Does 'In the matter of pronunciations of BrEng names, it is an old-fashioned fantasy of Americans that Brits go round saying POM-frit for Pontefract : most Brits that I have heard give the name a spelling pronunciation these days; and so with many of the old shibboleths.' stand in direct opposition to the premise 'Americans perfectly understand British accents.'
In the matter of pronunciations of BrEng names, it is an old-fashioned fantasy of Americans that Brits go round saying POM-frit for Pontefract : most Brits that I have heard give the name a spelling pronunciation these days; and so with many of the old shibboleths.###Americans perfectly understand British accents.