"Mispronounced" town names
brink
foreign cities" thread:
How many "mispronounced" town names are there out there? "Mispronounced" is
dubious as both Nevada, MO (pronounced nuh-VAY-duh) and the state of Nevada
(nuh-VA-duh) are a bastardization of the Spanish pronunciation. But suffice
it to say 90 percent of outsiders who pass through Nevada, MO would
pronounce it as one would pronounce the state name. Wouldn't they? ;-)
Another example is Peru, IN, which another poster point out is pronounced
PEE-roo.
I really have no idea if Sequim, WA is *supposed* to be pronounced "squim"
instead of "SEE-quim," but I do know that the former is the proper way to
say it among the locals and the latter will draw laughs.
"Detroit" and "St. Croix" are other famous examples I suppose.
There's another example at the tip of my brain in the midwest that I just
cannot for the life of me remember, I just know that the spelling is
identical to some nation or foreign city but the pronunciation is radically
different... and quite funny in my opinion... ;-)
brink
Robert Norheim
or is it "Pier" SD (spelled Pierre)
"brink" <br...@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:4h5o22F...@individual.net...
k_f...@lycos.com
Many folks in Pueblo CO pronounce it "pee-ebb-low."
Buena Vista CO is often pronounced "bee-ewe-na vista."
Doug
tell ya where I'm from, I say Beeyouknee!!
elaich
@individual.net:
> How many "mispronounced" town names are there out there?
Baltimore natives call their city "Balmer."
Scott M. Kozel
>
> Many folks in Pueblo CO pronounce it "pee-ebb-low."
> Buena Vista CO is often pronounced "bee-ewe-na vista."
Buena Vista, Va. is pronounced "byou-na vis-ta."
--
Scott M. Kozel Highway and Transportation History Websites
Virginia/Maryland/Washington, D.C. http://www.roadstothefuture.com
Philadelphia and Delaware Valley http://www.pennways.com
Geoffrey F. Green
"brink" <br...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> Piggybacking off both the "Towns named after states" and "Towns named after
> foreign cities" thread:
>
> How many "mispronounced" town names are there out there? "Mispronounced" is
> dubious as both Nevada, MO (pronounced nuh-VAY-duh) and the state of Nevada
> (nuh-VA-duh) are a bastardization of the Spanish pronunciation. But suffice
> it to say 90 percent of outsiders who pass through Nevada, MO would
> pronounce it as one would pronounce the state name. Wouldn't they? ;-)
Cairo, Missouri (pronounced as KAY-roh instead of the 'proper' way,
rhyming with "eye") Versailles, Missouri (see
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versailles,_Missouri>).
What is it with Missoura, anyway? :-)
- geoff
Greendog
Rio Grande, Ohio. (RYE-o grand)
Baraga, Michigan. (BEAR-uh-guh)
Lugoff, South Carolina. (LOU-goff)
...and my very favorite near Ashland, Wisconsin...
Chequamegon National Forest. (shuh-WAH-muh-gun)
...Oh, and just one more...
Wisconsin. (wis-CON-sin NOT wes-CON-sin)
- Greendog
Free Lunch
"Geoffrey F. Green" <geoff-...@stuebegreen.com> wrote in
<geoff-usenet2-C00...@comcast.dca.giganews.com>:
Mispronounced? Why, it could be that Cairo was named after the town (and
the phonetically spelled syrup) in Illinois that pronounces it the same
way and that Versailles is named after the Kentucky town that includes
all of the letters in the pronunciation.
Gary V
Illinois - Please, not ill-a-noise - but it really should be eel-i-nwah
Michiganders just plain butcher the pronunciation of all the French
place names we have.
Robert Cruickshank
> Piggybacking off both the "Towns named after states" and "Towns named after
> foreign cities" thread:
>
> How many "mispronounced" town names are there out there?
>
> instead of "SEE-quim," but I do know that the former is the proper way to
> say it among the locals and the latter will draw laughs.
Apparently this was a Post Office glitch. The town name of Squim was
supposed to be what was officially recorded, but somewhere along the
line it was put down as Sequim. As far as I am aware the town name has
always been pronounced "skwim" and is still said that way by most
Washingtonians.
There are a few others around here that get regularly butchered, like
Puyallup (pronounced pyu-ALL-up). Medina, a wealthy town along Lake
Washington, home to Bill Gates, is pronounced "muh-DYE-nuh" instead of
"meh-DEE-nuh" like the Saudi Arabian city.
For Washington cities based on native names, a good pronunciation rule
is that the middle syllable is always the one stressed - Seattle,
Tacoma, Snohomish, Snoqualmie all work that way.
There's always San Rafael, CA, which is pronounced "San RUH-fell"
instead of as a three-syllable, given-name Rafael.
--
Robert I. Cruickshank
roadgeek, historian, progressive
J.P. and Earl
Chili, N.Y. - both vowels sound like "eye"
Avon, N.Y. - like avenue
Pulaski, N.Y. (my hometown!)- the a is like apple and the ski is like sky
J.P.
--
J.P. Wing, Road Scholar
upstatenyroads.com
renumbernewyork.com
Mukade
"J.P. and Earl" <j...@jpnearl.com> wrote in message
news:2006070622190175249-jp@jpnearlcom...
is like the brand name.
Kenny McCormack
>There's another example at the tip of my brain in the midwest that I just
>cannot for the life of me remember, I just know that the spelling is
>identical to some nation or foreign city but the pronunciation is radically
>different... and quite funny in my opinion... ;-)
As others have noted, you are probably thinking of Kayro, IL...
If you haven't already, you should check out the book "The Lost
Continent" by Bill Bryson, and check somewhere around page 55, where he
covers this in detail.
Hilarious book all around, but my favorite part is this treatment.
(Yes, I know it is spelled Cairo - it was a joke. Actually, my mother
claims that it is a legitimate pronounciation, in that there are 2
threads of pronunciation, derived from the ancient Greek/Roman language
tree - one that pronounces the 1st vowel of 2 letter vowel combinations
and one that pronounces the 2nd. An example of this is the word Caesar,
which we usually pronounce as "seize her" (hitting the "e" - the second
vowel). However, the word "kaiser" (like the roll) which was used in
19th century Germany, is derived from Caesar, by hitting the first
vowel. So, simiarly, goes Karo/Kiro...)
Ronnie Dobbs
> Piggybacking off both the "Towns named after states" and "Towns named
> after foreign cities" thread:
>
> How many "mispronounced" town names are there out there? "Mispronounced"
> is dubious as both Nevada, MO (pronounced
> nuh-VAY-duh) and the state of Nevada (nuh-VA-duh) are a
> bastardization of the Spanish pronunciation. But suffice it to say
> 90 percent of outsiders who pass through Nevada, MO would pronounce
> it as one would pronounce the state name. Wouldn't they? ;-)
Acorn, AR is pronounced "AY-kurn" instead of "a-CORN", but it's not really a
city.
kh...@jersey.net
There's Newark, NJ (NEU-erk), Newark, DE (new-ARK), and Newark, OH
(nerk).
