# Beat this for hard-to-understand pronuciation **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 8, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656 "2014-07-08T18:04:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656/21 "2014-07-09T04:25:33Z")
Lafayette County, Florida, is pronounced "la-FEET’. Louisa Coiunty,Iowa, is “loo-WIZE-a”. Houston County, Alabama, is “HOUSE-ton”. Charlotte, Michigan, is “sha-LOTT”. Beaufort: BOE-fert in NC, BYOU-fert in SC Coos: ko-AHSS in NH, rhymes with goose in OR DeKalb: de-COBB in GA, de-KALB in IL, de-CAB in AL and MO Steuben: STOO-bin in NY, stoo-BENN in IN. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656/22 "2014-07-09T04:29:09Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Houston County, Alabama, is “HOUSE-ton”. As is the street in Manhattan. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656/23 "2014-07-09T04:45:00Z")
I’ve heard two variations on Blount: Blunt and Blaunt (or Blownt if it’s not a long O). And the variations on Nashville are amusing, too. Naish-vul Naish-VILLE Nash-vl Nash-ville Nash-vegas 😃 Cookeville TN is Coo-uh-vuh to residents. Mufreesboro is Muffs-buh. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656/24 "2014-07-09T05:28:13Z")
Of course there’s a [list for that](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_names_in_English_with_counterintuitive_pronunciations). ---
**Author:** ![Elemenopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5e925/32.png) [@Elemenopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elemenopy)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656/25 "2014-07-09T05:30:45Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I grew up near it so I never had a problem with it but people from outside the area sure did. To make things even more confusing, Nacogdoches, TX isn’t all that far away from Natchitoches, LA but they don’t have even a remotely similar pronunciation (the vowel sounds are completely different even for the same letters). > > It still doesn’t beat Tchoupitoulas St. in New Orleans for me though. I never did learn how to spell that one even though I can pronounce it. Chop-a-TOO-lass, right? Visited New Orleans (with my native hubby) the first time after umpteen years of public school French. Mind. Blown. As far as place names went, I just learned to pronounce them like an “Okie from Muskogee” and that was close enough…weirded me out, though. We were living in St. Louis, too, and the same rules applied… Hubby’s folks still live in the ninth ward, nothing too exotic thereabouts. 😉 His family sounds like Archie and Edith Bunker. ETA: Help me out, here, aren’t they both “Nak-a-DOCH-es”? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656/26 "2014-07-09T07:52:21Z")
Norfolk, England has many, not least: Happisburgh Wymondham Tacolneston Costessey HAZEburruh, WINDum, TACKLEstun, COSSee And there’s the story of an Australian in the Midlands looking for “Loogabarooga” (Loughborough, pronounced LUFFburruh) ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656/27 "2014-07-09T14:04:10Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > You mean “WISS-tah”? Before I posted I kept saying it to myself, trying to decide in which syllable the stress falls To my ears it falls on the -TAH, but it also sometimes falls on the WISS. It’s still wiss-tah, and definitely NOT woos-ter 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656/28 "2014-07-09T14:12:32Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Which is, of course, pronounced “The Soo” 😃 Except for an American history teacher I had years ago who pronounced in “salt”. During class break (so as not to embarrass him), I gently corrected him. He just shrugged and said “it doesn’t matter”. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656/29 "2014-07-09T14:16:11Z")
> [@kiz](#): > > Not if you’re a native Bostonian. > > Worchester = Wiss-TAH. As in Wiss-TAH-sheer sauce. > > 😃 They also pronounce Peabody as PEE-b’dee. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656/30 "2014-07-09T15:21:26Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > …Then there are family names. Chomondeley, pronounced Chumly and Marjoriebanks pronounced Marchbanks. And, famously, McGrath is pronounced McGraw. And Menzies - pronounced Ming-is (or Ming-us). ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656/31 "2014-07-09T15:37:20Z")
Here’s another Georgia one- Vidalia, as in the onion. People from Vidalia all say it’s pronounced vuh-DAY-uh. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656/32 "2014-07-09T15:52:11Z")
Apparently the name “Raymond Luxury Yacht” is not pronounced anything like the way it’s spelled. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656/33 "2014-07-09T16:01:05Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Then there are family names. Chomondeley, pronounced Chumly and Marjoriebanks pronounced Marchbanks. And, famously, McGrath is pronounced McGraw. > [@Mangetout](#): > > And Menzies - pronounced Ming-is (or Ming-us). Also Fetherstonhaugh, pronounced “Fanshaw.” ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656/34 "2014-07-09T19:39:25Z")
From some movie I saw: Someone orders breakfast to go for several people. When he returns to the apartment or hotel room or whatever, he tells them something like, “Yeah, I was going to ask for those French pastries that everyone likes, but I wasn’t sure how to pronounce it, so I got donuts.” ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656/35 "2014-07-09T19:42:49Z")
Houston, which has a long Spanish tradition and a large Spanish-speaking population, manages to butcher place names going both ways: San Felipe Road = “san-FIL-uh-pee.” Humble (suburb north of Houston) = “UM-bull.” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656/36 "2014-07-10T01:00:45Z")
Vauthier, a street off of I-45 South in Texas, is pronounced vo-SHAY. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656/37 "2014-07-10T04:24:31Z")
Hayti, Missouri, Chili, New York and Delhi, Louisiana all end with a Long-I sound. Hay-tye, Chigh-lye, and del-high. The counties of Henrico, Virginia, Louisa, Iowa, and Obion, Tennessee, are pronounced with a stressed Long-I in the middle syllable. Miami and Leoti, in Kansas, are pronounced as if they end with an A. In Wisconsin, Waupaca and Waukesha are waw-PACK-a, but WALK-ee-shaw. . ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656/38 "2014-07-10T09:25:41Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Norfolk, England has many, not least: > > Happisburgh > Wymondham > Tacolneston > Costessey > > HAZEburruh, WINDum, TACKLEstun, COSSee Thanks for pronunciation of Tacolneston – I’m originally from eastern England, knew the other three; but not that one. Another from Norfolk: Little Hautbois, the second part pronounced “HOB-iss”. My favourite from Scotland: Kilconquhar, pronounced “Kin-YEWKH-ar”. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656/39 "2014-07-10T09:49:07Z")
**Magdalene** College in Oxford is pronounced ‘Maudlin’ ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656/40 "2014-07-10T10:05:51Z")
It’s not a place name, but surely “Colonel” being pronounced as “kernel” deserves a mention? A [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beat-this-for-hard-to-understand-pronuciation/692656.md?page=3)