# How do you pronounce it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 3, 2016, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731 "2016-12-03T14:26:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2016, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731/21 "2016-12-03T20:49:19Z")
> [@Zyanthia](#): > > Can you please explain the difference in these two Van Wick or Van Whyk? I would pronounce them the same. I would pronounce Van Whyk like the word “why” with a k at the end. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2016, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731/22 "2016-12-03T21:16:30Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > There is a street in Manhattan spelled Houston and it is pronounced House-ton. If you call it Hyooston, you will be corrected. Guess how Thames Street in Newport, RI. is pronounced. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2016, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731/23 "2016-12-03T21:30:41Z")
> [@Zyanthia](#): > > Can you please explain the difference in these two Van Wick or Van Whyk? I would pronounce them the same. Like Dick & Dyke. Sick and Psych. Mick and Mike. Lick and Like. Pick and Pike. Bic and Bike. Hick and Hike. Quick and… ok maybe not. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731/24 "2016-12-03T21:31:40Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Budapest or Budapesht? Kiper Belt or Kuiper Belt? Houseton or Hyouston? Van Wick or Van Whyk? The last two are kind of New York specific. Me, I pronounce them all the first way. What pronunciation controversies are going on in your neck of the woods. In my part of NY (mid-Hudson Valley), Van Wyck is basically always with a long I…Van wike, rhymes with bike and like and psych. Yes, I know there are many in NYC who would disagree, but here at least the long-I pronunciation is pretty well established. I say Budapest, would say KY-per belt but don’t think I’ve ever heard it spoken so could easily be mistaken, and would only say HOWE-ston if referring to the Manhattan street. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2016, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731/25 "2016-12-03T21:41:33Z")
Presumably one heavily weighted input would be how Mr Van Wyck chose to pronounce his name. > **[Robert Anderson Van Wyck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Anderson_Van_Wyck)** > > Robert Anderson Van Wyck (/væn ˈwaɪk/ van WYKE; July 20, 1849 – November 14, 1918) was the first mayor of New York City after the consolidation of the five boroughs into the City of Greater New York in 1898. > Robert Anderson Van Wyck was the son of William Van Wyck and Lydia Ann Maverick. He was one of seven children, including two brothers Augustus and Samuel Maverick, a Confederate Regimental Surgeon. He studied at the Wilson Academy in North Carolina, and later graduated from Columbia Univers... /vænˈwaɪk/ Unlike foreign place names, we do certainly tend to respect the way people choose to pronounce their own names, whatever the language of origin. But it still might drift away, of course, if the guy is long-forgotten as a public figure. ---
**Author:** ![Zyanthia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Zyanthia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyanthia)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2016, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731/26 "2016-12-03T22:00:59Z")
Okay, thank you. Is there a rule on when Y as a vowel is pronounced as a short I, Long I or Long e? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2016, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731/27 "2016-12-03T22:11:48Z")
> [@Zyanthia](#): > > Okay, thank you. Is there a rule on when Y as a vowel is pronounced as a short I, Long I or Long e? Well, if there are any rules that work for most ordinary English words, they wouldn’t apply to such a special case. In this case it’s originally a Dutch name that would be pronounced something like _Fon Weig_; and the American Robert Van Wyck chose not to say his name the same way as his Dutch ancestors. [http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/26/nyregion/van-wyck-expressway-also-snarls-pronunciation.html?\_r=0](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/26/nyregion/van-wyck-expressway-also-snarls-pronunciation.html?_r=0) ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2016, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731/28 "2016-12-03T22:20:51Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > La Canada CA (la-can-YOD-a) La Cañada - it means “canyon”/“path” etc. and is unrelated to the country. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2016, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731/29 "2016-12-03T22:38:43Z")
**How do you pronounce it?** The way it’s spelled. When in doubt I go with the locals for domestic locations. If there’s an English pronunciation of foreign locations I stick to that. If you can’t pronounce it exactly like a local then I think it’s pretentious to try to do it in the foreign language. ---
**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:** [December 3, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731/30 "2016-12-03T22:45:55Z")
In English, I tend to say Budapest, unless I’m talking to Hungarian colleagues or people living there. In the expat community there, we said it with the “sh,” but back in the US I tend to default to the Anglicized pronunciation, just like I say Crack-ow instead of Krah-koof for Krakow, even though Polish was my first language. Sometimes it slips, and I say Budapesht. For Houston, it’s Howston for the New York Street and Hyooston for the city. The other two I don’t think I’ve ever used in conversation. ---
**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:** [December 3, 2016, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731/31 "2016-12-03T22:48:18Z")
What about habanero? One of my peeves which I try to ignore as much as possible is when it’s pronounced (and even written) as if it’s got a “ñ” instead of a plain “n.” It’s not pronounced like jalapeño. It’s just a plain “n”! ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2016, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731/32 "2016-12-03T23:45:14Z")
