Let’s talk about how words sound
November 5, 2020 2:13 PM Subscribe
Until I heard somebody else say it, I though Boise was pronounced “bwahz”.
posted by mhoye at 2:16 PM on November 5, 2020 [16 favorites]
posted by mhoye at 2:16 PM on November 5, 2020 [16 favorites]
Thin queue.
posted by box at 2:16 PM on November 5, 2020 [11 favorites]
posted by box at 2:16 PM on November 5, 2020 [11 favorites]
thanks for taking this out of the election thread
posted by DoctorFedora at 2:16 PM on November 5, 2020 [11 favorites]
posted by DoctorFedora at 2:16 PM on November 5, 2020 [11 favorites]
Ht to nakedmolerats for the post title (warning, link goes to election post)
posted by supercrayon at 2:17 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by supercrayon at 2:17 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
I don't think I'll ever get over "Macho Grande"
posted by Lonnrot at 2:18 PM on November 5, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by Lonnrot at 2:18 PM on November 5, 2020 [8 favorites]
I'm pretty sure they're wrong about Lafayette, Louisiana. Either that or the New Orleans news anchors are.
posted by zeptoweasel at 2:20 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by zeptoweasel at 2:20 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Thin queue.
*points at horse*
Mare. See?
Speaking of French...
In English, the beautiful port town of Calais, Maine is pronounced CAL-US (like callous). But en Français, it sounds more like CAL-ay.
See also: Detroit.
I lived in Windsor, Ontario for quite a few years, and the Detroit effect was very apparent. Windsor has a very large Francophone population, and even so every Francophone I know there pronounces various Windsor French street names in the following way (along with the Anglos, of course):
Pelissier is "Pell-ISH-ER"
Drouillard Road is "Drew-LARD"
Grand Marais is "GranD-Mair-iss"
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:23 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
*points at horse*
Mare. See?
Speaking of French...
In English, the beautiful port town of Calais, Maine is pronounced CAL-US (like callous). But en Français, it sounds more like CAL-ay.
See also: Detroit.
I lived in Windsor, Ontario for quite a few years, and the Detroit effect was very apparent. Windsor has a very large Francophone population, and even so every Francophone I know there pronounces various Windsor French street names in the following way (along with the Anglos, of course):
Pelissier is "Pell-ISH-ER"
Drouillard Road is "Drew-LARD"
Grand Marais is "GranD-Mair-iss"
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:23 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
Clearly the writers of this article have never, ever, been to Western Washington.
posted by ZaneJ. at 2:26 PM on November 5, 2020 [13 favorites]
posted by ZaneJ. at 2:26 PM on November 5, 2020 [13 favorites]
Some Illinois placenames:
Cairo: KAY-ro
Marseilles: mar-SAILS
Illinois: ill-uh-NOY
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:27 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
Cairo: KAY-ro
Marseilles: mar-SAILS
Illinois: ill-uh-NOY
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:27 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
How to speak LA
You have to take the 5 to the 110 to get from Loz Feliz to San Pedro.
posted by betweenthebars at 2:29 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
You have to take the 5 to the 110 to get from Loz Feliz to San Pedro.
posted by betweenthebars at 2:29 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Boy, all these counter-intuitive pronunciations sure make me glad I live in a state with a nice easy-to-say name like Rud Eyelan*. Admittedly I suppose some of our place names can get a little tricky. (Helpful tip: Foster and Glocester rhyme and both end in an "ah" sound. We all learned that very young, listening to the radio to find out if we got a snow day.)
*If you're saying it correctly, and fast enough, it should be hard to tell whether it's two syllables or three. If it's clearly three syllables you're over-enunciating and not talking fast enough.
posted by mstokes650 at 2:30 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
*If you're saying it correctly, and fast enough, it should be hard to tell whether it's two syllables or three. If it's clearly three syllables you're over-enunciating and not talking fast enough.
posted by mstokes650 at 2:30 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Boisean here. The S in Boise is a shibboleth here - Say "Boizee" and we know you're not from around these parts.
You can pretty much be guaranteed to hear people complaining about it when watching the local sports team on TV. Announcers are never briefed on this simple fact.
Further Reading
posted by Hatashran at 2:31 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
You can pretty much be guaranteed to hear people complaining about it when watching the local sports team on TV. Announcers are never briefed on this simple fact.
Further Reading
posted by Hatashran at 2:31 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
WOO-bin
KWIN-zee
Meffa
PEE-biddy
TOOKS-bree
NOO-bree-pawt
Ruh-vee-AH
and so on
posted by briank at 2:31 PM on November 5, 2020 [10 favorites]
KWIN-zee
Meffa
PEE-biddy
TOOKS-bree
NOO-bree-pawt
Ruh-vee-AH
and so on
posted by briank at 2:31 PM on November 5, 2020 [10 favorites]
My family is from Lafayette, Louisiana. I went to school in Lafayette County, Mississippi. Both are named for the Marquis de Lafayette. All three are pronounced differently.
posted by gwydapllew at 2:32 PM on November 5, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by gwydapllew at 2:32 PM on November 5, 2020 [9 favorites]
For a Massachusetts contribution, the whole "Worcester" thing is way overdone (although locally, there's a debate between "Wuh-stuh" and "Wih-stuh"), of course. There's also the whole "ham" issue (the end of "Waltham" is pronounced differently than the end of "Dedham") and the fact that there are three ways, all considered correct, to pronounce "Norfolk." So let's go with a couple of lesser place names: Cochituate and Berlin (Co-CHIH-chew-it and BER-lin, respectively).
Bonus: We may the only state with a fictional town name that has two pronunciations: What an out-of-stater would expect and the right one: Unstable.
posted by adamg at 2:32 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]
Bonus: We may the only state with a fictional town name that has two pronunciations: What an out-of-stater would expect and the right one: Unstable.
posted by adamg at 2:32 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]
Clearly the writers of this article have never, ever, been to Western Washington.
Heh. My sister in law lives there and every time we visit (from Canada), I step in it on a pronunciation or two.
KERR-da-LENN, and don't even think about throwing a hint of glottal stop in the "Coeur." I can't help it, though!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:33 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Heh. My sister in law lives there and every time we visit (from Canada), I step in it on a pronunciation or two.
KERR-da-LENN, and don't even think about throwing a hint of glottal stop in the "Coeur." I can't help it, though!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:33 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Both Norfolk and Suffolk, Virginia, rhyme with "fuck."
posted by kirkaracha at 2:36 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 2:36 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
The other thread mentioned Calais (rhymes with palace), but Maine also has:
Madrid, sounds like MAD-rid
Vienna, rhymes with PIE henna
posted by lampoil at 2:36 PM on November 5, 2020
Madrid, sounds like MAD-rid
Vienna, rhymes with PIE henna
posted by lampoil at 2:36 PM on November 5, 2020
ghoti
posted by neuron at 2:36 PM on November 5, 2020 [13 favorites]
posted by neuron at 2:36 PM on November 5, 2020 [13 favorites]
Foster and Glocester
In the before times, we'd always drive down to Foster for the annual Old Home Days and of course we'd pass an exit for Glocester, and I'd always announce "Welcome to Glock-es-ter!" because, to a Masshole, the missing 'u' makes it look funny. For some reason, my wife and daughter stopped laughing at that long ago.
posted by adamg at 2:38 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
In the before times, we'd always drive down to Foster for the annual Old Home Days and of course we'd pass an exit for Glocester, and I'd always announce "Welcome to Glock-es-ter!" because, to a Masshole, the missing 'u' makes it look funny. For some reason, my wife and daughter stopped laughing at that long ago.
posted by adamg at 2:38 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
I grew up within spitting distance of Villa Rica, GA and never even for a moment considered that the pronunciation was weird until Fleebnork pointed it out in the tangent that inspired this thread.
posted by telepanda at 2:41 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by telepanda at 2:41 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Years ago, a few of us were trying to get folks to start pronouncing Washington State's Des Moines as "Dez Mo-WEE-ness" for the sake of disambiguation, but we failed because (a) we were pretty lazy, and (b) most people really hated the idea.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 2:42 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 2:42 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
Honestly, if you look at the name of my home state it is weird that we pronounce it "kuh-NEH-ti-kuht". It should be "connect-ih-cut".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:42 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:42 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
It's not just Detroit. Southeast Michigan also has Saline and Milan, two more towns whose names you will not pronounce properly because you are a reasonable person.
posted by ardgedee at 2:43 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by ardgedee at 2:43 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
I grew up in, and currently live in, St. Augustine, FL (ah-guh-STEEN), and during my 15 years in NYC regularly heard ah-GUH-stin and even the odd ah-gus-TYNE.