And don't dare pronounce NJ's Newark in DE's Newark...they'll be nice
and only cut off your tongue the first time. The 2nd time, you'll be
used as kindling in a U of Delaware bonfire.
k_f...@lycos.com
I know that Louisville KY residents shorten it to "Lulvl" but when I
was there I swear folks were just pronouncing it as one, long "LLLL"
sound.
AGW
Regina . . . capital of Saskatchewan . . . rhymes with angina. It's not
the woman's name (ruh-gee-na).
Pocatello, ID. poh-ka-tell-o, not pok-a-tello.
Helena. If it's the capital of Montana, it's hel-uh-nuh. Don't know
about Arkansas.
--
Stop the chop by deleting it from my address.
AGW
Almost forgot the oft-mispronounced Prescott, AZ. press'-cut. Nearly
invisible second syllable.
Michael G. Koerner
And _always_ remember that it is 'SHAW-no', *NOT* 'sha-WA-no'. That is one of
the easiest ways for us northeast Wisconsin Cheeseheads to pick out an outsider.
BTW, the national sports guys always get Green Bay wrong. It is 'green-bay'
(with just the slightest accent on the 'bay'), *NOT* 'GREEN-bay'.
--
___________________________________________ ____ _______________
Regards, | |\ ____
| | | | |\
Michael G. Koerner May they | | | | | | rise again!
Appleton, Wisconsin USA | | | | | |
___________________________________________ | | | | | | _______________
Michael G. Koerner
> On 2006-07-06 19:57:29 -0400, "brink" <br...@invalid.invalid> said:
>
>> Piggybacking off both the "Towns named after states" and "Towns named
>> after foreign cities" thread:
>>
>> How many "mispronounced" town names are there out there?
>> "Mispronounced" is dubious as both Nevada, MO (pronounced nuh-VAY-duh)
>> and the state of Nevada (nuh-VA-duh) are a bastardization of the
>> Spanish pronunciation. But suffice it to say 90 percent of outsiders
>> who pass through Nevada, MO would pronounce it as one would pronounce
>> the state name. Wouldn't they? ;-)
>>
>> Another example is Peru, IN, which another poster point out is
>> pronounced PEE-roo.
>>
>> I really have no idea if Sequim, WA is *supposed* to be pronounced
>> "squim" instead of "SEE-quim," but I do know that the former is the
>> proper way to say it among the locals and the latter will draw laughs.
>>
>> "Detroit" and "St. Croix" are other famous examples I suppose.
>>
>> There's another example at the tip of my brain in the midwest that I
>> just cannot for the life of me remember, I just know that the spelling
>> is identical to some nation or foreign city but the pronunciation is
>> radically different... and quite funny in my opinion... ;-)
>>
>> brink
>
>
> Chili, N.Y. - both vowels sound like "eye"
Ditto Chili, WI
Michael G. Koerner
> brink wrote:
>
>> Piggybacking off both the "Towns named after states" and "Towns named
>> after foreign cities" thread:
>>
>> How many "mispronounced" town names are there out there?
>> "Mispronounced" is dubious as both Nevada, MO (pronounced nuh-VAY-duh)
>> and the state of Nevada (nuh-VA-duh) are a bastardization of the
>> Spanish pronunciation. But suffice it to say 90 percent of outsiders
>> who pass through Nevada, MO would pronounce it as one would pronounce
>> the state name. Wouldn't they? ;-)
>>
>> Another example is Peru, IN, which another poster point out is
>> pronounced PEE-roo.
>>
>> I really have no idea if Sequim, WA is *supposed* to be pronounced
>> "squim" instead of "SEE-quim," but I do know that the former is the
>> proper way to say it among the locals and the latter will draw laughs.
>>
>> "Detroit" and "St. Croix" are other famous examples I suppose.
>>
>> There's another example at the tip of my brain in the midwest that I
>> just cannot for the life of me remember, I just know that the spelling
>> is identical to some nation or foreign city but the pronunciation is
>> radically different... and quite funny in my opinion... ;-)
>>
>> brink
>
>
> Regina . . . capital of Saskatchewan . . . rhymes with angina. It's not
> the woman's name (ruh-gee-na).
It's the Latin for 'Queen'.
> Pocatello, ID. poh-ka-tell-o, not pok-a-tello.
>
> Helena. If it's the capital of Montana, it's hel-uh-nuh. Don't know
> about Arkansas.
What about Havre, MT? 'HAV-er'? 'HARV' (as in the Packers' quarterback)?
Some other way?
Bill
"brink" <br...@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:4h5o22F...@individual.net...
So these two traveling salesmen stop off for a bite in Mexia, Texas. They
end up arguing about the proper pronunciation of the town's name. When the
waitress comes to their table to take their order, they ask her how the name
of the place is pronounced. So, ever helpful -- if somewhat confused -- she
clearly, slowly and distinctly tells them that it's pronounced "Dare-ee
Queen"
(And BTW, it's Ma-hay-ah)
- B
Steve Sobol
> There's another example at the tip of my brain in the midwest that I just
> cannot for the life of me remember, I just know that the spelling is
> identical to some nation or foreign city but the pronunciation is radically
> different... and quite funny in my opinion... ;-)
There are a buttload of mispronounced towns in Ohio. I believe Lima (LYE-ma,
not LEE-ma) is probably the biggest one.
--
Steve Sobol, Professional Geek ** Java/VB/VC/PHP/Perl ** Linux/*BSD/Windows
Apple Valley, California PGP:0xE3AE35ED
It's all fun and games until someone starts a bonfire in the living room.
Larry Harvilla
This thread was done a little over two years ago:
I should know, I started the one in 2004. :-P
--
Larry Harvilla
e-mail: roads AT phatpage DOT org
blog-aliciousness: http://www.phatpage.org/news/
also visit: http://www.phatpage.org/highways.html
(in progress)
Carl Rogers
Peabody, MA is often pronounced "Pea-biddy".
Just like its British counterpart, Greenwich, CT is pronounced
"Grenn-witch".