[Bruschetta:](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruschetta) I prefer to say it “bruce-ketta,” although it’s been anglicized to “brew-shetta.” ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2016, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731/33 "2016-12-03T23:51:55Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > It doesn’t matter. > > Especially names that come from non-English sources, like Budapest. People who speak Hungarian say it a different way than people whose tongue is only capable of forming American English phonemes. > > I’m a fairly educated speaker, I don’t have any problem with people saying eye-rack (Iraq), for the same reason I accept Italy and Iceland pronounced according to English phonetics. Who made the rule, about which countries can be pronounced with English stylization, and which have to preserve the pure form from the native speakers. Do you say may-hee-ko (Mexico) in casual English conversastion? Pa-ree (Paris)? Should you trill your R when you say foreign names? Good post. I get really annoyed at the attitude that it’s somehow wrong to anglicize names in some cases while in others it’s fine. Thus we’re quite happy with Florence for Firenze or Munich for Munchen but insist on Beijing (most countries are still quite content with Peking or Pekin) and Don Kee-yot-ee instead of the traditional English pronunciation Don Kwik-sut, thus leaving the adjective quixotic stranded (who the hell says kee-yot-ic?) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2016, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731/34 "2016-12-03T23:57:05Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > **How do you pronounce it?** > > The way it’s spelled. Wojciehowicz. 😃 ---
**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:** [December 4, 2016, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731/35 "2016-12-04T00:00:48Z")
I lived in Europe for a number of years and still tend to say Budapesht and Krakoof, but finally stopped saying Warshawa and Genève. With my wife, I say “Lishz-boa”, but that’s because we lived there and it’s a shared memory. Peabody in MA is PEE-bud-dee. Here in Portland, Couch St. is pronounced ‘cootch’, as it’s named after a Civil War officer. In Alaska, the town of Valdez is pronounced ‘val-DEEZ’, even though it was named in 1790 after the Spanish Navy Minister Antonio Valdés y Fernández Bazán. The Knik River and village in Alaska is pronounce ‘kuh-NIK’. OR-i-gun is how we say it, unlike the town in Wisconsin, which is Or-i-gone. The Willamette River is pronounced ‘will-LAM-ette’, not ‘WILLA-mette’. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731/36 "2016-12-04T00:14:03Z")
Budapest is even further complicated by the U – do you say BEW-da-pest, or BOOT-a-pest? A similar dichotomy exists with reference to the capital of Romania, which, by the way, is called “ro-ma-NEE-ya” by Romanians. Bucharest, in English, is spelled Bucuresti by Romanians, who even have a diacritical mark under the S to enforce the pronunciation of “boo-koo-RESHT”. Trilled R, or course, but Americans feel perfectly at ease pronouncing foreign names with untrilled R. Very few languages have a phoneme that corresponds to the American R sound. Even British English doesn’t. I think it is horribly pedantic, when Americans pronounce foreign names with foreign phonetics, such as bilingual native-Spanish speakers who are news reporters, who pronounce Spanish proper names with native Hispanic phonetics. When I am speaking Spanish, I would never say Los Angeles with an American drawl (just because I can), but I would say “loas ON-hel-ace” in conformity with the phonetics of the rest of the sentence. Like when somebody from the middle east told Donald Rumsfeld that Qatar is pronounced “gutter”, and he made such a big deal about saying it that way. The fact is, the Q in Qatar represents a phoneme that Americans can’t say nor hear, and Rumsfeld was no closer to correct than people who say “kah-tar”. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731/37 "2016-12-04T00:25:36Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I lived in Europe for a number of years and still tend to say Budapesht and Krakoof, but finally stopped saying Warshawa and Genève. With my wife, I say “Lishz-boa”, but that’s because we lived there and it’s a shared memory. > > Peabody in MA is PEE-bud-dee. More like PEE-b’dee. I’m always surprised how people have no problem pronouncing Worcestershire Sauce, but who stumble on Worcester (WU-ster, or WU-stuh as the locals would say) Out here in CA you can never tell how much the Spanish names are anglicized, if at all. We say San Jose (ho-SAY), but then Los Angeles (AN- **j** ell-iss). San Pedro (PEE-dro), the city, but then San Pedro Square in San Jose (PAY-dro). _Es muy loco!_ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731/38 "2016-12-04T00:34:05Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Wojciehowicz. > > 😃 I used to work with a guy named Czumaj. It was pronounced shoo-ma. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731/39 "2016-12-04T01:24:26Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > G Don Kee-yot-ee instead of the traditional English pronunciation Don Kwik-sut, thus leaving the adjective quixotic stranded (who the hell says kee-yot-ic?) Up unti last year, I thought the adjective was ‘kee-hot-ic’, until I looked it up and saw that the iiliterate idiots were right. I had always also thought Keynesian was ‘key-NEE-zhun’, analogous to DeCartes ==\> cartesian. No, the dictionary finally got around to listing it, and calling it ‘KAIN-zee-an’. Go figure. Luckily, nobody ever actually SAYS those words. ---
**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:** [December 4, 2016, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731/40 "2016-12-04T06:29:21Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Budapest is even further complicated by the U – do you say BEW-da-pest, or BOOT-a-pest? True, although I don’t think I’ve heard American speakers say “BYOO-da-pest.” In my experience, it seems to be invariably “BOO” for the first syllable. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-it/773731.md?page=3)