Florida place names can be challenging. I was watching a movie once and heard Ocala (oh-CAL-uh) pronounced AH-cull-uh, and once had a conversation in a bar with a guy who'd been to Immokalee (em-MAH-kah-lee) but kept calling it em-oh-CAL-ee and getting frustrated that I had no idea what he was talking about.
posted by saladin at 2:43 PM on November 5, 2020
Florida place names can be challenging. I was watching a movie once and heard Ocala (oh-CAL-uh) pronounced AH-cull-uh, and once had a conversation in a bar with a guy who'd been to Immokalee (em-MAH-kah-lee) but kept calling it em-oh-CAL-ee and getting frustrated that I had no idea what he was talking about.
posted by saladin at 2:43 PM on November 5, 2020
do I even bother bringing up Vallejo CA??? (argh!!!)
posted by supermedusa at 2:45 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 2:45 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]
There was an episode of Bones where the dead of the week was in Fayetteville and Emily Deschanel pronounced Fayetteville as fy-YETT-vill.
It was years ago and I'm still not over it.
posted by phunniemee at 2:46 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
It was years ago and I'm still not over it.
posted by phunniemee at 2:46 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
Also I'm just remembering as a freshman at NYU being told several different times during orientation how important it was to pronounce Houston Street correctly.
posted by saladin at 2:47 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by saladin at 2:47 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
In London:
Beauchamp Street is "Beech 'em Street"
Leceister Square is "Lester Square"
Berkeley Square is "Barclay Square"
posted by chavenet at 2:49 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Beauchamp Street is "Beech 'em Street"
Leceister Square is "Lester Square"
Berkeley Square is "Barclay Square"
posted by chavenet at 2:49 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
We’re so diverse we can’t even agree on how to pronounce Toronto. So really anything is fine. I mean, especially since the real name of the place is Tkaronto.
posted by seanmpuckett at 2:51 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 2:51 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
Apparently what I really need is a list of US highways and whether or not I'm supposed to prefix them with the definite article.
posted by GuyZero at 2:53 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by GuyZero at 2:53 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
A friend of mine from Texas once told me that there's a town there called "Cooper" which uses the "oo" vowel sound that's used for "cook," "look," and "book" and it bothers me to this day.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 2:57 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 2:57 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
My favorite easily mispronounced placename is definitely Etobicoke, Ontario.
Around here in western NY we have Skaneatles (skinny atlas) and Chili (chye lye)
I was watching a movie once and heard Ocala (oh-CAL-uh) pronounced AH-cull-uh
That's nothing next to the difference in pronunciation between Alachua and Alachua.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 2:57 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]
Around here in western NY we have Skaneatles (skinny atlas) and Chili (chye lye)
I was watching a movie once and heard Ocala (oh-CAL-uh) pronounced AH-cull-uh
That's nothing next to the difference in pronunciation between Alachua and Alachua.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 2:57 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]
Every time a national news anchor pronounces Bangor to rhyme with "hanger", the entire population of Maine develops a twitch under their right eye.
posted by Adridne at 2:57 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Adridne at 2:57 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
Huh. I say Naw-fick, because my mom grew up in Newport News, and she and my grandmother said Naw-fick. Since she and my grandmother were the main people I heard talking about Norfolk, that's how I thought the word was pronounced. My grandmother had a pretty strong Tidewater accent, and she dropped interior r's on all words, not just Norfolk. (She said Newput News and Vuhginia, too.) But my sense is that most people of my generation and younger pronounce the r (more like Nor-fick) and generally don't do the Tidewater accent thing with dropping r's in the middle of a word, and I get weird looks when I say Naw-fick. Am I wrong about that?
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:57 PM on November 5, 2020
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:57 PM on November 5, 2020
Apparently what I really need is a list of US highways and whether or not I'm supposed to prefix them with the definite article.
I happen to have that list handy:
None.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:58 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]
I happen to have that list handy:
None.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:58 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]
As someone who grew up in the Piedmont area in Virginia, we called it "Nor-fuck". So apparently that's a pretty local pronunciation they have there.
posted by selfnoise at 3:00 PM on November 5, 2020
posted by selfnoise at 3:00 PM on November 5, 2020
It's a small thing, but everytime I hear people divide the syllables in Wisconsin as Wis-con-sin, my eye twitches a little. It's a subtle difference but it's Wi-scon-sin. w'Sconsin.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 3:01 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 3:01 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]
Devon Ave in Chicago: d'VAUGHN, not DEV'n.
posted by Westringia F. at 3:01 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Westringia F. at 3:01 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Now do L'Anse and Mackinac Island
Wilkes-Barre
go!
posted by chavenet at 5:47 PM on November 5
That's in the article
posted by NoMich at 3:03 PM on November 5, 2020
Wilkes-Barre
go!
posted by chavenet at 5:47 PM on November 5
That's in the article
posted by NoMich at 3:03 PM on November 5, 2020
One of the main streets in Winnipeg is Portage Ave but Portage is pronounced to rhyme with porridge. Before moving to Winnipeg for school I had only experienced the word in the canoeing context where it was pronounced like a French word and it took a bit of time to adjust my pronunciation but really not that long. But it's been 12 years since I've moved away from Winnipeg and I'll still mess up pronouncing portage in the canoeing context every now and then.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 3:04 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 3:04 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
To add to the list for Illinois: in college, whenever we wanted to go see a movie, we’d head over to a town named after the famed Italian center of fashion. You know, Mye-Luhn
Yes, that’s how the residents of Milan, Illinois, pronounce the name of their town.
posted by Ghidorah at 3:06 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
Yes, that’s how the residents of Milan, Illinois, pronounce the name of their town.
posted by Ghidorah at 3:06 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
Apparently what I really need is a list of US highways and whether or not I'm supposed to prefix them with the definite article.
It's a chart with a single entry: Yes
posted by sideshow at 3:07 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
It's a chart with a single entry: Yes
posted by sideshow at 3:07 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
I don't think anyone not from Louisiana would guess, in ten tries, how "Nachitoches" is pronounced.
Apparently what I really need is a list of US highways and whether or not I'm supposed to prefix them with the definite article.
Tampa: "Eye Seventy Five"
St Louis: "Highway Farty"
Los Angeles: "The One Oh One"
Chicago: "Stevenson"
posted by Foosnark at 3:15 PM on November 5, 2020 [10 favorites]
Apparently what I really need is a list of US highways and whether or not I'm supposed to prefix them with the definite article.
Tampa: "Eye Seventy Five"
St Louis: "Highway Farty"
Los Angeles: "The One Oh One"
Chicago: "Stevenson"
posted by Foosnark at 3:15 PM on November 5, 2020 [10 favorites]
This highlights like everything wrong with English. Why aren't the names phonetically correct? Romance languages are hard enough to distinguish from English AND they throw in pre-contact language families in there.
Like where in Worcester do you get Wuss-ter? Just throw out the c and the extra e? And how does the o sound like a u? That's such a non-English word I want to throw in an "h" in there to make it pronounceable like Wor-chester.
They didn't even get to Arkansas City which is near Arkansas yet pronounced Ar-KANSAS City. Madness!
Do countries which generally weren't such a melting pot have problems with these names. Like La Jolla, CA makes sense if you know Spanish and I would guess in several hundred years if the Spanish speaking population were to decrease it would change to La Hoyah, surely things like this must have happened in areas of Europe that went between ethic and language groups?
posted by geoff. at 3:15 PM on November 5, 2020
Like where in Worcester do you get Wuss-ter? Just throw out the c and the extra e? And how does the o sound like a u? That's such a non-English word I want to throw in an "h" in there to make it pronounceable like Wor-chester.
They didn't even get to Arkansas City which is near Arkansas yet pronounced Ar-KANSAS City. Madness!
