# Pronunciation of "Gotham" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 7, 2015, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-gotham/709231 "2015-01-07T16:25:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-gotham/709231/41 "2015-01-12T17:40:17Z")
> [@vomit\_comet](#): > > I usually have a laugh when Tim from Moonshiners says “Kaw” like he’s using onomatopoeia for the sound a crow makes but he’s actually saying “car”. See, here it is confusing because what sound do you mean by “aw”? For me, it’s the vowel sound in Linda Richman on SNL’s “Coffee Talk”. Car as pronounced by a Boston person for me is “cah” not “caw”. Pa: paw::cot:caught::Goth:moth 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2015, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-gotham/709231/42 "2015-01-12T18:57:27Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > … > Pa: paw::cot:caught::Goth:moth 🙂 Yup, this is consistent with your basic NYC, NJ, and Philly type accents. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2015, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-gotham/709231/43 "2015-01-12T19:02:06Z")
> [@vomit\_comet](#): > > I usually have a laugh when Tim from Moonshiners says “Kaw” like he’s using onomatopoeia for the sound a crow makes but he’s actually saying “car”. That would be NY, not Boston. Anecdote time: With the recent “troubles” in the NYC police, I’ve heard the commissioner speak on the news a few times. At first I thought-- holy shit, have I lived in CA so long that I can no longer tell the difference between a NY and Boston accent? Wikipedia to the rescue-- the guys is originally from Boston, not NY. Similarly when JFK Jr died, and they were showing clips on him speak, my first reaction was-- this guys is from NY, not New England. And actually, Jackie is really more of a New Yorker herself and the kids grew up there more than up “nahth”. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-gotham/709231/44 "2015-01-12T19:04:16Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > I’m tuned in to the cot/caught merger thing, but it does sometimes come up in unexpected places. Like it makes sense that some areas pronounce cot and caught the same, and some don’t, but why would some areas also pronounce goth and moth differently?.. Because the vowel in “cot” is the one you find in “goth”, and the “caught” vowel is found in “moth”, at least that is the way it is in New Jersey. For another pair, try “possum” and “awesome”. Possum has the cot vowel for its first vowel. Awesome has the caught vowel for its first vowel. The names “Don” and “Dawn” also display this same phenomenon. These are very distinct names in the US east coast megalopolis cities. If you come work here and are told to take the files and give them to Dawn, but you give them to Don instead, you may be considered as some sort of foreigner. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-gotham/709231/45 "2015-01-12T19:13:24Z")
Possum and awesome rhyme. Of course so do cot, caught, goth and moth. As do Don and Dawn. You people are weird. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-gotham/709231/46 "2015-01-13T04:38:05Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Possum and awesome rhyme. > > Of course so do cot, caught, goth and moth. As do Don and Dawn. > > You people are weird. Cot and caught, and Don and Dawn don’t rhyme. The words in each pair sound exactly the same. 😃 ---
**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:** [January 13, 2015, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-gotham/709231/47 "2015-01-13T04:55:26Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Possum and awesome rhyme. > > Of course so do cot, caught, goth and moth. As do Don and Dawn. > > You people are weird. Canadian accents typically have the cot/caught merger. In the United States, it’s pretty evenly split, with 60% distinguishing cot and caught, and 40% merging the two sounds. If you google it, you can find maps what areas show the merger and which don’t. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-gotham/709231/48 "2015-01-13T05:55:09Z")
> [@vontsira](#): > > A trivia matter of the most trivial triviality – but: how is this name generally pronounced, or are there more than one rival renderings? > > In my understanding, the original Gotham was – and is – a village in England, some 8 / 9 miles south-west of Nottingham. Renowned in whimsical English folklore for being allegedly inhabited by utterly stupid people, called “the wise men of Gotham” because wise is what they most emphatically were not. Centuries onward, New York City was for a while humorously called “Gotham City”, because of its denizens’ reputation as “wise guys” (quick / sharp / adroit / witty). Gotham City later became the Batman universe’s version of the real-world New York. > > The few times I have ever heard the word Gotham said (I basically don’t “do” films / television), it was “Goe-tham” (first syllable, as in to go somewhere; second syllable, soft “th” as in “thank”, and syllable rhyming with “slam”). In recent conversations with friends here in the UK, they ridiculed my pronunciation of the name, and said that it had to be “Goth-am” (first syllable like the ancient tribe, or the teenage fad for dressing in black and looking gloomy; second, as above, to rhyme with “slam”). My asking why, was met only with – "well, it’s obvious: it’s got to be ‘Goth-am’ ". Friends concerned, turned out to be oblivious to “things Batman”, when I tried to introduce that aspect. > > People in America – please, how do you pronounce “Gotham” – whether in the Batman context, or re New York City’s one-time nickname? I’m in Australia and it’s the second example. Here, listen for yourself. > **[Gotham](https://www.youtube.com/user/GothamFOX)** > > Welcome to the Official YouTube channel for GOTHAM! > \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ > > GOTHAM is an origin story of the great DC Comics Super-Villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told. From executive... ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-gotham/709231/49 "2015-01-13T17:42:10Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Cot and caught, and Don and Dawn don’t rhyme. The words in each pair sound exactly the same. 😃 It’s adorable that you think so. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-gotham/709231/50 "2015-01-13T19:03:24Z")
Is this any help? Oxford Learner’s dictionaries pronunciation of Gotham > **[gotham noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford...](https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/gotham)** > > Definition of gotham noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more. Blue is British English, red is American English. I’d say ‘Goffum’ meself. ---
**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:** [January 13, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-gotham/709231/51 "2015-01-13T19:10:29Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > Is this any help? > Oxford Learner’s dictionaries pronunciation of Gotham > [Gotham noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com](http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/gotham) > Blue is British English, red is American English. > > I’d say ‘Goffum’ meself. The American sounds like he has a lisp… ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-gotham/709231/52 "2015-01-14T03:40:32Z")
It brings a tear to my eye that there’s not a bit of IPA in this thread. Especially since it would actually get more confusing in there were, as there are not two sounds but four sounds in contention, and even more it you allow for diphthongs (like the oh-aw sound you get for aw in many dialects.) ---
**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:** [January 14, 2015, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-gotham/709231/53 "2015-01-14T04:21:29Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > It brings a tear to my eye that there’s not a bit of IPA in this thread. Especially since it would actually get more confusing in there were, as there are not two sounds but four sounds in contention, and even more it you allow for diphthongs (like the oh-aw sound you get for aw in many dialects.) India Pale Ale? ---
**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:** [January 14, 2015, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-gotham/709231/54 "2015-01-14T04:43:54Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > The American sounds like he has a lisp… Don’t you mean the British? That’s the one that sounds “lispy” to me. As for IPA, it’s “International Phonetic Alphabet,” but I’ve kind of given up on using it in generalist threads like this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-gotham/709231.md?page=2)