# How do you pronounce "Appalachian"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 23, 2020, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-appalachian/848390 "2020-02-23T08:45:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-appalachian/848390/41 "2020-02-24T18:39:27Z")
I grew up in the Midwest pronouncing it like “appellation”. But a previous thread on this subject informed me that no one from Appalachia says it that way, so usually I say “apple atcha” or “apple atchan” now ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-appalachian/848390/42 "2020-02-24T18:48:33Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > In New England, home of the Appalachian Mountain Club, it’s a-pah-lay-shun . I’m in Western Canada, quite a distance from you. However, we would also say “a-pah-lay-shun”. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-appalachian/848390/43 "2020-02-24T19:13:42Z")
> [@bump](#): > > So out of curiosity, what would the actual English rule-based pronunciation for the word be? I mean, there has to be some kind of rule for whether that second ‘a’ is long or short, right? Not as far as I know, ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-appalachian/848390/44 "2020-02-25T01:17:35Z")
I live here. It’s Appa-LATCH-a. There are some people who get pissy about it–I’m definitely not one of them, but the Appa-LAY-sha version does sound weird when I hear it. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-appalachian/848390/45 "2020-02-25T02:57:10Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > I live here. It’s Appa-LATCH-a. The question was about the word “Appalachian” which is used for the mountain range and the trail, both of which run all the way to Canada. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-appalachian/848390/46 "2020-02-25T20:27:37Z")
I’m in Asheville. It’s pronounced ap-uh-LATCH-n here. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-appalachian/848390/47 "2020-02-25T22:07:43Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Appalachia ends in New York State not that many miles from where I live. I’ve always heard the “ch” rather than the “sh” pronunciation. Do you have experience of people in New York talking about how they live in Appalachia? I don’t mean that in a hostile manner because I’ve wondered about it myself. I grew up literally on the edge of the Appalachian Plateau, in a county - Chautauqua - in the Appalachian Regional Commission, but I’ve never personally heard any New Yorker talk about how they are in “Appalachia”. I might, however, have missed something, or it might be different more eastward along the Southern Tier. (The closest I remember someone self-declaring that they live in Appalachia is somewhere in the center or south of Pennsylvania.) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-appalachian/848390/48 "2020-02-26T03:00:25Z")
There’s a trailhead in the northern Presidential range of NH called Appalachia, pronounced the northern way. It was named by the Appalachian Mountain Club. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-appalachian/848390/49 "2020-02-27T19:57:37Z")
I grew up in Pennsylvania, and knew it as “a-puh-LAY-shuhn” - well, closer to “a-puh-LAY-chuhn” (ch not sh). Then I moved to NC for school and quickly learned the “a-puh-LATCH-uhn.” pronunciation for the college (and I assume the mountains). I’m likelier to say it with the long A these days though. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-appalachian/848390/50 "2020-02-28T00:09:32Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I grew up in Pennsylvania, and knew it as “a-puh-LAY-shuhn” - well, closer to “a-puh-LAY-chuhn” (ch not sh). Then I moved to NC for school and quickly learned the “a-puh-LATCH-uhn.” pronunciation for the college (and I assume the mountains). I’m likelier to say it with the long A these days though. Yes, the college is always App-uh-LATCH-n State. Or you could just skip the issue altogether and call it App State. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-appalachian/848390.md?page=2)