Do countries which generally weren't such a melting pot have problems with these names. Like La Jolla, CA makes sense if you know Spanish and I would guess in several hundred years if the Spanish speaking population were to decrease it would change to La Hoyah, surely things like this must have happened in areas of Europe that went between ethic and language groups?
posted by geoff. at 3:15 PM on November 5, 2020
What an out-of-stater would expect and the right one: Unstable
Ya done made me laugh at a McSweeny’s article!
posted by sjswitzer at 3:15 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Ya done made me laugh at a McSweeny’s article!
posted by sjswitzer at 3:15 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Boffa Des Moines
posted by The otter lady at 3:17 PM on November 5, 2020
posted by The otter lady at 3:17 PM on November 5, 2020
Not far from where I live is McGaheysville, which you might pronounce as: mick-gay-hees-vill. Nope... mi-gack-ees-vill.
posted by JennyJupiter at 3:20 PM on November 5, 2020
posted by JennyJupiter at 3:20 PM on November 5, 2020
One of the things people seem to forget about local place pronunciations is that locals have to say the words ALL THE TIME and they get tired and just wanna get through it. And why bother with extra syllables if they can be smooshed together. And that happens a lot with frequently used words and phrases. 'sup? howyoudoin'?
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 3:21 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 3:21 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
My New England relatives taught me, when I was small, to say Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, which they pronounced as "Lake WEB-stah."
posted by MonkeyToes at 3:22 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by MonkeyToes at 3:22 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
Camarillo, Calif. Cam-ah-REE-Oh.
Plus Effing-Effingham, Ill.
posted by lathrop at 3:22 PM on November 5, 2020
Plus Effing-Effingham, Ill.
posted by lathrop at 3:22 PM on November 5, 2020
St. Paul is actually only one syllable, pronounced Stpawl.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 3:23 PM on November 5, 2020
posted by paper chromatographologist at 3:23 PM on November 5, 2020
Puyallup - pew-WALLUP
Mukilteo -muckle TEE oh
Humptulips - throatwobbler mangrove
posted by The otter lady at 3:26 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]
Mukilteo -muckle TEE oh
Humptulips - throatwobbler mangrove
posted by The otter lady at 3:26 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]
We’re so diverse we can’t even agree on how to pronounce Toronto.
When I visited I seemed to hear Tronno.
posted by carter at 3:27 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
When I visited I seemed to hear Tronno.
posted by carter at 3:27 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
I call bullshit on a lot of these
posted by Kitchen Witch at 3:30 PM on November 5, 2020
posted by Kitchen Witch at 3:30 PM on November 5, 2020
Almost 60 comments in and nobody has mentioned that the picture of Schenectady is clearly a picture of Empire State Plaza in Albany?
posted by Johnny Assay at 3:31 PM on November 5, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by Johnny Assay at 3:31 PM on November 5, 2020 [8 favorites]
(laughs in Alaskan)
Many people just seem to freeze up when they see too many unfamiliar letter combinations. So many people seem to have to ask how to spell something simple and phonetic like Ketchikan. Or maybe they can handle Ketchikan but stumble over something like Ouzinkie (which is still really phonetic.) Few have the fortitude for Utqiaġvik.
posted by Nerd of the North at 3:31 PM on November 5, 2020
Many people just seem to freeze up when they see too many unfamiliar letter combinations. So many people seem to have to ask how to spell something simple and phonetic like Ketchikan. Or maybe they can handle Ketchikan but stumble over something like Ouzinkie (which is still really phonetic.) Few have the fortitude for Utqiaġvik.
posted by Nerd of the North at 3:31 PM on November 5, 2020
Oh, hey. I just came by to talk about the election.
posted by anshuman at 3:31 PM on November 5, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by anshuman at 3:31 PM on November 5, 2020 [9 favorites]
Wait, how do you say Effingham? It's not just eff ing um?
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 3:32 PM on November 5, 2020
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 3:32 PM on November 5, 2020
Like where in Worcester do you get Wuss-ter? Just throw out the c and the extra e? And how does the o sound like a u? That's such a non-English word I want to throw in an "h" in there to make it pronounceable like Wor-chester.
English does this truncating thing a lot, especially with names. I found out not too long ago that "Sinclair" came from "St. Claire" and "Sinjin" came from "St. John".
The Gaelic aspect of English changes a lot of pronunciation too: "Maire" is "Maya", "Moire" is "Moya". I think "Mingus" comes from "Menzies" via Scottish Gaelic.
posted by ishmael at 3:37 PM on November 5, 2020
English does this truncating thing a lot, especially with names. I found out not too long ago that "Sinclair" came from "St. Claire" and "Sinjin" came from "St. John".
The Gaelic aspect of English changes a lot of pronunciation too: "Maire" is "Maya", "Moire" is "Moya". I think "Mingus" comes from "Menzies" via Scottish Gaelic.
posted by ishmael at 3:37 PM on November 5, 2020
Weirdly, the slurred consonant thing isn’t unique to English — I used to live in a town in Japanese whose name was written “Ashihara,” but over time the name came to be so slurred that they actually officially changed its name to “Awara.”
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:43 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:43 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Growing up, we (Chicago-adjacent) were so stymied by Worcestershire sauce that we'd just say "Wershesher." Took about 5 seconds of living in Massachusetts to correct that one, albeit ironed out by my mid-Atlantic accent.
posted by mykescipark at 3:44 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by mykescipark at 3:44 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Sometimes mispronunciation (as opposed to dispronunciation) comes from poor Romanization from a non-Latin based language.
So many non-Koreans, including black belts, mispronounce "tae kwon do" as "thai kwon do". I've even been corrected by non-Koreans three times to mispronounce it this way (I'm ethnically Korean). It should sound more like "teh kwon do".
posted by ishmael at 3:44 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
So many non-Koreans, including black belts, mispronounce "tae kwon do" as "thai kwon do". I've even been corrected by non-Koreans three times to mispronounce it this way (I'm ethnically Korean). It should sound more like "teh kwon do".
posted by ishmael at 3:44 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
Anyone want a slice of Pecan pie?
Or a Pecan Sandy?
Or a scoop of Butter Pecan ice cream?
posted by bartleby at 3:46 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
Or a Pecan Sandy?
Or a scoop of Butter Pecan ice cream?
posted by bartleby at 3:46 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
RIP Vine
Southerners guess town names: Texas | Virginia
posted by bartleby at 4:03 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Southerners guess town names: Texas | Virginia
posted by bartleby at 4:03 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
There’s a master’s thesis to be written on demographic distinctions with these. In my outlier city in NE Iowa, African Americans tend to say D’moynz, but few white people here pronounce it that way.
I have never learned to say “Keokuk” correctly, but then I was raised in Iowa City which is barely IPA
Iowa to many Iowans.
posted by Caxton1476 at 4:10 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
I have never learned to say “Keokuk” correctly, but then I was raised in Iowa City which is barely IPA
Iowa to many Iowans.
posted by Caxton1476 at 4:10 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
I just want to tell us all good luck. We're all counting on us.
posted by Pastor of Muppets at 4:21 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by Pastor of Muppets at 4:21 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]
As a native Southern Californian, I can confirm the listicle's assessment of La Jolla's status as a pronunciation trap.
I miss driving through La Jolla on the way to San Diego for our regular trips to the Old Globe. *sniff*
When I moved to the Rochester NY area, I was quickly warned about the two local shibboleths: Chili and Skaneateles. I admit that my initial take on Skaneateles did not end well.
posted by thomas j wise at 4:23 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
I miss driving through La Jolla on the way to San Diego for our regular trips to the Old Globe. *sniff*
When I moved to the Rochester NY area, I was quickly warned about the two local shibboleths: Chili and Skaneateles. I admit that my initial take on Skaneateles did not end well.
posted by thomas j wise at 4:23 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Texans insist Buchanan is pronounced: buc Kan an
And Burnet must be spoken as: Burn it
posted by ahimsakid at 4:26 PM on November 5, 2020
And Burnet must be spoken as: Burn it
posted by ahimsakid at 4:26 PM on November 5, 2020
It’s indeed Naw-fuk. Source: Grew up in VB, from a old Tidewater family, my uncles and aunts lived in South Norfolk (now part of the city of Chesapeake), went to high school in Norfolk, etc.
And Portsmouth is Porch-muf; Suffolk is Suh-fuk.
posted by sudogeek at 4:38 PM on November 5, 2020
And Portsmouth is Porch-muf; Suffolk is Suh-fuk.
posted by sudogeek at 4:38 PM on November 5, 2020
Apparently what I really need is a list of US highways and whether or not I'm supposed to prefix them with the definite article.
