly, despite nearly going to university there (actually, I think that was one of the main reasons why she didn't go there...).

Maybe it would help using a spelling system that looks similar to how the letters are used in Germanic and Romanic languages.
From the way it's spelled, it could be pronounced Bunny Town for all that I know.

Though from where I am from, we're a bit guilty of it ourselves. There are lots of weird place names:
Lübeck - Lyubēk, not Lyubekk
Itzehoe - Itseh-hō, not Itseh-ho-e

In Lübeck, this is not a ck as in all other German words. It's a ec, which is a long E, which does not exist anywhere else.
The spelling for a long O in german is oh, there is no oe anywhere, only o-e.

And then you can also get into dialects. Yes, the correct pronounciation of Hamburg is is humbourg. But the locals sam Huhmboirch.