Cheers,
Carl Rogers
-----------------
Calrog.com, Pictures of Highway Shields: http://hwy-shields.calrog.com
Highway Shield & Travel Literature: http://www.lulu.com/calrog-bookstore
kh...@jersey.net
Did she have to look at the menu first? :-)
wdi...@gmail.com
Americans seem to have issues with towns/cities that end in "itch",
except in the case of Greenwich, which is properly pronounced
"Gren-ich". The proper pronounciation is as follows
Norwich - Nor-rich, not Nor-witch
Harwich - Har-rich, not Har-witch
"Folk" is also a favorite - The New York and Massachusetts counties of
Suffolk are usually prounced properly - "Suff-ik"...but the Virginia
city is generally prononced "Nor-folk", not "Norf-ik"
And French takes a real beating-
Dauphin County, PA - "Daw-fin", not "Do-fan"
Beaufort, SC - "Bew-fort" not "Bo-for"
Calais, ME - "Kal-is" not "Cal-A"
Jon Enslin
brink wrote:
> Piggybacking off both the "Towns named after states" and "Towns named after
> foreign cities" thread:
>
> How many "mispronounced" town names are there out there? "Mispronounced" is
> dubious as both Nevada, MO (pronounced nuh-VAY-duh) and the state of Nevada
> (nuh-VA-duh) are a bastardization of the Spanish pronunciation. But suffice
> it to say 90 percent of outsiders who pass through Nevada, MO would
> pronounce it as one would pronounce the state name. Wouldn't they? ;-)
>
> Another example is Peru, IN, which another poster point out is pronounced
> PEE-roo.
>
> I really have no idea if Sequim, WA is *supposed* to be pronounced "squim"
> instead of "SEE-quim," but I do know that the former is the proper way to
> say it among the locals and the latter will draw laughs.
>
> "Detroit" and "St. Croix" are other famous examples I suppose.
>
> There's another example at the tip of my brain in the midwest that I just
> cannot for the life of me remember, I just know that the spelling is
> identical to some nation or foreign city but the pronunciation is radically
> different... and quite funny in my opinion... ;-)
New Berlin, WI is pronounced new-BER-lin...not new-ber-LIN like the
city in Germany.
This was actually done on purpose during WWI.
Jon
Michael G. Koerner
It was Berlin Township when that was done (the township became the City of New
Berlin later). BTW, the people of the City of Berlin, WI did the same thing
with their city's name at the same time and for the same reason, too.
Jon Enslin
Yep. Makes sense.
> BTW, the people of the City of Berlin, WI did the same thing
> with their city's name at the same time and for the same reason, too.
But isn't it pronounced like the city in Germany now? I always thought
so but it's not like I'm there very often!
Jon
Nate Nagel
I've always heard it "Nawfuk."
nate
--
replace "fly" with "com" to reply.
http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel
Chris Wilson
more like:
Passaic as Pah-SAY-ick or Puh-SAYK
Paterson as Patersin
Nutley as Nutlee
Paramus as Puh-RAM-is instead of Puh-RAHM-us
and many others.
Robert Norheim
> New Berlin, WI is pronounced new-BER-lin...not new-ber-LIN like the
> city in Germany.
Similarly,
BER-lin, NH
Also:
Marseilles, Ill. (pronounced Mar-sales)
Quincy, Mass. (Quin-zee)
Mike Tantillo
Actually, "Gren-ich" for England and Connecticut, but "Green-wich" New
York (near Saratoga Springs). One can argue that there is no "proper"
pronunciation, as Gren-ich is proper for CT and England, yet is not
proper for NY.
Along those same lines....the "TEMS" River can be found in England,
whereas the "THAMES" River can be found in New London CT.
>
> Norwich - Nor-rich, not Nor-witch
> Harwich - Har-rich, not Har-witch
>
> "Folk" is also a favorite - The New York and Massachusetts counties of
> Suffolk are usually prounced properly - "Suff-ik"...but the Virginia
> city is generally prononced "Nor-folk", not "Norf-ik"
>
> And French takes a real beating-
>
> Dauphin County, PA - "Daw-fin", not "Do-fan"
> Beaufort, SC - "Bew-fort" not "Bo-for"
> Calais, ME - "Kal-is" not "Cal-A"
Try going down to New Orleans...there's a lot of Englicised french
names down there.
Andrew Tompkins
> brink wrote:
>> Piggybacking off both the "Towns named after states" and "Towns
>> named after foreign cities" thread:
>>
>> How many "mispronounced" town names are there out there?
> >
>> I really have no idea if Sequim, WA is *supposed* to be pronounced
>> "squim" instead of "SEE-quim," but I do know that the former is
>> the proper way to say it among the locals and the latter will draw
>> laughs.
>
> Apparently this was a Post Office glitch. The town name of Squim was
> supposed to be what was officially recorded, but somewhere along the
> line it was put down as Sequim. As far as I am aware the town name
> has always been pronounced "skwim" and is still said that way by
> most Washingtonians.
>
Same thing happened with Aloha, OR (pronounced without the H). They
named the town with a local native word (I forget what it was). When
they put it down on the Post Office paperwork, the postal service
changed it to the nearest known word.
--
--Andy
--------------------------------------------------
Andrew G. Tompkins
Software Engineer
Beaverton, OR
http://home.comcast.net/~andytom/Highways
--------------------------------------------------
Mike Tantillo
Newark DE wants nothing to do with Newark NJ. The former is a fairly
nice college town, and the latter is, well, ya know......
Pete from Boston
You've lost me there. Paterson's "o" is a schwa sound, like in many if
not most similar names ending in "-son." I don't think there's any
local mystery nor much mispronunciation.
"New-erk," or the same slurred into "Noourk," is in fact the accepted
pronunciation in New Jersey, not a mispronunciation.
Pete from Boston
> Piggybacking off both the "Towns named after states" and "Towns named after
> foreign cities" thread:
>
> How many "mispronounced" town names are there out there? "Mispronounced" is
> dubious as both Nevada, MO (pronounced nuh-VAY-duh) and the state of Nevada
> (nuh-VA-duh) are a bastardization of the Spanish pronunciation. But suffice
> it to say 90 percent of outsiders who pass through Nevada, MO would
> pronounce it as one would pronounce the state name. Wouldn't they? ;-)
>
> Another example is Peru, IN, which another poster point out is pronounced
> PEE-roo.
>
> I really have no idea if Sequim, WA is *supposed* to be pronounced "squim"
> instead of "SEE-quim," but I do know that the former is the proper way to
> say it among the locals and the latter will draw laughs.
>
> "Detroit" and "St. Croix" are other famous examples I suppose.
>
> There's another example at the tip of my brain in the midwest that I just
> cannot for the life of me remember, I just know that the spelling is
> identical to some nation or foreign city but the pronunciation is radically
> different... and quite funny in my opinion... ;-)
>
> brink
Jesus, you could write a whole book on these in Massachusetts:
- Woburn: WU-b@n
- the "-hams": Some are said "ham" (e.g. Ashburnham), some "@m"
(Dedham), and then there is Waltham ("WALL-tham," not "Walt-ham" or
Wall-th@m").
