SoTier Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 (edited) Some place names have unusual spellings or are foreign words, so people naturally struggle with saying them. OTOH, there lots of fairly straight forwardly spelled names that just have unique local/regional pronunciations. Yesterday the Weather Channel asked viewers to send them the names places that aren't pronounced locally the way most people would think they would be said. They got lots of replies, so I thought it would be interesting to do our own list of places that aren't pronounced locally the way most people would expect them to be. Here are some of my candidates: For New York, I nominate the strangest pronunciation for any place name in the US, IMO: Coxsackie, NY which is pronounced "COOK-sock-ee". Also in New York's Hudson Valley is the town and hamlet of Coeymans, which is pronounced "KWEE-mans". If you speak Dutch, you probably didn't need the phonetic spelling. In WNY, the little hamlet of Napoli, is pronounced "Na-POL-eye" and Charlotte, a town in Chautauqua County, is pronounce "Shar-LOT". Real Pennsyltuckians know that Kinzua as in Kinzua Dam and Kinzua Valley is pronounced "KIN-zoo". In Nebraska, the little town of Beatrice is pronounced "Bee-AH-triss". Norfolk, NB, the birthplace of the late great Johnny Carson, is pronounced "NOR-fork". Anybody got any other interesting ones? Edited March 4, 2022 by SoTier 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T&C Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 Ybor city, inside Tampa. Pronounced "ebore". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 Bexar County in Texas is pronounced, "bear." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 Tarentum Pennsylvania (NE of Pittsburgh) sounds like Trenum, if you speak to a local from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 Kiln, Mississippi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 (edited) P’budy — Peabody Mass Bill-ricka — Billerica Mass Wooster — Worcester Mass Bah-ston …. LaRay — Luray Virginia buh-CAN-on — Buchanan VA - byoo·ka·nuhn Edited March 4, 2022 by SlimShady'sSpaceForce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 Worcester, MA. When did it become Wooster, OH... Tchoupitoulas street (NOLA)... ACTUALLY... Isn't there a word for this? The ability to ferret out any outsiders in a local culture? 3 hours ago, Gugny said: Kiln, Mississippi Anything in the God forsaken Midwest too. Don't even ask how they say: Bourbonnais Cairo San Jose Illinois. You'll dig your ears out with red-hot pokers! 😆 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That's No Moon Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Hockessin, DE HO-kessin Newark, DE new-ARK Versailles, PA ver-SAILS Pequea Valley, PA PECK-way Wilkes-Barre, PA BARE-ee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoTier Posted March 5, 2022 Author Share Posted March 5, 2022 4 hours ago, Gugny said: Kiln, Mississippi Is the "n" silent or pronounced? 19 minutes ago, That's No Moon said: Hockessin, DE HO-kessin Newark, DE new-ARK Versailles, PA ver-SAILS Pequea Valley, PA PECK-way Wilkes-Barre, PA BARE-ee I think Americans in general call places named "Versailles" as ver-SAILS unless they're located in France. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 John Ruggiero’s house. I worked with him for years. They spell it Ruggiero but pronounce it Ruggerio. When I pointed out he mispronounces his own last name, he just shrugged. 🤷♂️ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinceThe70s Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 24 minutes ago, That's No Moon said: Hockessin, DE HO-kessin Newark, DE new-ARK Versailles, PA ver-SAILS Pequea Valley, PA PECK-way Wilkes-Barre, PA BARE-ee Newark, DE is the one I thought of. Any thread on city pronunciations is incomplete without Mianus, CT. I honestly don't know the correct pronunciation - but I know how I pronounce it every time I pass through (pun intended). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 1 hour ago, ExiledInIllinois said: Worcester, MA. When did it become Wooster, OH... 🌚 landing 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv's Neighbor Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Spokane WA Spoe-can Puyallup WA Pew ale up Chili NY Chi lai Cheektowaga NY No change there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That's No Moon Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 4 hours ago, SoTier said: Is the "n" silent or pronounced? I think Americans in general call places named "Versailles" as ver-SAILS unless they're located in France. Probably, maybe not in Louisiana or Maine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 (edited) On that note... Marseilles, Illinois is pronounced: "Mar-Sails." I guess that's NOT so bad and too overly hicky... Why does Des Moines get pronounced proper and then Des Plaines get botched? For fear of sounding like Herve Villachaize? "De Planes! De Planes!" 😏 Same with Versailles, Illinois... Ver-Sails. Edited March 5, 2022 by ExiledInIllinois 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