Tampa: "Eye Seventy Five"
St Louis: "Highway Farty"
Los Angeles: "The One Oh One"
Chicago: "Stevenson"
posted by Foosnark at 3:15 PM on November 5 [+] [!]
Don't let the inclusion of LA on this list make you think that we use an article before freeways in the Bay Area. That's just weird SoCal talk.
posted by oneirodynia at 4:49 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Tampa: "Eye Seventy Five"
St Louis: "Highway Farty"
Los Angeles: "The One Oh One"
Chicago: "Stevenson"
posted by Foosnark at 3:15 PM on November 5 [+] [!]
Don't let the inclusion of LA on this list make you think that we use an article before freeways in the Bay Area. That's just weird SoCal talk.
posted by oneirodynia at 4:49 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Actually, I guess that compression that happens with names apply to a lot of common words in English too. "Fountain", "been", "woman", etc. There's a tendency to shorten pronunciation.
posted by ishmael at 4:50 PM on November 5, 2020
posted by ishmael at 4:50 PM on November 5, 2020
Don't let the inclusion of LA on this list make you think that we use an article before freeways in the Bay Area. That's just weird SoCal talk.
Hm, I've heard a lot of bay area people refer to "the 80" or "the 101".
posted by ishmael at 4:53 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
Hm, I've heard a lot of bay area people refer to "the 80" or "the 101".
posted by ishmael at 4:53 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
Ht to nakedmolerats for the post title (warning, link goes to election post)
I never knew this would be my metafilter 15 minutes! Haha. FWIW, I felt a little bad, like the guy who replies-all to tell people to stop replying all.
All I have to add is that I grew up in Minnesota and the first time my non-MN wife saw the name Wayzata and heard me say it, I think she actually stormed out of the room. Someday we could move back, and wait until I pile on Mahtomedi and Mille Lacs.
posted by nakedmolerats at 4:53 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Just a week ago flew into Spokane from Denver, and the gate announcer was roundly criticised by the waiting crowd for butchering pronunciation of the destination.
A couple of years ago found some Rainier cherries in a Parisian market, and as a Washington native was proud to see these exports reach European shores. But the seller insisted that they were a native French variety due to the name, "rahn-YAY".
posted by St. Oops at 4:57 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
A couple of years ago found some Rainier cherries in a Parisian market, and as a Washington native was proud to see these exports reach European shores. But the seller insisted that they were a native French variety due to the name, "rahn-YAY".
posted by St. Oops at 4:57 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
ah-guh-STEEN
"aw-guh-steen", surely? (Like Augustus, August, etc.)
Something only residents of Maryland and Texas pronounce correctly and everyone else gets wrong: Bowie ("Boo-ee"; the surname is pronounced this way. Source: my dad's 1st cousin married a Bowie).
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 4:58 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
"aw-guh-steen", surely? (Like Augustus, August, etc.)
Something only residents of Maryland and Texas pronounce correctly and everyone else gets wrong: Bowie ("Boo-ee"; the surname is pronounced this way. Source: my dad's 1st cousin married a Bowie).
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 4:58 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
Just a week ago flew into Spokane from Denver, and the gate announcer was roundly criticised by the waiting crowd for butchering pronunciation of the destination.
"Spo-CAN!!!"
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 5:02 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
"Spo-CAN!!!"
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 5:02 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
I've lived in Austin about a year now and it feels like at least once a month I get corrected about some baffling local pronunciation. Manor is "may-ner." Pedernales is "perd-uh-nall-ez." Manchaca is "man-shack." And on a highway note, Texas State Highway 1 is universally known as MoPac.
posted by vathek at 5:04 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by vathek at 5:04 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
In my last job, I always had to stop and remind myself whether I was speaking to my contact in Amherst, New York (H is pronounced) or Amherst, Massachusetts (H is silent).
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:06 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:06 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
One of my first jobs after I moved to Boston was at a bank, verifying employment for car loans. They made us call information, which at the time was a real person, to get the employer's number in case the applicant had put down a fake one.
Information: Which city please? Me: Lee-o-mins-ter. Information: What?
Information: Which city please? Me: Pea-boh-dee. Information: Where?
Information: Which city please? Me: Wers-ches-ter? Information: hahahahahahaha
Good times.
posted by pangolin party at 5:08 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Information: Which city please? Me: Lee-o-mins-ter. Information: What?
Information: Which city please? Me: Pea-boh-dee. Information: Where?
Information: Which city please? Me: Wers-ches-ter? Information: hahahahahahaha
Good times.
posted by pangolin party at 5:08 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Every time a national news anchor pronounces Bangor to rhyme with "hanger", the entire population of Maine develops a twitch under their right eye.
This used to happen all the time on the 1960s TV show Dark Shadows, which was set in a small town near Bangor but filmed in NYC. Some of the actors got it right, but I always get a giggle when I watch an episode and hear a character say something like, “Are you going to bang ‘er today? Is David going to bang ‘er with you?”
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:16 PM on November 5, 2020
This used to happen all the time on the 1960s TV show Dark Shadows, which was set in a small town near Bangor but filmed in NYC. Some of the actors got it right, but I always get a giggle when I watch an episode and hear a character say something like, “Are you going to bang ‘er today? Is David going to bang ‘er with you?”
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:16 PM on November 5, 2020
"Honolulu" is correctly pronounced "HO-NO-lulu," not "HA-NA-lulu." Also, technically "Hawaii" is pronounced "ha-WAI-ee," not "ha-WHY." And if you really want to get technical, "Hawaii" is pronounced "ha-VAI-ee."
posted by Quaversalis at 5:19 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Quaversalis at 5:19 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
In Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, the "ruth" and "onsequences" are silent.
In Española, NM the ñ is not optional, pendejo.
It's real easy to piss off people from Elephant Butte, NM.
Cuba, NM has a correct pronunciation too but you'll have to visit to find out.
posted by Nelson at 5:27 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
In Española, NM the ñ is not optional, pendejo.
It's real easy to piss off people from Elephant Butte, NM.
Cuba, NM has a correct pronunciation too but you'll have to visit to find out.
posted by Nelson at 5:27 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
Adridne: "Every time a national news anchor pronounces Bangor to rhyme with "hanger", the entire population of Maine develops a twitch under their right eye."
My dad grew up in Bangor, PA and it's always pronounced that way although with a slightly harder 'g' sound.
posted by octothorpe at 5:28 PM on November 5, 2020
My dad grew up in Bangor, PA and it's always pronounced that way although with a slightly harder 'g' sound.
posted by octothorpe at 5:28 PM on November 5, 2020
As it turns out, the sneakiest hard city to pronounce is Raleigh. I've heard so many versions of Rul-lee, Ray-lee, and RaleighDurham. Sheesh, it's not that hard of name to pronounce. Rah-lee.
posted by NoMich at 5:29 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by NoMich at 5:29 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
The capital of Ontario is often (not always) pronounced by locals as: TRAHN-nah.
Night Heat was one of those 1980s Hollywood North productions shot on location that vaguely replicated "an unnamed northeastern North American metropolis". For one episode they wanted to use the CN Tower in a plot...
Cop1: "The suspect has fled to (very stilted) TOE-RON-TOE."
Cop2: "Let us pursue him to (very stilted) TOE-RON-TOE."
They go thru Canadian customs and everything...
(Spoiler: the suspect was an obsessive acrophobic, who in the end jumped off of the CN Tower.)
posted by ovvl at 5:30 PM on November 5, 2020
Night Heat was one of those 1980s Hollywood North productions shot on location that vaguely replicated "an unnamed northeastern North American metropolis". For one episode they wanted to use the CN Tower in a plot...
Cop1: "The suspect has fled to (very stilted) TOE-RON-TOE."
Cop2: "Let us pursue him to (very stilted) TOE-RON-TOE."
They go thru Canadian customs and everything...
(Spoiler: the suspect was an obsessive acrophobic, who in the end jumped off of the CN Tower.)
posted by ovvl at 5:30 PM on November 5, 2020
People in the bay area seem to pronounce the local city of Albany, CA as Owl-Benny which always throws me.
posted by octothorpe at 5:35 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by octothorpe at 5:35 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Raleigh
"Rawley" (which the guy it was named after sometimes wrote his own name as)
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 5:37 PM on November 5, 2020
"Rawley" (which the guy it was named after sometimes wrote his own name as)
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 5:37 PM on November 5, 2020
Fluffya for the win. (Please.)
posted by anshuman at 5:41 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by anshuman at 5:41 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
I think the basic rule is that the people who live there get to say how to pronounce it. My grandmother was born and died in Lafayette, IN., as did many of my other relatives- they all said Lah-fay-YET. Still do. That settles it.