- Worcester: W@SS-ter (W@SS-tuh, really).
- Billerica -- Bill-RICK-a
- Newburyport -- NEW-bree-port, like "news report," but with a b
instead of an s.
This has been beaten to death in other threads, though, so you can look
the rest up there. Just remember if "Lowell" is more than one syllable,
it's not by much (Lohwl).
Wally Sevits
wrote:
>
>Peabody, MA is often pronounced "Pea-biddy".
>
The way I hear this is "Peab-dee"
Wally Sevits
<mgk...@dataex.com> wrote:
>
>What about Havre, MT? 'HAV-er'? 'HARV' (as in the Packers' quarterback)?
>Some other way?
HAV-er Dee Grace, MD
Rick Powell
brink wrote:
> Piggybacking off both the "Towns named after states" and "Towns named after
> foreign cities" thread:
>
> How many "mispronounced" town names are there out there? "Mispronounced" is
> dubious as both Nevada, MO (pronounced nuh-VAY-duh) and the state of Nevada
> (nuh-VA-duh) are a bastardization of the Spanish pronunciation. But suffice
> it to say 90 percent of outsiders who pass through Nevada, MO would
> pronounce it as one would pronounce the state name. Wouldn't they? ;-)
>
> Another example is Peru, IN, which another poster point out is pronounced
> PEE-roo.
>
> I really have no idea if Sequim, WA is *supposed* to be pronounced "squim"
> instead of "SEE-quim," but I do know that the former is the proper way to
> say it among the locals and the latter will draw laughs.
>
> "Detroit" and "St. Croix" are other famous examples I suppose.
>
> There's another example at the tip of my brain in the midwest that I just
> cannot for the life of me remember, I just know that the spelling is
> identical to some nation or foreign city but the pronunciation is radically
> different... and quite funny in my opinion... ;-)
>
> brink
IL could fill a whole thread. Municipality, followed with local
pronunciation:
Cairo - KAY-ro
Vienna - VIE-enna
Teheran - ta-HEH-ran
Marseilles - mar-SAYLES
San Jose - San JOE
Eldorado - el-do-RAY-doe
off the top of my head.
RP
Ursa Major
My favorite Idahoism is Moscow ID, pronounced MOSS-coh, rather than the
anglicizated MOSS-cow. Shoulda stuck with MOSK-va.
Michael G. Koerner
Nope, still BER-lin.
:-)
Michael G. Koerner
Naaaah, it should be HARV dee grace, MD now.
<ducks!>
(hehehehehehe)
H.B. Elkins
>How many "mispronounced" town names are there out there?
Ver-SALES, Ky. (Versailles)
Mon-ti-SELL-oh, Ky. (Monticello)
New MAD-rid, Mo. (New Madrid)
A-thens (long a), Ky. (Athens)
Yoh-suh-might, Ky. (Yosemite)
That's off the top of my head.
--
To reply by e-mail, remove the "restrictor plate"
Rick Powell
H. B. Elkins wrote:
> On Thu, 6 Jul 2006 18:57:29 -0500, brink wrote:
>
> >How many "mispronounced" town names are there out there?
>
> Ver-SALES, Ky. (Versailles)
>
> Mon-ti-SELL-oh, Ky. (Monticello)
>
> New MAD-rid, Mo. (New Madrid)
>
> A-thens (long a), Ky. (Athens)
>
> Yoh-suh-might, Ky. (Yosemite)
>
> That's off the top of my head.
>
>
> --
There's an Athens, IL that is pronounced the same way. Forgot it on my
list.
RP
Richard Kaszeta
> > BTW, the people of the City of Berlin, WI did the same thing
> > with their city's name at the same time and for the same reason, too.
>
> But isn't it pronounced like the city in Germany now? I always thought
> so but it's not like I'm there very often!
It's BER-lin, New Hampshire as well.
Other favorites of mine:
1. Versailles, OH (home of the annual Poultry Days festival) is
pronounced Ver-SALES. It's right down the way from Russia, OH,
which is pronounced Roos-ia.
2. I lived for a while in Lenoir City, TN, and most everyone there
called it "Leonard City". And Maryville, TN was Mar-A-ville, TN.
3. Lebanon, NH (where I get my mail these days) is Leb'nin, NH.
Pronouncing it like the country gets you labeled as a tourist.
--
Richard W Kaszeta
ri...@kaszeta.org
http://www.kaszeta.org/rich
SP Cook
brink wrote:
> Piggybacking off both the "Towns named after states" and "Towns named after
> foreign cities" thread:
>
> How many "mispronounced" town names are there out there? "Mispronounced" is
> dubious as both Nevada, MO (pronounced nuh-VAY-duh) and the state of Nevada
> (nuh-VA-duh) are a bastardization of the Spanish pronunciation. But suffice
> it to say 90 percent of outsiders who pass through Nevada, MO would
> pronounce it as one would pronounce the state name. Wouldn't they? ;-)
Berlin, NH is BER-lun, not ber-LIN. (Changed during WWI)
Rio Grande, OH, is Ruh-eye-O Grand, not Ruh-eee-O Grand or Grand-a.
Versiales, KY is VER-sails, not VER-sigh.
Toledo, OH is Toe-LEE-dooo, not To-lay-do.
SP Cook
Geoffrey Hatchard
>
> There's another example at the tip of my brain in the midwest that I just
> cannot for the life of me remember, I just know that the spelling is
> identical to some nation or foreign city but the pronunciation is radically
> different... and quite funny in my opinion... ;-)
>
Maybe you're thinking about Charlotte, MI? It's not SHAR-lit like in
NC, but shar-LOT.
--
All the best,
Geoff
Mukade
"brink" <br...@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:4h5o22F...@individual.net...
> after foreign cities" thread:
>
> How many "mispronounced" town names are there out there? "Mispronounced"
> is dubious as both Nevada, MO (pronounced nuh-VAY-duh) and the state of
> Nevada (nuh-VA-duh) are a bastardization of the Spanish pronunciation.
> But suffice it to say 90 percent of outsiders who pass through Nevada, MO
> would pronounce it as one would pronounce the state name. Wouldn't they?
> ;-)
>
> PEE-roo.
Living not too far from there, a small minority of people pronounce Peru
that way. Most are old-timers.
On the other hand:
Galveston, IN is gal-VEST-on
Russiaville, IN is Rooshaville
>
> I really have no idea if Sequim, WA is *supposed* to be pronounced "squim"
> instead of "SEE-quim," but I do know that the former is the proper way to
> say it among the locals and the latter will draw laughs.
>
> "Detroit" and "St. Croix" are other famous examples I suppose.