\GoBillsInDallas/ Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 (edited) Nevada, TX. Palestine, TX. Van Alstyne, TX. Edited March 5, 2022 by \GoBillsInDallas/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 (edited) 11 hours ago, SinceThe70s said: Newark, DE is the one I thought of. Any thread on city pronunciations is incomplete without Mianus, CT. I honestly don't know the correct pronunciation - but I know how I pronounce it every time I pass through (pun intended). There was a plane crash in Mianus bridge(on 95). Howard Stern when he was in NYC called ticket office and asked how much a one way ticket from la guardia to my anus cost lol Edited March 5, 2022 by Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Quint Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Down here in SC: Eutawville is how it's spelled. Pronounced Utah-ville. Tell me that's not the product of some illiterate redneck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 6 hours ago, \GoBillsInDallas/ said: Nevada, TX. Palestine, TX. Van Alstyne, TX. Pssst. How are they pronounced? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
\GoBillsInDallas/ Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 8 hours ago, \GoBillsInDallas/ said: Nevada, TX. Palestine, TX. Van Alstyne, TX. 2 hours ago, SlimShady'sSpaceForce said: Pssst. How are they pronounced? Nuh-VADE-uh PAL-ess-teen Van ALL-steen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Worked at a Denny's in college and laughed at people trying to pronounce Scajaquada. After several attempts we said "you mean the 198 right?" 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LewPort71 Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Kanawha River...West Virginia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted March 6, 2022 Share Posted March 6, 2022 North of me is Pulaski, NY. The correct polish pronunciation is pull-as-ski. They pronounce it pull-as-sky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICanSleepWhenI'mDead Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 Surprised nobody offered this one yet - - Locals pronounce New Orleans, LA as Naw-lins, which is about as far away as possible from the non-Cajun way I pronounced it growing up in WNY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punching Bag Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 On 3/5/2022 at 6:53 AM, Pete said: There was a plane crash in Mianus bridge(on 95). Howard Stern when he was in NYC called ticket office and asked how much a one way ticket from la guardia to my anus cost lol I am sure he got a bulk rate. I went to UB and could not understand where some people in dorms were from. Lots of variations on Lon G'Island (Long Island) I picked up unintentional and tried to order a Lon G'Island and he had no idea what I was talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 4 hours ago, Just Jack said: North of me is Pulaski, NY. The correct polish pronunciation is pull-as-ski. They pronounce it pull-as-sky. Tomorrow (first Monday of March) is Casimir Pulaski Day in Chicago. City Holiday, kids get school off. A true American hero! Anyway... That's the "hick element" and long vowels. Here: Cairo, Illinois is: KAY-ro. /smdh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 My wife makes fun of how we pronounce: Begen Chili Java Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoTier Posted March 7, 2022 Author Share Posted March 7, 2022 10 hours ago, Chef Jim said: My wife makes fun of how we pronounce: Begen Chili Java Nobody in WNY lives in Java but in JAY-va. I always thought that Long Islanders pronounced their area as Lon-GUY-land. Point Gratiot in Dunkirk is pronounced locally as "GRAT-IT". I think the correct French pronunciation is GRAT-oh. Au Sable, NY -- the Chasm, Forks, and the village/town -- is pronounced locally as oh-SAY-bull. It should be oh-SAHB-luh. Skaneateles and Scajacquada are some of those place names that only locals can say. I've always put Snowqualmie in that same group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 In the Virgina version it's pronounced Pyule-ass-key 15 hours ago, Just Jack said: North of me is Pulaski, NY. The correct polish pronunciation is pull-as-ski. They pronounce it