
CORRECT PRONUNCIATION OF CHOUGH AND POCHARD. 
To the Editors of British Brrps. 
Sirs,—I think I am correct in stating that the generally accepted 
pronunciation of the word Chough is like the word rough. The other 
day, however, when talking to a Cornishman, he spoke of the Choughs, 
pronouncing the word in the same way as plough. On reflection, it 
seems to me that this may be the original and correct pronunciation 
since, as is the case in the names of many of our British birds, the 
name would then be onomatopeic. 
As regards the word Pochard, I have heard competent ornithologists 
pronounce the first syllable as in pock, in poke, in poach and as in 
potch; a definite ruling as to the correct pronunciation of this word 
would be welcome. Huex 8. GLADSTONE. 
LONDON, 
August, 13, 1917. 
[The New English Dictionary (Vol, II., p. 385), which adopts the 
ordinary pronunciation of the word Chough, gives numerous forms of 
the word, some of which (Chowe, cowe, kowe) must have been pro- 
nounced to rhyme with plough. Chaucer (1381) writes Chowgh (var. 
readings crow(e, chough(e, choghe, chowhe, clough); Trevisa (1387) 
chouzhe; Caxton (1481) chowe; Horman (1519) chowghis, ete. 
Holme in 1688 writes ‘‘The Jack Daw .. . is called a Caddesse or 
Choff.’’ As restricted to P. pyrrhocorax and not used generally for a 
Jackdaw or Corvus sp. the first quotation is from Withals Dictionary 
(1566): “ A Cornish Chough, pyrrhocorax.’’ Some of the variant forms 
seem to be rather obscurely related. Mr. W. 8. D’Urban, in the Viet. 
Hist. of the County of Devon, gives both “ Chuffe’’ and “ Chow” as 
colloquial names for the Jackdaw, so that both forms seem to have 
survived to the present day. 
With regard to the name Pochard the same authority (Vol. VII., 
p- 1035) states that “‘ the pronunciation seems quite unfixed. Prof. 
A. Newton makes the ch=k, but Johnson made it as in poacher.” 
Among the variant forms are pocharde, poachard, pocard, pocker, 
pockard, and poker. (It may be noted that Evelyn, in 1667, wrote 
“ potcher ”’ for the word now universally written “‘ poacher.’’) 
In this case there seems to be no generally accepted pronunciation, 
and the supporters of both long and short o and hard and soft ch can 
derive some authority for their usage.—F. C. R. JourpDaAtn.] 