I live in San Pedro, CA, a city all residents pronounce San Peedro. The city is very old, it's in Two Years Before the Mast, and has always had a large percentage of Spanish speaking residents who all pronounce it San Peedro. San Paydro is a city in Mexico.
Made me think of a couple of streets in Chicago: Mozart steet which all residents and busdrivers pronounce Moe's art. And my favorite: Goethe street, properly pronounced as Gothee (soft th).
posted by charlesminus at 5:43 PM on November 5, 2020
I live in San Pedro, CA, a city all residents pronounce San Peedro. The city is very old, it's in Two Years Before the Mast, and has always had a large percentage of Spanish speaking residents who all pronounce it San Peedro. San Paydro is a city in Mexico.
Made me think of a couple of streets in Chicago: Mozart steet which all residents and busdrivers pronounce Moe's art. And my favorite: Goethe street, properly pronounced as Gothee (soft th).
posted by charlesminus at 5:43 PM on November 5, 2020
I was at a sales meeting in Rochester and (being from MA) tried to make a joke about the pronunciation re Worcester...something like, "Rurster".
It did not land.
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 5:43 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
It did not land.
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 5:43 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Tampa: "Eye Seventy Five"
St Louis: "Highway Farty"
Los Angeles: "The One Oh One"
Chicago: "Stevenson"
Oh no, no, no. Let me expand on Chicago for you there:
I55 - the Stevenson
I88 - the Reagan
I90 - depending on which section you're on, the Skyway (the Indiana border north to 67th Street), the Dan Ryan if you're on I90-94 (downtown south to 95th Street), the Kennedy (downtown north to O'Hare Airport) or Northwest Tollway (past O'Hare)
I94 - depending on which section you're on, the Bishop Ford (south of 95th Street), the Dan Ryan if you're on I90-94, or the Edens (north of Montrose)
I290 - the Eisenhower
I294 - the Tri-State Tollway
Adding in all the landmarks, broadcast traffic reports are virtually impenetrable for outsiders.
posted by me3dia at 5:53 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
St Louis: "Highway Farty"
Los Angeles: "The One Oh One"
Chicago: "Stevenson"
Oh no, no, no. Let me expand on Chicago for you there:
I55 - the Stevenson
I88 - the Reagan
I90 - depending on which section you're on, the Skyway (the Indiana border north to 67th Street), the Dan Ryan if you're on I90-94 (downtown south to 95th Street), the Kennedy (downtown north to O'Hare Airport) or Northwest Tollway (past O'Hare)
I94 - depending on which section you're on, the Bishop Ford (south of 95th Street), the Dan Ryan if you're on I90-94, or the Edens (north of Montrose)
I290 - the Eisenhower
I294 - the Tri-State Tollway
Adding in all the landmarks, broadcast traffic reports are virtually impenetrable for outsiders.
posted by me3dia at 5:53 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
I've lived in Austin about a year now and it feels like at least once a month I get corrected about some baffling local pronunciation. Manor is "may-ner." Pedernales is "perd-uh-nall-ez." Manchaca is "man-shack." And on a highway note, Texas State Highway 1 is universally known as MoPac.
Yes, and Buda is pronounced “Byoo-da,” and Burnet is pronounced “Burn-it.” Texans will insist that they pronounce “Manchaca” as “Man-chack” but I never could hear anything except “Man-shack.”
Also, like Mopac, lots of things have secret names (usually their older names). “Lady Bird Lake” marks you as a newbie; “Town Lake” is the secret true name. Likewise with “Pennybacker Bridge” vs. “360 Bridge.”
posted by snowmentality at 5:58 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Yes, and Buda is pronounced “Byoo-da,” and Burnet is pronounced “Burn-it.” Texans will insist that they pronounce “Manchaca” as “Man-chack” but I never could hear anything except “Man-shack.”
Also, like Mopac, lots of things have secret names (usually their older names). “Lady Bird Lake” marks you as a newbie; “Town Lake” is the secret true name. Likewise with “Pennybacker Bridge” vs. “360 Bridge.”
posted by snowmentality at 5:58 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
I grew up in Lancaster, PA, and you can always tell the people who are from there because unlike all other the 3-syllable Lancasters in the country, the one in PA is pronounced more like a 2.5-syllable Lank-a-stir.
posted by Mchelly at 6:02 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Mchelly at 6:02 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
Here in Tucson, amongst all the Saguaro Vista Lanes and Hacienda Trails and Camino De La Colina, there's Alvernon Way. Alvernon, a word that doesn't sound quite Spanish or English, that conjures up images of fantasy kingdoms and gallant steeds, a word that flows off the tongue as if it came from a magical twilight place. At some point, everyone in Tucson must wonder, where did that lovely word come from? What does it mean?
Al Vernon. He was a real estate guy who used to live there.
posted by MrVisible at 6:07 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]
Al Vernon. He was a real estate guy who used to live there.
posted by MrVisible at 6:07 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]
Holy cow MrVisible, I lived in Tucson for many years, a mile from Alvernon -- and my mind is now blown.
posted by phliar at 6:20 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by phliar at 6:20 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Not American, but the correct pronunciation of “Montreal” in English is MUN-tree-all. Americans always say MAWN-tree-all. Dead giveaway.
posted by elkerette at 6:35 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by elkerette at 6:35 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
A moment of silence for the brave rhotics lost in the Great Australian R Blight. Cairns, Melbourne, Darwin. (hat off) Ye'll be 'memba'd.
posted by bartleby at 6:39 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by bartleby at 6:39 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
You have to take the 5 to the 110 to get from Loz Feliz to San Pedro.
LA is tough because the accent marks got dropped from the original family names. Really it is Féliz and Sepúlveda, so Angelenos are pretty good with right pronunciation.
Also from Illinois, San Jose. You can guess how it’s pronounced.
posted by Buy Sockpuppet Bonds! at 6:49 PM on November 5, 2020
LA is tough because the accent marks got dropped from the original family names. Really it is Féliz and Sepúlveda, so Angelenos are pretty good with right pronunciation.
Also from Illinois, San Jose. You can guess how it’s pronounced.
posted by Buy Sockpuppet Bonds! at 6:49 PM on November 5, 2020
Washington state place names - Spokane, that's easy, and otter lady explained Puyallup upthread. Now how about
Sequim - SKWIM
I'm not sure about Pysht myself.
posted by JonJacky at 7:00 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Sequim - SKWIM
I'm not sure about Pysht myself.
posted by JonJacky at 7:00 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Also, this hasn't up yet, and I'm sure most folks here already know, but the state is pronounced:
Or - uh -gun.
posted by Philipschall at 7:06 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Or - uh -gun.
posted by Philipschall at 7:06 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
The mnemonic being 'it's Not -GONE, it's still there!'
posted by bartleby at 7:12 PM on November 5, 2020
posted by bartleby at 7:12 PM on November 5, 2020
I had a friend from the southwest who moved up to the PNW talk about going down to Puy-yayy-up and he hasn't lived it down in 20 years. Anyone who's ever heard the Puyallup fair commercial jingle knows it rhymes with "gallop". And yes, Sequim rhymes with "grim" not "sequin", and the mountain is Raaaaaaaaaayyyneeeeeerrrrr (beer).
But Humptulips is pronounced exactly as it's spelled.
posted by lovecrafty at 7:15 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
But Humptulips is pronounced exactly as it's spelled.
posted by lovecrafty at 7:15 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
And here in western NY we have Skaneatles (skinny atlas) and Chili (chye lye)
Also Almond, NY.
posted by Melismata at 7:22 PM on November 5, 2020
Also Almond, NY.
posted by Melismata at 7:22 PM on November 5, 2020
Ctrl-F 'Oconomowoc'
Really? REALLY? I thought someone would drop it... And yeah I know a lot of places in the US have indigenous names, but...
Oconomowoc
Waunakee
Kaukauna
Waukesha
Shawano
Manitowoc
posted by symbioid at 7:27 PM on November 5, 2020
Really? REALLY? I thought someone would drop it... And yeah I know a lot of places in the US have indigenous names, but...
Oconomowoc
Waunakee
Kaukauna
Waukesha
Shawano
Manitowoc
posted by symbioid at 7:27 PM on November 5, 2020
It's real easy to piss off people from Elephant Butte, NM.