>
> There's another example at the tip of my brain in the midwest that I just
> cannot for the life of me remember, I just know that the spelling is
> identical to some nation or foreign city but the pronunciation is
> radically different... and quite funny in my opinion... ;-)
>
> brink
>
Free Lunch
"Gary V" <gjvo...@comcast.net> wrote in
<1152237051.3...@k73g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>:
>Lima, OH (lye-muh instead of lee-muh)
>
>Illinois - Please, not ill-a-noise - but it really should be eel-i-nwah
>
>Michiganders just plain butcher the pronunciation of all the French
>place names we have.
Guess how Des Plaines in Illinois is pronounced.
Chris Bessert
> Lima, OH (lye-muh instead of lee-muh)
>
> Illinois - Please, not ill-a-noise - but it really should be eel-i-nwah
>
> Michiganders just plain butcher the pronunciation of all the French
> place names we have.
Wait a minute! We do better than in SOME areas (e.g., at least we don't
have a "dez-playnz" like the other poster mentioned...).
We don't do bad with Charlevoix (SHAR-luh-voy, not shar-luh-voicks) or
Livernois (LIV-er-noy, not LIV-er-noize) or Chene (shane, not CHEE-nee).
Yes, Detroit should be day-TWAH instead of the Anglicized dih-TROYT, but
we do say Sault correctly (SOO, not SALT)! We have a Seul Choix (SISH-
wah, not soul choyx) and the Les Cheneaux (lay-shuh-NO, not lez-CHEE-
nox). We have Bete Gris (bay-de-GREE, not betty-griss) and Bois Blanc
(bwah-BLAHNK, not boyz-blank) and Presque Isle (press-KEEL, not PRESS-
que EYE-ll).
With all of our Native American and French names, I don't think Michi-
ganders do half bad. Heck, there are many parts of the county that
can't even pronounce the ENGLISH names correctly!)
Later,
Chris
--
Chris Bessert
Bess...@aol.com
http://www.michiganhighways.org
http://www.wisconsinhighways.org
http://www.ontariohighways.org
Chris Bessert
> brink wrote:
>
>> There's another example at the tip of my brain in the midwest that I just
>> cannot for the life of me remember, I just know that the spelling is
>> identical to some nation or foreign city but the pronunciation is radically
>> different... and quite funny in my opinion... ;-)
>
> not LEE-ma) is probably the biggest one.
WHAT? You missed BELL FOUNTAIN (spelled Bellefontaine). That one really
annoys me... (I can live with LYE-ma.)
Chris Bessert
>
> Regina . . . capital of Saskatchewan . . . rhymes with angina. It's not
> the woman's name (ruh-gee-na).
Actually, my medical professional wife says angina is pronounced "ANN-
juh-nuh" and Regina's not pronounced "RUH-juh-nuh"...
It's not the woman's name, but it sure as heck is pronounced like some
other part of a female...
> Pocatello, ID. poh-ka-tell-o, not pok-a-tello.
Okay, I'm not hearing the difference...
> Helena. If it's the capital of Montana, it's hel-uh-nuh. Don't know
> about Arkansas.
That'd be "AR-can-saw".
ChoralScholar
Natchitoches, LA (NAK-uh-tish)
Poughkeepsie, NY (puh-KIP-see)
Blytheville, AR (BLY-vuhl)
La Plata, MD (luh PLAY-tuh)
Kosciusko, MS (koz-ee-OZ-koh)
Saucier, MS (So-shuh)
Gautier, MS (Go-shay)
Any New England Town ending in -cester
Sequim, WA (Squim)
Bexar, TX (bear)
Huger, SC (YOU-gee)
Solgohachia, AR (saw-guh-HATCH-ee)
Mahtomedi, MN (Motta-MEE-dye)
Cudahy, WI (CUD-uh-hay)
James
AGW wrote:
> Helena. If it's the capital of Montana, it's hel-uh-nuh. Don't know
> about Arkansas.
One of my coworkers hails from Helena, Arkansas. He says it's
heh-LEE-nuh.
James
James
Richard Kaszeta wrote:
> It's right down the way from Russia, OH,
> which is pronounced Roos-ia.
The local media call it ROO-shee.
James
Chris Bessert wrote:
> Wait a minute! We do better than in SOME areas (e.g., at least we don't
> have a "dez-playnz" like the other poster mentioned...).
I remember listening to Fox Sports Radio and one of the hosts called it
"dee-PLAYN". Oops! He must have been a movie buff! I think he tried
to use Iowa's Des Moines' pronunciation to guide himself. I know the
Illinois city is pronounced "dis-PLAYNZ".
John Mara
> Maybe you're thinking of "Kay-ro" Illinois (spelled Cairo)
I thought that an announcer at an Albany, NY TV station had been in
upstate New York way too long when she said that a plane had crashed on
a flight from "Kay-ro" to Athens.
Cairo, NY and Athens, NY are about 10 miles apart. I don't think either
town has an airport.
John Mara
Banjomax
>>New Berlin, WI is pronounced new-BER-lin...not new-ber-LIN like the
>>city in Germany.
>
>
> BER-lin, NH
And BER-lin, VT. There's CONG-kerd, NH (and MA) and CON-cord, CA (and
grapes, nearly equal stress on each syllable). In Mass., there's
Bernardston, pronounced BER-nids-tin (or sometimes BERNS-tin after a few
beers or a few missing teeth), though some try and pronounce it
ber-NARDS-ton.
--
Banjo
west BRAH-tul-broh, ver-MONT
H.B. Elkins
>Guess how Des Plaines in Illinois is pronounced.
Why do I suddenly have this image of Tattoo on "Fantasy Island" playing in my
head? ;-)
--
Stephen Dailey
Des Moines, Washington is one of our alien detectors. The last "s" is
pronounced, unlike with the name of the capital of Iowa.
===
Steve
Shoreline, Washington USA
smda...@seanet.com
8 Jul 2006, 1024 PDT
brink
state is the correct way, there seem to be a lot of place names out there
that get butchered by non-locals.
Spokane, WA is one of them; the locals pronounce it spo-KANN but everyone
else from Conan O'Brien to Californians seem to call it spo-KANE.
Nevada, the state, is pronounced nuh-VAD-uh by the locals; I believe Bush
mispronounces this (shocker) as nuh-VAH-duh, as do many other people.
Similarly, Oregon, the state, is spoken ORE-uh-gun by the locals and
ORE-uh-gone by many outsiders.
I thought Des Moines, IA was a pretty well-known city but I hear people
mangle that one all the time.
Oh, and can we get a clarification? Is Boise, ID more commonly called
BOY-see or BOY-zee by the locals? I've heard both.
brink
brink
"Chris Bessert" <bess...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:e8ndvf$i52$1...@news.msu.edu...
> AGW wrote:
>
>> Pocatello, ID. poh-ka-tell-o, not pok-a-tello.