pull-as-sky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 (edited) 20 hours ago, Limeaid said: I am sure he got a bulk rate. I went to UB and could not understand where some people in dorms were from. Lots of variations on Lon G'Island (Long Island) I picked up unintentional and tried to order a Lon G'Island and he had no idea what I was talking about. When I was at UB decades ago, a girl was wearing her boyfriend's Grand Island (Pork Chop Island) HS letterman's jacket. A lunch of Lon Guylanders were talking about what town they were from. She, wearing the jacket, says that she is from the Island too.They asked Massapequa? Islip? where? She replied " This is WNY, not NYC . Grand Island you idiots." Edited March 7, 2022 by Wacka 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draconator Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 There was a bar in Buffalo on Arkansas St, called the Arkansas. Yet they insisted they pronounce the name of the bar R-KAN-SAS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoTier Posted March 7, 2022 Author Share Posted March 7, 2022 2 hours ago, Draconator said: There was a bar in Buffalo on Arkansas St, called the Arkansas. Yet they insisted they pronounce the name of the bar R-KAN-SAS. I think that used to be a common local pronunciation of Arkansas in the Midwest when I lived there. I don't know if that's still the case. Some Midwesterners and Westerners change the endings of place names when the names end in vowels: the Absaroka Range in Montana/Wyoming often becomes AB-sa-ro-key while the last syllable in Missouri becomes "uh" instead of "ee". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toomstone.Part.Duex Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 On 3/4/2022 at 7:21 PM, That's No Moon said: Hockessin, DE HO-kessin Newark, DE new-ARK Versailles, PA ver-SAILS Pequea Valley, PA PECK-way Wilkes-Barre, PA BARE-ee I was going to put Wilkes-Barre. I work in WB and people from out of state never say it right. Most say Wilkes-BAR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 20 hours ago, Just Jack said: North of me is Pulaski, NY. The correct polish pronunciation is pull-as-ski. They pronounce it pull-as-sky. There is a road in a neighboring town (Fort Ann, NY) named Tripoli Road. Pronounced, "try-POLE-ee." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradobillsfan Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 (edited) Buena Vista, Colorado ruffles a lot of feathers here since the town voted to pronounce their name "BEYOO-NA VIS-TA" instead of the traditional Spanish pronunciation. Edited March 7, 2022 by coloradobillsfan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 1 hour ago, Gugny said: There is a road in a neighboring town (Fort Ann, NY) named Tripoli Road. Pronounced, "try-POLE-ee." WTF! That's how they'd pronounce it in Midwest! You simply can't take the country out of folk. San Jose gets: San Josie! Shaking my head in disbelief... Bourbonnais, Illinois gets: Burr-BONE-us. Joliet gets: JOLLY-ette. WHICH, is probably closest to the original (I am assuming) French: Joelie-aye?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That's No Moon Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 5 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said: WTF! That's how they'd pronounce it in Midwest! You simply can't take the country out of folk. San Jose gets: San Josie! Shaking my head in disbelief... Bourbonnais, Illinois gets: Burr-BONE-us. Joliet gets: JOLLY-ette. WHICH, is probably closest to the original (I am assuming) French: Joelie-aye?? I'd go with ZHO-li-ay given that J in French usually is more like a Z 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 BUT! Joliet... I think was going to be corrupted to "Juliet"... Situated next to Romeoville and there were going to be "Twin Cities?" ?? Man... Things change? I always thought it was the explorer, Louis Jolliet. Hence the "Jolly" thing? Anyway... We are built on a very illiterate and corrupted English country. 😆 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That's No Moon Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 2 hours ago, Toomstone.Part.Duex said: I was going to put Wilkes-Barre. I work in WB and people from out of state never say it right. Most say Wilkes-BAR I have family in Nanticoke so I've been there many times. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 1 minute ago, That's No Moon said: I'd go with ZHO-li-ay given that J in French usually is more like a Z ANY you slice it... It's a clustereff and true bastardization. Louis Jolliet is 2 "L's"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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