Also true of Butte MT. It's really not a good idea to make the obvious joke to locals who would prefer you know it as "Beautiful Butte America".
posted by traveler_ at 7:34 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Also true of Butte MT. It's really not a good idea to make the obvious joke to locals who would prefer you know it as "Beautiful Butte America".
posted by traveler_ at 7:34 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Friends of mine live in VER-mont, suburb of Melbourne, of course the US state is verMONT
posted by freethefeet at 7:54 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by freethefeet at 7:54 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
I had no idea until I moved to Vermont that Barre, Vermont had two syllables. It's pronounced like Barry.
When I lived in Virginia for a couple of years I was surprised to learn that Botetourt County was pronounced "BOT-a-tot."
It's strange that the first article chose to include Bethesda, Maryland, which is pronounced pretty much the way everyone would expect, and not Bowie, which I'm guessing is frequently mispronounced. Having been a kid in Maryland, it took me a long time to realize that David Bowie's last name is not actually pronounced "Booey." I think I still slip up and pronounce it wrong sometimes.
posted by Redstart at 8:09 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
When I lived in Virginia for a couple of years I was surprised to learn that Botetourt County was pronounced "BOT-a-tot."
It's strange that the first article chose to include Bethesda, Maryland, which is pronounced pretty much the way everyone would expect, and not Bowie, which I'm guessing is frequently mispronounced. Having been a kid in Maryland, it took me a long time to realize that David Bowie's last name is not actually pronounced "Booey." I think I still slip up and pronounce it wrong sometimes.
posted by Redstart at 8:09 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Southeast Michigan also has Saline and Milan, two more towns whose names you will not pronounce properly because you are a reasonable person.
It's suh-LEEN and MY-lin, if you're wondering.
posted by axiom at 8:37 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
It's suh-LEEN and MY-lin, if you're wondering.
posted by axiom at 8:37 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
There's an English vlogger who keeps saying MARY-land, as in Land of Marys. It's so cute I don't want to correct them.
(It's pronounced like Marylin Monroe, almost monosylabically.)
posted by bartleby at 9:00 PM on November 5, 2020
(It's pronounced like Marylin Monroe, almost monosylabically.)
posted by bartleby at 9:00 PM on November 5, 2020
SAh-lean.
posted by clavdivs at 9:02 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by clavdivs at 9:02 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
dad pronounced it " Marel-en" for Maryland.
posted by clavdivs at 9:06 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by clavdivs at 9:06 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
I love this thread
posted by Melismata at 9:09 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 9:09 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Not listed, but should be: Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, which until I hear otherwise has the highest Looks French/Sounds French ratio of anywhere, ever. It sounds like pruhdesheen, more or less.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 9:49 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Jon Mitchell at 9:49 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Every once in awhile I want to tell someone about Climax, NC and Lizard Lick, NC and search for an article on weird NC place names because I know there are more weirder ones, and every time I instead mostly find articles like "These 10 NC place names are hilariously bizarre!" and they're all the names with Native origins. Sigh. Chicamacomico and Chocowinity are not that hard to make an attempt at if you take a second to look, and pop culture and history class should have given you Rodanthe and Manteo, respectively, by now. And Hatteras isn't even weird unless your inner 12-year-old is trying real hard. I'll grant that Conetoe (kuh-NEE-tuh) isn't intuitive, though.
Not that NC doesn't make it otherwise difficult. I grew up near Beaufort (BOW-fert) County, and just a couple hours south is the town of Beaufort (BYEW-fert). There's another one even further south in SC, and I don't know how they do it there.
Honestly it's all made up and it's all about local standard usage and people should give each other a break, both in terms of taking a minute to look at long unfamiliar place name and giving it a try instead of saying deliberate gibberish, and in terms of realizing that no one should be expected to know how to pronounce local place names until they've heard them from locals, because it's not like there are any consistent rules we all learned along side "a before e".
posted by rhiannonstone at 9:52 PM on November 5, 2020
Not that NC doesn't make it otherwise difficult. I grew up near Beaufort (BOW-fert) County, and just a couple hours south is the town of Beaufort (BYEW-fert). There's another one even further south in SC, and I don't know how they do it there.
Honestly it's all made up and it's all about local standard usage and people should give each other a break, both in terms of taking a minute to look at long unfamiliar place name and giving it a try instead of saying deliberate gibberish, and in terms of realizing that no one should be expected to know how to pronounce local place names until they've heard them from locals, because it's not like there are any consistent rules we all learned along side "a before e".
posted by rhiannonstone at 9:52 PM on November 5, 2020
Sequim rhymes with "grim" not "sequin"
But not far from Sequim is Sekiu - SEE-kew.
posted by JonJacky at 10:05 PM on November 5, 2020
But not far from Sequim is Sekiu - SEE-kew.
posted by JonJacky at 10:05 PM on November 5, 2020
Lived in Bethesda most of my life and I promise you: pronounce it beh-THEZ-duh or buh-THEZ-duh--notobdy's going to laugh at you or mock. However, if you call it Silver Springs, Maryland (rather than Silver Spring, which is the name), people will figure you're from off-planet.
posted by datawrangler at 11:41 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by datawrangler at 11:41 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
Newark, New Jersey (NOO-wirk) and Newark, Delaware (NOO-ark). And then the other 13 or so cities in the US with the same name.
posted by datawrangler at 11:48 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by datawrangler at 11:48 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
You have to take the 5 to the 110 to get from Loz Feliz to San Pedro.
--betweenthebars
Apparently what I really need is a list of US highways and whether or not I'm supposed to prefix them with the definite article.--GuyZero
In California, it isn't the freeway, it is where you are from. If you put 'the' in front of the freeway name or number in San Francisco (even the same freeways that go down to LA), they'll look at you funny (they'll assume you must be from LA because, who else does this? I'm actually curious, is this done anywhere else?)
posted by eye of newt at 11:52 PM on November 5, 2020
--betweenthebars
Apparently what I really need is a list of US highways and whether or not I'm supposed to prefix them with the definite article.--GuyZero
In California, it isn't the freeway, it is where you are from. If you put 'the' in front of the freeway name or number in San Francisco (even the same freeways that go down to LA), they'll look at you funny (they'll assume you must be from LA because, who else does this? I'm actually curious, is this done anywhere else?)
posted by eye of newt at 11:52 PM on November 5, 2020
I’m not even sure whether I say beh or buh thesda. That seems like a fairly subtle difference to me.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 12:27 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 12:27 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
Rhiannonstone:
The apex of strange place names in my book is indeed from North Carolina, and it’s English. To my surprise this morning I Google-mapped it and there are apparently two of them.
Wisconsin’s got a lot of these, beyond the state name. The French ones are hilariously un-French, so I can’t even imagine how bad the Native ones are (since this is Ho-Chunk land I guess they would be Siouan — not sure whether there are other language groups represented historically). I am pretty sure I still pronounce some of them wrong, because as a non driver I don’t get around much (well, especially now). Our household pastime driving on I-94 to see the family is to play around with Oconomowoc. My favorite wrong pronunciation is "AHK-uh-nuh-MOW-wahk.”
posted by eirias at 3:34 AM on November 6, 2020
The apex of strange place names in my book is indeed from North Carolina, and it’s English. To my surprise this morning I Google-mapped it and there are apparently two of them.
Wisconsin’s got a lot of these, beyond the state name. The French ones are hilariously un-French, so I can’t even imagine how bad the Native ones are (since this is Ho-Chunk land I guess they would be Siouan — not sure whether there are other language groups represented historically). I am pretty sure I still pronounce some of them wrong, because as a non driver I don’t get around much (well, especially now). Our household pastime driving on I-94 to see the family is to play around with Oconomowoc. My favorite wrong pronunciation is "AHK-uh-nuh-MOW-wahk.”
posted by eirias at 3:34 AM on November 6, 2020
We have a few in the UK, although that list seems to fail to include my favourites, Keighley (Keeth-lee) and Slaithwaite (Sla-wit if you're local). And that's without venturing into Welsh or Scottish place names.
posted by itsjustanalias at 4:04 AM on November 6, 2020
posted by itsjustanalias at 4:04 AM on November 6, 2020
Resident of Calais Vermont here. (like Maine, CAL-us)
In 1998, a rich guy from 'away' thought it would be a easy thing to run for Senate in Vermont.