>
> Okay, I'm not hearing the difference...
It's the difference between "poke" and "pock."
brink
Scott M. Kozel
Virginia:
Loudoun - LAU-din (LAU rhymes with COW)
Fauquier - FAW-keer (FAW rhymes with LAW, keer rhymes with beer)
Monticello - mont-i-CHELL-o
Staunton - STAN-tin
Norfolk - NAW-fik (by many locals) (NAW rhymes with LAW)
NOR-fik (by some others in the state, still no "L" pronounced)
Suffolk - SUFF-ik
Gloucester - GLOS-ter
Buchanan - buck-AN-in
Wytheville - WITH-vil
Henrico - hen-RIKE-o (RIKE rhymes with BIKE)
Buena Vista - byou-na VIS-ta
Maryland:
Baltimore - BAWL-i-mur (by many locals)
Worcester - WOOS-ter
Wicomico - wi-KOM-i-ko
Chevy Chase - hard "CH" pronounced
--
Scott M. Kozel Highway and Transportation History Websites
Virginia/Maryland/Washington, D.C. http://www.roadstothefuture.com
Philadelphia and Delaware Valley http://www.pennways.com
Nathan Perry
"Scott M. Kozel" <koz...@comcast.net> wrote:
> Virginia:
>
> Loudoun - LAU-din (LAU rhymes with COW)
> Fauquier - FAW-keer (FAW rhymes with LAW, keer rhymes with beer)
> Monticello - mont-i-CHELL-o
> Staunton - STAN-tin
> Norfolk - NAW-fik (by many locals) (NAW rhymes with LAW)
> NOR-fik (by some others in the state, still no "L" pronounced)
> Suffolk - SUFF-ik
> Gloucester - GLOS-ter
> Buchanan - buck-AN-in
> Wytheville - WITH-vil
> Henrico - hen-RIKE-o (RIKE rhymes with BIKE)
> Buena Vista - byou-na VIS-ta
Don't forget Tazewell (TAZZ-well not TAYZ-well).
How about pronunciation of Appalachian (and Appalachia)? Someone from
Tazewell insisted it's only correct to say apple-ATCH-in, but typical
pronunciation from northern reaches of the range seems to be
apple-AY-chin or even apple-AY-shin. But, as I recall Apalachin, NY is
pronounced the Tazewell way.
Eric Maddy
> From: "brink" <br...@invalid.invalid>
> Newsgroups: misc.transport.road
> Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2006 18:57:29 -0500
> Subject: "Mispronounced" town names
>
> Piggybacking off both the "Towns named after states" and "Towns named after
> foreign cities" thread:
>
> How many "mispronounced" town names are there out there? "Mispronounced" is
> dubious as both Nevada, MO (pronounced nuh-VAY-duh) and the state of Nevada
> (nuh-VA-duh) are a bastardization of the Spanish pronunciation. But suffice
> it to say 90 percent of outsiders who pass through Nevada, MO would
> pronounce it as one would pronounce the state name. Wouldn't they? ;-)
>
> Another example is Peru, IN, which another poster point out is pronounced
> PEE-roo.
>
> I really have no idea if Sequim, WA is *supposed* to be pronounced "squim"
> instead of "SEE-quim," but I do know that the former is the proper way to
> say it among the locals and the latter will draw laughs.
>
> "Detroit" and "St. Croix" are other famous examples I suppose.
>
> There's another example at the tip of my brain in the midwest that I just
> cannot for the life of me remember, I just know that the spelling is
> identical to some nation or foreign city but the pronunciation is radically
> different... and quite funny in my opinion... ;-)
>
> brink
>
>
brink
"Scott M. Kozel" <koz...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:44B0039B...@comcast.net...
>
> Chevy Chase - hard "CH" pronounced
>
Are you serious? I had no idea. So it's KEV-ee KASE? Or is it KEV-ee
CHASE? Or pronounced like the actor?
I'm even more confused now. ;-)
brink
Free Lunch
"brink" <br...@invalid.invalid> wrote in
<4hanu8F...@individual.net>:
Hard CH is like 'China', not like 'Chevrolet'.
brink
"Free Lunch" <lu...@nofreelunch.us> wrote in message
news:3hb0b29l3ikgk3fsd...@4ax.com...
My bad. I was thinking the Italian hard "ch" I guess, as in "cholera" and
"macchiato."
brink
Scott M. Kozel
>
> "brink" <br...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> >"Scott M. Kozel" <koz...@comcast.net> wrote:
> >
> >> Chevy Chase - hard "CH" pronounced
> >
> >Are you serious? I had no idea. So it's KEV-ee KASE? Or is it KEV-ee
> >CHASE? Or pronounced like the actor?
> >
> >I'm even more confused now. ;-)
>
> Hard CH is like 'China', not like 'Chevrolet'.
Exactly. That is what I meant.
Hard 'CH' is like in 'Chase'. :-)
Gary V
Chris Bessert wrote:
> Gary V wrote:
> > Lima, OH (lye-muh instead of lee-muh)
> >
> > Illinois - Please, not ill-a-noise - but it really should be eel-i-nwah
> >
> > Michiganders just plain butcher the pronunciation of all the French
> > place names we have.
>
> Wait a minute! We do better than in SOME areas (e.g., at least we don't
> have a "dez-playnz" like the other poster mentioned...).
>
> We don't do bad with Charlevoix (SHAR-luh-voy, not shar-luh-voicks) or
> Livernois (LIV-er-noy, not LIV-er-noize)
OK, they don't mispronounce it by adding the silent last letter.
However, the last syllables should be Vwah and Nwah.
> We have a Seul Choix (SISH-
> wah, not soul choyx)
I was just there at the Seul Choix light, it's a great place. But how
Seul becomes SISH I'll never know - but at least they got the second
word right.
> and the Les Cheneaux (lay-shuh-NO, not lez-CHEE-
> nox). We have Bete Gris (bay-de-GREE, not betty-griss) and Bois Blanc
> (bwah-BLAHNK, not boyz-blank) and Presque Isle (press-KEEL, not PRESS-
> que EYE-ll).
Yes, those they do pretty well with - although the island of the same
name in the Detroit River got mispronounced so bad that the spelling
eventually got changed to Boblo.
> With all of our Native American and French names, I don't think Michi-
> ganders do half bad. Heck, there are many parts of the county that
> can't even pronounce the ENGLISH names correctly!)
Chippewa and Ojibwa are the same tribe - you think we pronounce either
one of the words the way the natives do?
At least the Polish in Hamtramck know how to pronounce Campau, unlike
the Hollanders in GR. <grins> Hmm, in Polish does Hamtramck have 2
syllables or 3 - "ick" on the end?
