# How do you prounce Connecticut? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 31, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892 "2009-07-31T17:51:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892/41 "2009-08-01T12:03:58Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I think the real question should be: "How do you spell “pronounce”? > > 😉 The first “N” is silent as in Chumley;) ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892/42 "2009-08-01T13:52:05Z")
Oh, this thread brings me back. I grew up on Connecticut St., and yeah. It was confusing when I was learning to read and write. Not to mention this was in San Francisco. Oi, learning to spell my address correctly was unfairly difficult. (It took me awhile to figure out how to arrange the _c_s and _s_s.) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892/43 "2009-08-01T14:41:02Z")
… Wow. This thread is literally the first time I’ve ever noticed the second C in that name. I was an avid Monopoly player as a kid, I know people from CT…yet, until this thread… Funky. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892/44 "2009-08-01T15:00:29Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > If I (a Californian) were to spell my pronunciation, it would be _Cunneddicut_, with the final _cut_ rhyming with _put_ Really? For you, “Connecticut” rhymes with “put”? I know that’s what you’re saying, and I know you are well tuned-in to phonetics, but it’s hard to imagine it being pronounced like that. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892/45 "2009-08-01T15:07:17Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > Really? For you, “Connecticut” rhymes with “put”? I know that’s what you’re saying, and I know you are well tuned-in to phonetics, but it’s hard to imagine it being pronounced like that. Is it possible that **Dr. Drake** meant “putt”, as in the verb having to do with golf? (Which rhymes with “mutt” or “cut”.) The way I say it, it does rhyme with the last syllable in Connecticut. I agree that “put” as in “I put the book on the shelf” does not rhyme with that syllable. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892/46 "2009-08-01T15:08:21Z")
Co net i kit, right? How abut Fucking Australia? Phuk-ing or Foo-king? ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892/47 "2009-08-01T15:11:40Z")
Anybody up for a game of kuh-NET four? ---
**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:** [August 1, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892/48 "2009-08-01T15:15:15Z")
/Homer/It’s pronounced “Ver-mont”, Lisa./Homer/ ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892/49 "2009-08-01T15:41:50Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Is it possible that **Dr. Drake** meant “putt”, as in the verb having to do with golf? (Which rhymes with “mutt” or “cut”.) The way I say it, it does rhyme with the last syllable in Connecticut. I agree that “put” as in “I put the book on the shelf” does not rhyme with that syllable. No, I meant “put.” Thinking about it (and saying _Connecticut, Connecticut, Connecticut_ out loud), it’s more like the _oo_ in _book_, but very short. It’s definitely not -it. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892/50 "2009-08-01T16:14:07Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Then again, I’m still trying to get over how can Americans mute any t at all and I discovered “tweeny” as the pronunciation for 20 in 1987. I think you mean “twenny,” which, as you say, is common enough for “twenty.” I don’t think I’ve ever heard “Conencticut” without the final “t”, or with a very faint one, but I could almost see it pronounced with a terminating glottal stop. I wonder if some American dialects do this. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892/51 "2009-08-01T16:33:59Z")
> [@chela](#): > > Co net i kit, right? > > How abut Fucking Australia? > > Phuk-ing or Foo-king? Actually, that’s in Austria. I believe the “u” in this case is pronounced more like the “ou” in "would and the “g” like a “k.” But be careful how you pronounce Phuket in Thailand! ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892/52 "2009-08-01T16:40:07Z")
[mild hijack]My favorite Anglo-butchered place name is that of a small town in Nevada near Reno, called Verdi. The town was named for the composer Giuseppe Verdi, but it’s pronounced “Vur-dye.” Aglo-butchered place names abound in the U.S.[/hijack] Anyway, as for that state with the abbreviation “CT,” I’ve never heard the second “c” pronounced, except as a joke. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892/53 "2009-08-01T16:43:29Z")
[QUOTE=Knorf; Aglo-butchered place names abound in the U.S.[/hijack] . [/QUOTE] Another silent “N” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892/54 "2009-08-01T16:47:47Z")
And isn’t Lima, Ohio pronounced like in “lima beans” and not like the capital of Peru? Because they grow them in the area? I recall hearing of some movie where they couldn’t be arsed to research that, and a character said she came from “_Leema_, Ohio.” ---
**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:** [August 1, 2009, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892/55 "2009-08-01T19:22:44Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I think you mean “twenny,” which, as you say, is common enough for “twenty.” For me, it’s more like TWUH-nee. Followed by THIRdy, FORdy, FIFty, SIXty, SEvendy, etc. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2009, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892/56 "2009-08-01T19:25:04Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > It’s like the teeniest weeniest t in the world, often; if there’s anything behind it, it dissapears, like the -z at the end of my real name (which gets pronounced only when it’s the last word spoken or when the speaker is a foreigner). At least when I was in NH and Philadelphia; I don’t think I ever needed to pronounce Connecticut while in Miami. The final “t” is generally not voiced, as it is at the beginning of a word. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892/57 "2009-08-01T20:54:25Z")
My MIL lived in CT from age 20-40. She’s now 80+. My wife & her sister were born & grew up in CT. MIL always used to pronounce CT the usual way, but somehow about 30 years ago after moving out West to escape the winters she decided to pronounce it CONNECT - i -Kut where the c in the middle is definitely fully pronounced and the final kut is a schwa, but more of a u-sounding schwa than an i-sounding schwa. She’s otherwise normal and of sound mind, but somehow at age ~50 she decided it sounded \*so \*much more sophisticated to include that middle c. Showing off to the rubes in wherever she’s just moved to has always been important to her. Even if called on it she insists the voiced middle C is how the real CT natives pronounce it. FTR, she’s the only person I’ve ever heard pronounce it that way. Her daughters (unsurprisingly) pronounce it like very other American & just shake their heads at Mom’s silly ways. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892/58 "2009-08-01T22:36:29Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > The final “t” is generally not voiced, as it is at the beginning of a word. Wouldn’t a voiced “t” be a “d” sound? Or am I misunderstanding your post? I will sometimes voice "t"s in the middle of a word like “metal” and “petal” (so they may sound like “medal” and “pedal”), but I’ve never heard anyone voice a “t” at the beginning of a word. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892/59 "2009-08-01T22:40:34Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > No, I meant “put.” Thinking about it (and saying _Connecticut, Connecticut, Connecticut_ out loud), it’s more like the _oo_ in _book_, but very short. It’s definitely not -it. You have a different vowel in “put” and “book”? ---
**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:** [August 1, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892/60 "2009-08-01T22:50:24Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Wouldn’t a voiced “t” be a “d” sound? Or am I misunderstanding your post? I will sometimes voice "t"s in the middle of a word like “metal” and “petal” (so they may sound like “medal” and “pedal”), but I’ve never heard anyone voice a “t” at the beginning of a word. Just wanted to add – maybe you’re thinking of the difference between an aspirated “t” (which often occurs at initial positions) and an unreleased “t” (which occurs at the end of words, among other places)? (edit: I should also add that the voiced “t” I describe above might be a flap “t”, although in my accent it seems indistinguishable from a “d.”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prounce-connecticut/504892.md?page=4)