He came up against Fred Tuttle, a retired dairy farmer.
In their debate, Fred showed how out-of-touch his opponent was by, among other things, asking him how to pronounce the names of VT towns.
Fred won the primary.
posted by MtDewd at 4:43 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
In 1998, a rich guy from 'away' thought it would be a easy thing to run for Senate in Vermont.
He came up against Fred Tuttle, a retired dairy farmer.
In their debate, Fred showed how out-of-touch his opponent was by, among other things, asking him how to pronounce the names of VT towns.
Fred won the primary.
posted by MtDewd at 4:43 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
Yes, NotTheRedBaron, Cooper Texas (in Delta County, smallest county in Texas) is indeed pronounce more like cupper. I used to married to an ex-resident and we subscribed to the Cooper Review for years. My ex read me lots of stories about a local who hunted wild boars with his dog, Booger Red. I wonder if your friend is my ex! Not that many people lived there.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 4:49 AM on November 6, 2020
posted by a humble nudibranch at 4:49 AM on November 6, 2020
As I found out, do not EVER confuse Saint John, New Brunswick (spelled out) with St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador (not spelled out and ’s).
posted by Melismata at 5:03 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 5:03 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]
The Thames River that runs by New London, Connecticut, is not pronounced 'temz' like the River Thames that runs though old London, UK.
posted by pracowity at 6:07 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by pracowity at 6:07 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
New Prague, MN is pronounced with a long A for some reason
posted by soelo at 6:16 AM on November 6, 2020
posted by soelo at 6:16 AM on November 6, 2020
Shout out to my long time stomping ground Martinez, Georgia, which is pronounced as, you may have guessed given that it is in the deep south, MARTIN'(as in the name)-nehz
posted by Therapeutic Amputations at 6:29 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Therapeutic Amputations at 6:29 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
When my wife moved up here to North Dakota, she said something about the town "Minnow"; it took a little while to figure out she meant Minot (My-knot).
My employees have trouble with one customer, the Minnesota county Lac Qui Parle, which is apparently "lack kwih parrl" but absolutely does not look like that's the right pronunciation and I'm not entirely sure I have it right either.
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:50 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
My employees have trouble with one customer, the Minnesota county Lac Qui Parle, which is apparently "lack kwih parrl" but absolutely does not look like that's the right pronunciation and I'm not entirely sure I have it right either.
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:50 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
No one I know agrees with my pronunciation of Truckee, CA as "Truck-ee". They all say "Trucky".
They are all wrong.
posted by chavenet at 7:02 AM on November 6, 2020
They are all wrong.
posted by chavenet at 7:02 AM on November 6, 2020
How are those different, chavenet? I would pronounce "Truck-ee" and "Trucky" exactly the same.
posted by octothorpe at 7:14 AM on November 6, 2020
posted by octothorpe at 7:14 AM on November 6, 2020
There's a fancy Frenchy restaurant in Truckee named "Trokay". Always cracks me up.
posted by Nelson at 8:13 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 8:13 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]
Y'all are just a bunch of dirty metafiltering prescriptivists
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 8:18 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 8:18 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
I learned long ago that Coeur d'Alene is not an excuse to show off your French pronunciation skills..
posted by emelenjr at 8:27 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by emelenjr at 8:27 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
Schuylkill.
posted by The Half Language Plant at 9:19 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by The Half Language Plant at 9:19 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]
I remember a story, probably apocryphal, of a new newscaster to the Capital Region of New York who had to do a broadcast from Schenectady. "Reporting live from sheneck-toddy, I'm..." She was never heard from again in the area.
posted by neilbert at 10:20 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by neilbert at 10:20 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
Sauce: WUSS-ter. Sure.
posted by k3ninho at 10:22 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by k3ninho at 10:22 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
Yesterday you might have been worrying about election results from DeKalb County, Georgia, pronounced duh-CAB. (But apparently the Illinois county of the same name pronounces the L?)
posted by madcaptenor at 10:45 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by madcaptenor at 10:45 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
So if you're heading south in California, there's somewhere where 5 turns into the 5, or 101 turns into the 101, right?
posted by madcaptenor at 10:46 AM on November 6, 2020
posted by madcaptenor at 10:46 AM on November 6, 2020
As a British person who also pronouces the Worcester about 50 miles from my house as "Wuss-tuh", just imagine you're a population that's been trying to pronounce it phonetically for about 500 years and just collectively got bored with dealing with all the stuff in the middle.
See also:
"Towcester" - "Toaster"
"Gloucester" - "Gloss-tuh"
posted by Urtylug at 11:35 AM on November 6, 2020
See also:
"Towcester" - "Toaster"
"Gloucester" - "Gloss-tuh"
posted by Urtylug at 11:35 AM on November 6, 2020
I should add:
"Bicester" - "Biss-tuh"
"Rampisham" - "Ran-som"
...and the final boss battle of English place names: "Woolfardisworthy", which I will leave as an exercise for the reader.
posted by Urtylug at 11:40 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
"Bicester" - "Biss-tuh"
"Rampisham" - "Ran-som"
...and the final boss battle of English place names: "Woolfardisworthy", which I will leave as an exercise for the reader.
posted by Urtylug at 11:40 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
So if you're heading south in California, there's somewhere where 5 turns into the 5, or 101 turns into the 101, right?
The Grapevine. When you drive north on the 5 from Los Angeles, the articles before highway names start to fade after you cross the Grapevine.
posted by betweenthebars at 11:53 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
The Grapevine. When you drive north on the 5 from Los Angeles, the articles before highway names start to fade after you cross the Grapevine.
posted by betweenthebars at 11:53 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
As a Welshman, I can tell you that it isn't *me* pronouncing "Bryn Mawr" wrong.
posted by 43rdAnd9th at 11:56 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by 43rdAnd9th at 11:56 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]
Don't let the inclusion of LA on this list make you think that we use an article before freeways in the Bay Area. That's just weird SoCal talk.
Hm, I've heard a lot of bay area people refer to "the 80" or "the 101".--ishmael
No doubt, just like you'll sometimes hear a Boston accent in New York City.
posted by eye of newt at 12:09 PM on November 6, 2020
Hm, I've heard a lot of bay area people refer to "the 80" or "the 101".--ishmael
No doubt, just like you'll sometimes hear a Boston accent in New York City.
posted by eye of newt at 12:09 PM on November 6, 2020
DuBois, PA. Pronounced doo-boyss. Rhymes with Joyce.
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 1:49 PM on November 6, 2020
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 1:49 PM on November 6, 2020
Now do neighborhoods around St. Louis
posted by indubitable at 2:02 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by indubitable at 2:02 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
Yesterday you might have been worrying about election results from DeKalb County, Georgia, pronounced duh-CAB. (But apparently the Illinois county of the same name pronounces the L?)
As a DeKalb, GA resident, it hurts so much every time they say the L. And all the more reason for tv/radio networks to use local reporters rather than sending in the big names to butcher things.
posted by hydropsyche at 2:13 PM on November 6, 2020
As a DeKalb, GA resident, it hurts so much every time they say the L. And all the more reason for tv/radio networks to use local reporters rather than sending in the big names to butcher things.
posted by hydropsyche at 2:13 PM on November 6, 2020
But then they couldn’t just have the one guy that stands there with the map that they don’t let sleep.
posted by madcaptenor at 4:23 PM on November 6, 2020
posted by madcaptenor at 4:23 PM on November 6, 2020
As a child of the Chicago suburbs, even reading the names of Chicago highways makes me nostalgic. I never thought about how unusual it is to have so many named (not numbered) highways.* "Edens Expressway" triggers an urge to toast a Pop-Tart and watch Thundercats.
posted by spamandkimchi at 5:05 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by spamandkimchi at 5:05 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
Interstate 476 Mid County Expressway - /blu rut/
posted by zamboni at 7:09 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by zamboni at 7:09 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
Why aren't the names phonetically correct?