Gary
John Lansford
>How about pronunciation of Appalachian (and Appalachia)? Someone from
>Tazewell insisted it's only correct to say apple-ATCH-in, but typical
>pronunciation from northern reaches of the range seems to be
>apple-AY-chin or even apple-AY-shin. But, as I recall Apalachin, NY is
>pronounced the Tazewell way.
Conetoe, NC
Chowan County, NC
Concord, NC
Perquimans County, NC
Cabarrus County, NC
John Lansford, PE
--
John's Shop of Wood
http://wood.jlansford.net/
Wally Sevits
wrote:
>Steve Sobol wrote:
>> brink wrote:
>>
>>> There's another example at the tip of my brain in the midwest that I just
>>> cannot for the life of me remember, I just know that the spelling is
>>> identical to some nation or foreign city but the pronunciation is radically
>>> different... and quite funny in my opinion... ;-)
>>
>> There are a buttload of mispronounced towns in Ohio. I believe Lima (LYE-ma,
>> not LEE-ma) is probably the biggest one.
>
>WHAT? You missed BELL FOUNTAIN (spelled Bellefontaine). That one really
>annoys me... (I can live with LYE-ma.)
>
You thinking of Bellefontaine Neighbors in north St. Louis County MO?
Bloodberri
>"brink" <br...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>>
>> Accepting the premise that the way locals choose to pronounce their town or
>> state is the correct way, there seem to be a lot of place names out there
>> that get butchered by non-locals.
>>
>> Spokane, WA is one of them; the locals pronounce it spo-KANN but everyone
>> else from Conan O'Brien to Californians seem to call it spo-KANE.
>>
>> Nevada, the state, is pronounced nuh-VAD-uh by the locals; I believe Bush
>> mispronounces this (shocker) as nuh-VAH-duh, as do many other people.
>> Similarly, Oregon, the state, is spoken ORE-uh-gun by the locals and
>> ORE-uh-gone by many outsiders.
>>
>> I thought Des Moines, IA was a pretty well-known city but I hear people
>> mangle that one all the time.
>>
>> Oh, and can we get a clarification? Is Boise, ID more commonly called
>> BOY-see or BOY-zee by the locals? I've heard both.
>
>Virginia:
>
>Loudoun - LAU-din (LAU rhymes with COW)
>Fauquier - FAW-keer (FAW rhymes with LAW, keer rhymes with beer)
>Monticello - mont-i-CHELL-o
>Staunton - STAN-tin
>Norfolk - NAW-fik (by many locals) (NAW rhymes with LAW)
> NOR-fik (by some others in the state, still no "L" pronounced)
When I lived in Virginia Beach they also pronounced Norfolk as
NAW-f_ck.....'u' get the idea.
Cherryville NC - CHERR-vil
Goto NYC and ask where is Houston street.
NYC - HOW-ston
Rest of the USA - HUE-ston
Larry Harvilla
> Chris Bessert wrote:
>
>>We have a Seul Choix (SISH-wah, not soul choyx)
>
>
> I was just there at the Seul Choix light, it's a great place. But how
> Seul becomes SISH I'll never know - but at least they got the second
> word right.
Le docteur de français est arrivé. :)
Seul Choix translates to English as "only choice." As Gary noted,
"choix" is pronounced "SHWAH" -- that's the simple part of this
explanation. The proper pronunciation of "seul" is kinda hard to explain
to non-French speakers, but I'm going to try anyway.
First, imagine the sound SULL, as in the common surname of Sullivan.
Next, imagine the soft "oo" sound (as in the words "wuss" or "put") in
between S and L. The proper French pronunciation of "seul" is about
halfway in between those two sounds, and has a tendency to be a bit more
"throaty" vowel sound.
Note also that the letter L at the end of a word *is* pronounced in
French, unlike many letters which are dropped for pronunciation
purposes. In the case of Seul Choix, though, it has a tendency to be
drowned out by the SH sound that starts the word Choix.
Chris (and by extension, basically all non-francophones in the U.S.)
came up with SISH-wah by: (a) re-processing a French vowel sound that
doesn't exist in English into the most similar vowel sound that exists
in English, and (b) missing out on the very subtle L sound at the end of
Seul.
--
Larry Harvilla
e-mail: roads AT phatpage DOT org
blog-aliciousness: http://www.phatpage.org/news/
also visit: http://www.phatpage.org/highways.html
(in progress)
J.P. and Earl
> On Fri, 07 Jul 2006 06:49:21 GMT, Carl Rogers <carl...@calrog.com>
> wrote:
>
>
>>
>> Peabody, MA is often pronounced "Pea-biddy".
>>
>
> The way I hear this is "Peab-dee"
Then we have Leominster as Lemon-ster.
--
J.P. Wing, Road Scholar
upstatenyroads.com
renumbernewyork.com
Scott Nuzum
"Ursa Major" <michael.s...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1152314486.2...@m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
>> Pocatello, ID. poh-ka-tell-o, not pok-a-tello.
>
> anglicizated MOSS-cow. Shoulda stuck with MOSK-va.
>
I've heard both ways for Moscow, KS, but I think MOSS-cow wins out.
Speaking of Idaho, it's "BOY-cee," Idaho but "BOYCE" City, Okla. despite
both being spelled "Boise."
S.E.N.
My worst Kansas town: Sabetha. I can't help saying "sah-beth-ah" even though
it's actually "suh-beth-uh."
----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----
morticide
Milan (mi-LAHN in the English version of the city in Italy).
Pronounced MY-lun in Missouri and Illinois, and who knows what other
states.
RoadRunner
>
> Wisconsin. (wis-CON-sin NOT wes-CON-sin)
>
> - Greendog
I tried to tell my folks that if they can tell the difference between
the "O" sounds in "con" and "gone" then then can pick out a native of
the Dairyland. So, to me, it sounds more like "wis-GONE-sin"...
including the softer G sound as opposed to the harder C sound.
The town of "Couderay" have gone to great lengths to make sure they
are not mispronounced. :)
Kenny McCormack
George Grapman
by newcomers.
--
To reply via e-mail please delete 1 c from paccbell
George Grapman
"Teewanna" yet I usually hear it called "TEE-A-WANNA".
bdibar
near these towns.
Milan, IN (the site of the Hoosers basketball movie) My-lun
Maryville, TN (Mur-vl)
Cherryville, NC (Chr-vl)
Ironton, OH (Ar-ton, my many old-timers)
Staunton, VA (STAN-ton)
Buchanon, VA (Buck-hannon, not like the President)
Pulaski, VA (PEW-las-ski)
A few later if I can think of some.
bdibar
I live in the area and all the people living there call Cherryville
CHUR-vl. It is a town that has a cool New Year´s Eve tradition of
shooting musketts at bussiness locale to scare off evil spirits.
