# How to pronounce "Sligo"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-sligo/307074>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 6, 2005, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-sligo/307074 "2005-06-06T01:54:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![La\_Llorona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@La\_Llorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/La_Llorona)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-sligo/307074/1 "2005-06-06T01:54:25Z")

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A foaf (whom I have never actually met) hails from [a tiny hamlet](http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Sligo%2c+Pennsylvania) which goes by the name of Sligo, Pennsylvania, and I’ve done enough reading to correctly surmise that the new world Sligo must have been named [after the Irish one](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=sligo). However, two questions arise:

1. As you can see, [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) gives a pronunciation that I believe goes something like SLY-go (as in English words–am I mistaken?). But casual Googling gives us some Irish folks saying that the g in the Irish Sligo is not pronounced as in English words. Is this so? What is, in fact, the proper Irish pronunciation of Sligo?

2. My friend declares that this foaf says that the Pennsylvania Sligo is pronounced something akin to “skloan”–that is, one syllable, like the word “loan,” but with “sk” tacked onto the beginning. Now, what is all this business? How is the Sligo in Pennsylvania really pronounced? Am I mishearing my friend, or is she being unusually mendacious, or…?

Any clarification would be much appreciated.

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**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-sligo/307074/2 "2005-06-06T02:12:28Z")

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We have a Sligo Creek Parkway here in the D.C. Metro Area, and I’ve always heard it pronounced “sly-go”.

Adam

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**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-sligo/307074/3 "2005-06-06T02:47:37Z")

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During my visits to Ireland, I never heard the Irish county called anything but “SLY-go.”

Now, the original Gaelic name of the county may have had a very different pronunciation, but most Irish town and county names were Anglicized centuries ago, so “SLY-go” is correct today.