This is literally impossible with the breadth of pronunciations and accents in English.
posted by Dysk at 12:54 AM on November 7, 2020
This is literally impossible with the breadth of pronunciations and accents in English.
posted by Dysk at 12:54 AM on November 7, 2020
You pretty much have to expect any French place name in the United States to be pronounced like obscure English words. Pennsylvania has Fort LeBoeuf, the last syllable the locals rhyme with "guff". Kentucky has Versailles, iirc rhyming with "rails".
posted by ardgedee at 4:40 AM on November 7, 2020
posted by ardgedee at 4:40 AM on November 7, 2020
Noter Dame.
posted by box at 7:43 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by box at 7:43 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
Yuh-KEE-muh
YAH-kih-muh
YAH-kih-maw
Spokane's got nothing on Yakima.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 8:26 AM on November 7, 2020
YAH-kih-muh
YAH-kih-maw
Spokane's got nothing on Yakima.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 8:26 AM on November 7, 2020
Mr. gudrun is from New Haven, Connecticut. One of the first things he did when we met was correct my pronunciation of it. It is New HAY-ven (not NEW Haven).
My home town is also a Medford, but New Jersey not Mass. If you have the local accent, it is MEFFord - the first d is not pronounced, but the final d is, and the r is pronounced a bit by some, but others really slur it all together, so it can wind up sounding sort of like Meffud (or Meffid).
There is an island in Maine Mr. gudrun's family goes to called Chebeague. If you are "from away", you tend to call it Sha-beeg. If you live there, it is more like Sha-big.
My parents once went to Egypt with my aunt (father's sister) and uncle. My parents lived all over the place, but my aunt pretty much spent her entire life in the St. Louis area. My mother cringed every time my aunt pronounced Cairo, Egypt as KAY-row, which she did during the whole trip.
posted by gudrun at 9:19 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
My home town is also a Medford, but New Jersey not Mass. If you have the local accent, it is MEFFord - the first d is not pronounced, but the final d is, and the r is pronounced a bit by some, but others really slur it all together, so it can wind up sounding sort of like Meffud (or Meffid).
There is an island in Maine Mr. gudrun's family goes to called Chebeague. If you are "from away", you tend to call it Sha-beeg. If you live there, it is more like Sha-big.
My parents once went to Egypt with my aunt (father's sister) and uncle. My parents lived all over the place, but my aunt pretty much spent her entire life in the St. Louis area. My mother cringed every time my aunt pronounced Cairo, Egypt as KAY-row, which she did during the whole trip.
posted by gudrun at 9:19 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
There’s a town near here called Genoa, but it’s not the Italianate JENN-oh-ah; it’s juh-NO-ah.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:27 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:27 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
There's a town in Ohio named Lima, pronounced not like Peru but like the bean.
posted by box at 2:00 PM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by box at 2:00 PM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
The Thames River that runs by New London, Connecticut, is not pronounced 'temz' like the River Thames that runs though old London, UK.
Years ago I read a book (I think My Old Man and the Sea) that said the CT river was named before King George I came to power and couldn't pronounce the 'Th' sound, so the English changed how they said it.
I thought that was fun, but it appears to be a local myth along with the local pronunciation.
posted by MtDewd at 4:36 AM on November 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
Years ago I read a book (I think My Old Man and the Sea) that said the CT river was named before King George I came to power and couldn't pronounce the 'Th' sound, so the English changed how they said it.
I thought that was fun, but it appears to be a local myth along with the local pronunciation.
posted by MtDewd at 4:36 AM on November 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
Spokane's got nothing on Yakima.
But Buena trumps them all.
BYOO-ann-a.
posted by St. Oops at 8:26 AM on November 8, 2020
But Buena trumps them all.
BYOO-ann-a.
posted by St. Oops at 8:26 AM on November 8, 2020
There's a town in Ohio named Lima, pronounced not like Peru but like the bean.
I was into the 4th season of Glee before I realized the coffee shop was called Lima Bean.
posted by soelo at 10:14 AM on November 8, 2020
I was into the 4th season of Glee before I realized the coffee shop was called Lima Bean.
posted by soelo at 10:14 AM on November 8, 2020
See also: Dun Laoghaire (Ireland).
And if we're doing English surnames: Featherstonehaugh ...
posted by carter at 1:33 PM on November 8, 2020
And if we're doing English surnames: Featherstonehaugh ...
posted by carter at 1:33 PM on November 8, 2020
second t is silent in atlanta
posted by i used to be someone else at 10:11 AM on November 9, 2020
posted by i used to be someone else at 10:11 AM on November 9, 2020
second t is silent in atlanta
also maybe the whole first syllable
posted by madcaptenor at 10:32 AM on November 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
also maybe the whole first syllable
posted by madcaptenor at 10:32 AM on November 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
If you just grunt "luuuh-uuuh", people from the area will realize you're referring to Louisville, Kentucky.
posted by kevinbelt at 12:44 PM on November 9, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by kevinbelt at 12:44 PM on November 9, 2020 [4 favorites]
In rural Colorado, there are a non-zero amount of people that pronounce Buena Vista as "B-you-knee", Pueblo as "Pooh-ab-low" (yes, three syllables) and Salida as "Sa-lie-duh). I'm willing to overlook the last, but all those I know who pronounced the other two could very well have been doing it as veiled racism.
Also, it's Hyou-stun. Not How-stun. All you NYers are just trolling Texans.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 4:44 PM on November 9, 2020
Also, it's Hyou-stun. Not How-stun. All you NYers are just trolling Texans.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 4:44 PM on November 9, 2020
Mantua, UT is “man away.”
Hooper, UT has the double-o sound of “whoop-ass,” not “hoop.”
If you get them right, locals will correct your pronunciation out of habit anyway.
posted by armeowda at 12:05 AM on November 10, 2020
Hooper, UT has the double-o sound of “whoop-ass,” not “hoop.”
If you get them right, locals will correct your pronunciation out of habit anyway.
posted by armeowda at 12:05 AM on November 10, 2020
Also, it's Hyou-stun. Not How-stun. All you NYers are just trolling Texans.
The street was named five years before Sam Houston was even born.
posted by octothorpe at 5:53 AM on November 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
The street was named five years before Sam Houston was even born.
posted by octothorpe at 5:53 AM on November 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
I want to say "Woolfardisworthy" as "Woolsey" following the Fanshawe Rule.
posted by a halcyon day at 11:55 AM on November 10, 2020
posted by a halcyon day at 11:55 AM on November 10, 2020
Speaking of streets with the same name as Texas cities, there's a Galveston Street near me but a lot of people here seem to pronounce it "gal-VES-tin".
posted by octothorpe at 5:11 PM on November 10, 2020
posted by octothorpe at 5:11 PM on November 10, 2020
The street was named five years before Sam Houston was even born.
Yeah, but... uh... well... what about his dad? ;-)
there's a Galveston Street near me but a lot of people here seem to pronounce it "gal-VES-tin".
omg, I would die.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 5:38 PM on November 10, 2020
Yeah, but... uh... well... what about his dad? ;-)
there's a Galveston Street near me but a lot of people here seem to pronounce it "gal-VES-tin".
omg, I would die.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 5:38 PM on November 10, 2020
And, now, I can't unhear it.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 5:38 PM on November 10, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 5:38 PM on November 10, 2020 [2 favorites]
Hm, I've heard a lot of bay area people refer to "the 80" or "the 101".--ishmael
Just to make the point of how unusual this is, someone in the San Francisco Transportation Authority referred to "the" 101 freeway, and people were so shocked that it ended up in the news.
posted by eye of newt at 3:01 PM on November 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
Just to make the point of how unusual this is, someone in the San Francisco Transportation Authority referred to "the" 101 freeway, and people were so shocked that it ended up in the news.
posted by eye of newt at 3:01 PM on November 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
Well I'd say that people got angry and tweeted about it made the news. This is just a weird SF vs LA thing that SF hyper-partisans like to make hay with.
posted by GuyZero at 3:17 PM on November 25, 2020
posted by GuyZero at 3:17 PM on November 25, 2020
More like local language differences that SF and LA folks like to tease each other about (I think the article was meant to be tongue in cheek).
posted by eye of newt at 3:25 PM on November 25, 2020
posted by eye of newt at 3:25 PM on November 25, 2020
It turns out there are cities other than LA and SF and when one of those people accidentally says the "wrong" thing they're lambasted for a shibboleth they didn't even know existed. I don't lecture San Franciscans that it's "the 401" because none of them know where the 401 is nor do they care as this is purely a SF-LA beef. And it's only nominally tongue-in-cheek as somehow this manages to make the news every so often and it's always someone in SF complaining that people shouldn't talk like they do in LA.
posted by GuyZero at 3:29 PM on November 25, 2020
posted by GuyZero at 3:29 PM on November 25, 2020
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