Really fun.
B Di
Gastonia, NC
wjb...@aol.com
Michael G. Koerner wrote:
> >
> > Wisconsin. (wis-CON-sin NOT wes-CON-sin)
>
> >
> BTW, the national sports guys always get Green Bay wrong. It is 'green-bay'
> (with just the slightest accent on the 'bay'), *NOT* 'GREEN-bay'.
>
Amen, on both accounts. I've even heard midwesterners say 'GREEN bay'
or 'EAU claire' or MIL-wau-kee' instead of 'eau CLAIRE" or
'mil-WAU-kee'.
> --
>
wjb...@aol.com
George Grapman
Marc Fannin
> How many "mispronounced" town names are there out there?
>From this thread (and ones previous), a lot :)
Rule of thumb: A city in the U.S. with a famous name in a foreign
language is pronounced with English vowels ("i" is "eye", not "ee",
etc.).
________________________________________________________________________
Marc Fannin|musx...@kent.edu or @hotmail.com| http://www.roadfan.com/
brink
"George Grapman" <sfge...@paccbell.net> wrote in message
news:K3wsg.43459$VE1....@newssvr14.news.prodigy.com...
> I believe Tijuana is the most commonly mispronounced city. It is
> "Teewanna" yet I usually hear it called "TEE-A-WANNA".
Good catch. When I hear someone pronounce it correctly it's remarkable
because it's so rare.
brink
Mike McManus
> There are a few others around here that get regularly butchered, like
> Puyallup (pronounced pyu-ALL-up).
Of course, the first thing we were asked on visiting the Seattle area
and seeing the signs on I-5 directing us to Puyallup was how to
pronounce the name. I envisioned what a Southerner would inquire of a
bunch of folks stranded at the bottom of a well: "Pu' y'all up?" ;-)
> Medina, a wealthy town along Lake
> Washington, home to Bill Gates, is pronounced "muh-DYE-nuh" instead of
> "meh-DEE-nuh" like the Saudi Arabian city.
As, I believe, are Medina, NY and Medina, OH.
--
Mike McManus, Renton, WA
Mike McManus
> Regina . . . capital of Saskatchewan . . . rhymes with angina. It's not
> the woman's name (ruh-gee-na).
I was informed this comes about because of the difference between legal
Latin and liturgical Latin (in both of which the word means "queen";
they simply differ in pronunciation). So it's "ray-JEE-na CHAY-lee"
(regina coeli, Queen of Heaven) but "ruh-JYE-nuh bri-TAN-ya" (regina
Britannia, Queen of England).
In a similar vein, on a trip to Toronto a couple years ago it was
pointed out that Spadina House is pronounced "spuh-DEE-nuh" while the
street of the same name on which it sits is pronounced "spuh-DYE-nuh".
Hence the following bit of doggerel:
You say spuh-dee-nuh and I say spuh-dye-nuh,
You say ruh-gee-nuh and I say ruh-jye-nuh,
Spuh-dee-nuh, spuh-dye-nuh, ruh-gee-nuh, ruh-jye-nuh,
Let's call the whole thing off.
> Helena. If it's the capital of Montana, it's hel-uh-nuh. Don't know
> about Arkansas.
Which left me wondering whether the local paper is the /Handbasket/. ;-)
(I've since discovered it's not. Darn.)
Mike McManus
> I believe Tijuana is the most commonly mispronounced city. It is
> "Teewanna" yet I usually hear it called "TEE-A-WANNA".
Yep. "Tijuana" is a city in Mexico. "Tia Juana" is Spanish for "Aunt Jane".
Magyar
news:kqqdnfn0zJtT4SnZ...@comcast.com...
I've sort of slipped into pronouncing Medina as ma-DINE-uh
--
Sandor Gulyas
Graduate Student - Louisiana St. University
Dept. of Geography & Anthropology
"Nobody left to do the crazy things we used to do before
Nobody left to run with anymore"
No One To Run With -- (Performed by) Allman Brothers Band (1995)
Paul DeRocco
>
> Americans seem to have issues with towns/cities that end in "itch",
> except in the case of Greenwich, which is properly pronounced
> "Gren-ich". The proper pronounciation is as follows
>
> Norwich - Nor-rich, not Nor-witch
> Harwich - Har-rich, not Har-witch
>
> "Folk" is also a favorite - The New York and Massachusetts counties of
> Suffolk are usually prounced properly - "Suff-ik"...but the Virginia
> city is generally prononced "Nor-folk", not "Norf-ik"
It's pronounced Har-witch in Massachusetts.
The unpredictable think in Mass is the -ham ending. There are Chat'm, Ded'm,
Hing'm, Need'm, Stone'm, Wen'm, and Wrenth'm. On the other hand, there are
Belling-ham, East-ham, Framing-ham, Wal-tham, Ware-ham, and Wilbra-ham.
Raynham is often pronounced both ways, depending upon how in a hurry you
are.
--
Ciao, Paul D. DeRocco
Paul mailto:pder...@ix.netcom.com
Paul DeRocco
>
> Quincy, Mass. (Quin-zee)
I grew up near there, and I never heard it pronounced Quin-zee.
Steve
--
Steve Alpert
MIT - B.S. (Eng.) '05, M.S. (Transp.) '06
http://web.mit.edu/smalpert/www/roads
The Chief Instigator
>> "Robert Norheim" <robert...@hotmail.com> wrote
>> Quincy, Mass. (Quin-zee)
>I grew up near there, and I never heard it pronounced Quin-zee.
We've got a couple along US 290 east of Austin, on the way back to Houston:
Manor (not the house, as it should be spelled Mayner), and Elgin (not the same
as the Illinois town, which would be Eljin, but with the hard "g"). The
Houston suburb that Exxon originated in is Humble, which loses its H when
spoken...
--
Patrick "The Chief Instigator" Humphrey (pat...@io.com) Houston, Texas
chiefinstigator.us.tt/aeros.php (TCI's 2006-07 Houston Aeros)
LAST GAME: Milwaukee 4, Houston 2 (May 9)
NEXT GAME: Saturday, October 7 vs. TBA, 7:35
Paul DeRocco
> How many "mispronounced" town names are there out there? "Mispronounced"
> is dubious as both Nevada, MO (pronounced nuh-VAY-duh) and the state of
> Nevada (nuh-VA-duh) are a bastardization of the Spanish pronunciation.
> But suffice it to say 90 percent of outsiders who pass through Nevada, MO
> would pronounce it as one would pronounce the state name. Wouldn't they?
> ;-)
I like the way Nogales is pronounced so differently on the two sides of the
border: no-HALL-ais versus no-GAL-iss.
I also like the unabashed mispronunciation of Core-d'-LANE in Idaho.