That wasn't a joke. It depends on your accent. Kiev probably should be considered one-syllable, but it's not on this quiz because most Americans are used to hearing it pronounced with two syllables.
The thing about Seoul is that people who are not familiar with romanisation of Hangul tend to interpret it as 'se-oul', since -ou as a digraph makes more sense in most European languages than -eo. In Korean that's different however, and so it's not 'se-oul', but 'seo-ul'. That does make it nominally bi-syllabic, but both in Korean and in English, the two vowels virtually always merge into a single diphthong.
Some of these really a matter of difference in accent than difference in language. Some a matter of whether you treat two vowels sounds as a dipthong or as two distinct syllables.
Got 4/5, didn't get Prague and still cant imagine it as one. But i'm not English speaker. I was thinking Kiev and Praia. And I don't know how you say example Lome either.
I think he meant gorge. It explains why it is lost to us. Devoured by the sea. (it comes from thee latin gurge and actually meant whirpool, so not just "big hole").
Atlantis swallowed whole. If not by a natural gorge, than perhaps by a giant seamonster ;)
I needed some time to warm up aswell, first 30 seconds nothing.. (might ve been less, but felt like a long time) then one, and still quite some time before a new one came, then several slightly faster, and a bigger pause for the last one.
If Kyev is not included then Lomé should be. The monosyllabic pronunciation of Kyev is becoming much more common and Lome is often pronounced in English speaking countries with a silent e formation (although it is wrong)
How were you pronouncing it?
Atlantis swallowed whole. If not by a natural gorge, than perhaps by a giant seamonster ;)
the answers comments
bern, minsk, prague, rome, seoul
Seems like time wasted.
(a.k.a. Bangkok)
and seoul is in the list
I'm such a moron aren't I?