# Proper Names We Hate To Hear Mispronounced **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 7, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348 "2003-06-07T22:27:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Wolfgrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@Wolfgrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfgrrl)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/61 "2003-06-13T01:48:25Z")
My mom was born in Rumford and grew up in Mexico. My grandma, as far as I know, was originally from more or less the same area - at least, my great-grandma still had her house in Paris, only 30 miles away, until shortly before her death, and most of the relatives who still live in the state are in the same area. Nobody else in that area says Loyston either, it’s just my grandma. We chalk it up to her WWII naval service in New York - the two accents were just never meant to mix. Interesting side note, if you look in one of Stephen King’s later books with a map in it, Castle Rock is situated more or less in this same area. My mom always said it sounded like he was describing Canton, which is just down the road. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/62 "2003-06-13T02:35:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stomp \* > \*\*I am from Canada but live in San Diego now. In Canada we speak proper english, lol. We say roof wheras in cali they say ruff. Guacamole-In Canada they say Gwak-a-mollie. It is supposto be pronounced wacamole or something like that but the G is silent. In Cali. they saw badderies instead of batteries like we do in Canada. I think it sounds lazy. \*\* OK, I’m from SoCal, and none of us pronounced it any way other than roof. Ruff is usually non-natives who moved in recently. The G is most definitely not silent in guacamole. Gwok-a-mohley. I say badderies. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/63 "2003-06-13T03:08:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Terminus Est \* > \*\*Pronounced exactly as it’s spelled: nah-coh-DOH-chess > > Do not round your lips when pronouncing the “o”. \*\* Except it’s spelled with a g. Nacogdoches. I tried for weeks to pronounce it properly, and for some reason it never really stuck. Now I just say “Nack-uh-DOE-chiz” and get told “close enough.” Here’s one for you: Stuyvesant. It is NOT Stewey-vesant, or Stoo-VESS-ant, or Stuv-yes-int. It’s STY-vuh-sent. STY vuh sant. It’s DUTCH. Colonie is not Colony. It is Call-uh-NEE. According to my father (Pennsylvania-born), Bethlehem, PA is “Bethlum.” He dislikes it when folks pronounce it otherwise. He has also schooled me on how to pronounce Wilkes-Barre. (He has me say it Wilksbury.) ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/64 "2003-06-13T03:13:25Z")
For a while I lived in Bryn Celyn, Tafarn-y-Gelyn, Yr Wyddgrug, Clwyd, Cymru. People mispronouncing this would have bugged the hell out of me, if only I had known how to pronounce it myself. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/65 "2003-06-13T06:35:01Z")
racinchikki, I can’t believe you forgot Valatie\* and Schagticoke\*\* (I’m sure I misspelled the last one). NY Capital District = multiple nightmares of mispronunciations. [sub] - Va-LAY-shuh \*\* SKAT-i-cohk [/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/66 "2003-06-13T07:24:37Z")
**Fish** , don’t forget Sequim, Tulalip, and Tukwila (squim, tu-lay-lip, and tuk-will-a). I hear Spo-KANE more often than I’d like. It’s Spo-CAN. I’ve been here almost ten years now, and I’m just starting to say “Yakima” with just the right inflection on the “ma”, which takes a secondary stress. “Yakk-uh-muh” is close – better than “Ya-KEEM-a” – but it’s really “Yakk-i-maa”. I’m with previous posters on “Luu-a-vul” (correct) and “Ill-a-noise” (cringeworthy) but I note that lots and lots of people in southern Illinois say it that way. And it’s definitely “badderies”. Who pronounces a “t” in words like that? Other than Brits and certain pretentious newscasters I could name… and Martha Stewart. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/67 "2003-06-13T13:12:06Z")
Just today on the morning new there was a new newscaster. The fact that he wasn’t from NY became blazingly obvious when he was reporting a story about Ronkonkoma Long Island. Ron-KONK-a-ma was transformed into RONKA-MONKA. So much for channel 5’s homegrown newscasters. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/68 "2003-06-13T13:41:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by racinchikki \* > \*\*Except it’s spelled with a g. Nacogdoches. I tried for weeks to pronounce it properly, and for some reason it never really stuck. Now I just say “Nack-uh-DOE-chiz” and get told “close enough.” > \*\* :smack: I knew there was something off with that spelling. In any case, it’s still pronounced exactly as it’s spelled: nah-cug-DOH-chess The “u” and “o” are actually the same sound. You can say the whole thing without moving your lips. Or your jaw, for that matter. It’s all in the tongue. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/69 "2003-06-13T14:26:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cleops \* > \*\*And there are all those people who say Bang-ger, instead of Bang-gohr, like it’s supposed to be pronounced, for Bangor, ME. Yessah, goddammit. \*\* You stole mine! Anyway, do the residents still say “Bang - goah” like they did when I was a little kid living there? As in Bang-goah, Brewah, Dovah, Dextah, Guilfud area? And that was from TV announcers. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/70 "2003-06-13T15:59:01Z")
I can’t believe we’ve gotten this far in this thread and noone’s commented on the horrifying mis-pronunciation of the State of Mizzouruh. GAH!! I don’t often correct people – it’s rude – but I just can’t control myself when I hear that one. Excuse me, but would you say Mississipuh? GAH GAH GAH!!! It’s pronounced Mizzouree. Learn it. Use it. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![TwungTister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TwungTister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwungTister)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/71 "2003-06-13T17:51:51Z")
I thought Schenectady was “Shenneck Toddy.” (skin NECK ta dee) I thought Yosemite was “Yoze Mite.” (yo SEM ih tee). I asked a north-Wisconsonian to pronounce Chequamegan and expected something like “Cheeka Meegan.” What was the pronunciation? (Shkomy Gun. A man in central Wisconsin, Sh’ WAH mi gun.) In Minnesota, the names that are counterintuitive: Wayzata is pronounced Why, Zetta. Hamline is pronounced Hamlin. I’ve never heard them mispronounced. But the names that are exactly as spelled, yet mispronounced: Hutchinson. It’s pronounced (Hutchin sun). Not “Hutchison”. Not “Hutchingson.” Minnesota’s capital, Saint Paul, has a **Cretin Avenue**. ---
**Author:** ![TwungTister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TwungTister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwungTister)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/72 "2003-06-13T17:57:35Z")
I thought Schenectady was “Shenneck Toddy.” (skin NECK ta dee) I thought Yosemite was “Yoze Mite.” (yo SEM ih tee). I asked a north-Wisconsonian to pronounce Chequamegan and expected something like “Cheeka Meegan.” What was the pronunciation? (Shkomy Gun. A man in central Wisconsin, Sh’ WAH mi gun.) In Minnesota, the names that are counterintuitive: Wayzata is pronounced Why, Zetta. Hamline is pronounced Hamlin. I’ve never heard them mispronounced. But the names that are exactly as spelled, yet mispronounced: Hutchinson. It’s pronounced (Hutchin sun). Not “Hutchison”. Not “Hutchingson.” Minnesota’s capital, Saint Paul, has a **Cretin Avenue**. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/73 "2003-06-13T18:29:33Z")
Being from Wisconsin, it bugs me to no end when people say “West-consin”. I mean, it’s not like there’s a “t” in it. Or even an “e” for that matter. My last name is Hugill. (There goes my virtual anonymity.) It rhymes with a cross between “bugle” and “frugal.” It’s not “huge-ill” or “hug-ill” or “hug-hill” or " 'oo-gi" or “oo-gle.” It’s Hugill. “Hugh-gill.” A lovely man with fish breathing apparatus. I have a friend whose last name is Hooks and at at least five cross country races last year, there was a typo in the name list that had her down as “Hookr” so when she went up to get her medal, her profession had been changed from high school student to lady of the night. ---
**Author:** ![cleops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2acd7d/32.png) [@cleops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cleops)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/74 "2003-06-13T18:44:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Caricci \* > \*\*You stole mine! Anyway, do the residents still say “Bang - goah” like they did when I was a little kid living there? As in Bang-goah, Brewah, Dovah, Dextah, Guilfud area? And that was from TV announcers. \*\* Probably not so much as way back when (although Mainers will often, self-deprecatingly, exaggerate their accent to each other, just to show that they are not pretentious). It’s still Dextah, etc., I am sure, but I do know that I try with all my might to say BangoRRR, and it still comes out with an inadequate R, so my mid-western friends say. I grew up in the 50s before TV really hit, and spent some time in summer in Surry, where they really had an accent. My younger sisters have nowhere near the accent I have. It’s funny, too, that it seems that the life long Mainers in Portland area have a stronger Maine accent than those in Bangor, as I have noticed when I call LL Bean. But that is probably the generational factor. Yessah, goddammah! ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/75 "2003-06-13T21:16:21Z")
Russiaville, Indiana. Not pronouced Russia-ville (as in the country) but rather ROOSHA-ville. Why? It was named after a local Miami indian chief - Jean Baptiste de Richardville [REE-shard-ville] (why he has a French name, I have no idea). Richardville --\> Russiaville. [Cite](http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=5689) North of here, we have Peru [PEE-ru] … I’m clueless about that pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Proudest\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/proudest_monkey/32/13257_2.png) [@Proudest\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Proudest_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/76 "2003-06-13T23:17:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Caricci \* > \*\*You stole mine! Anyway, do the residents still say “Bang - goah” like they did when I was a little kid living there? As in Bang-goah, Brewah, Dovah, Dextah, Guilfud area? And that was from TV announcers. \*\* I also grew up in Bangor (“r” pronounced in my family). > [@](#): > > 'Course, my grandma pronounces Lewiston as Loyston, and I’ve never even heard another Mainer pronounce it that way. I now live in Lewiston and hear a lot of long-time residents call it Loyston. Not me, though, I pronounce it Hell. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/77 "2003-06-14T00:11:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by racinchikki \* > \*\*According to my father (Pennsylvania-born), Bethlehem, PA is “Bethlum.” He dislikes it when folks pronounce it otherwise. He has also schooled me on how to pronounce Wilkes-Barre. (He has me say it Wilksbury.) \*\* Ah, the Pennsylvania mumble that is my own personal accent. “Schuykill” is “SKOO-kl”. Lebanon (the country) may be LEB-uh-non, but the town is LEB-nun. Scranton is SCRAN’-nn. It’s amazing I’m coherent at all. ---
**Author:** ![Tenebras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@Tenebras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenebras)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/78 "2003-06-14T02:03:14Z")
Schenectady doesn’t have that extra ‘n’ (skin-NECK-ta-dee), it’s more sku (schwa) NECK ta dee. Used to live there, so I assume this is correct. 🙂 My personal favorite is New Madrid, as in the fault. Of course it’s pronounced New MAA-drid, like bad… ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/79 "2003-06-14T10:08:04Z")
I swear Cubs baseball announcer Chip Carrey says Co **d** orado. Drives me nuts. ---
**Author:** ![shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/80 "2003-06-14T12:29:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by amarone \* > For a while I lived in Bryn Celyn, Tafarn-y-Gelyn, Yr Wyddgrug, Clwyd, Cymru. I was up there in good ol’ Wales a few weeks ago, and my friends and I were so perplexed by the language that we just made up names to call the towns by (forgive me if I misspell): Betws-Rhos became “Betsy Ross.” Betws-y-Coed became “Betsy gets laid.” Llandudno became “Landrover.” We initially tried to get the names right, but it was too haaaaaaaard. To answer the OP, I have had to change the way I pronounce Atlanta since I came to England. When I tell people I’m from near “e(t)lanna”, they look at me as if I’ve just said Mars. I now say it pronouncing both t’s like a good girl: A **T** lan **T** a. Of course that’s after we’ve established that no, indeed Georgia is not in Canada. Georgia is a state and in the southern half of the country near Florida, which they all know. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348.md?page=5)