# Town names that only locals get the pronunciation correct **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 17, 2022, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832 "2022-08-17T14:57:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/22 "2022-08-17T16:00:30Z")
Oostburg, WI where it’s pronounced [Oohst-burg](https://misspronouncer.com/audio/villages/oostburg.mp3). Nonlocals call it _Ootsburg_ or _Hootsburg_ or _Oatsburg_. Meawhile in Oostburg, Zeeland, NL it’s pronounced [Oastburh](https://forvo.com/word/oostburg/) C’mon down to Oostburg WI once and enjoy an Oostburger (a hamburger on a hard roll with a bratwurst on it too). En so? ---
**Author:** ![mattgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@mattgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattgg)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/23 "2022-08-17T16:03:03Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > From Wikipedia, on Berlin, WI. > > Area residents put the accent on the first syllable of Berlin rather than on the second. It has been said that this was in reaction to the anti-German sentiment that swept across the United States during World War I, and that the accent was previously on the second syllable. “It has been said” on Wikipedia isn’t a solid enough source for me. I would like to see a contemporary newspaper article or document which states that the change in pronunciation was specifically to differentiate a given American city or town from the German city. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/24 "2022-08-17T16:04:03Z")
There is a city called Havre in the hill country of central Montana on the Highline named after the French port of Le Havre. The Great Northern Railroad runs through it and it has always been a rail town. The locals pronounce it Have er. ---
**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 17, 2022, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/25 "2022-08-17T16:05:03Z")
Houston Street in NYC, pronounced house-ton, not hyoo-ston. Knik in Alaska (river, town, an arm of Cook inlet, etc.). Pronounced k’nick, not ‘nick’. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/26 "2022-08-17T16:05:47Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Indiana has a couple of towns whose names are the same as better-known cities elsewhere, and pronounced differently: > > Carmel. Pronounced CAR-mul, unlike the one in California, which is pronounced car-MEL. As someone who grew up in northern Indianapolis, not far from Carmel (where all the rich people live), I came here specifically to say this one. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/27 "2022-08-17T16:05:54Z")
Lake Orion Michigan. Pronounced Lake Or-an around here. You can tell a new weather man when he gets called out on it. ---
**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 17, 2022, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/28 "2022-08-17T16:07:42Z")
I can think of several here in MN. Edina is “ee-DYE-na”, not “eh-DEE-na”. And Ely is “EE-lee”, not “EE-lye”. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/29 "2022-08-17T16:07:58Z")
Virginia: Norfolk is pronounced “NOR-fick”, not “NOR-folk”, as Elvis did in “Promised Land”. It tweaks Mom’s ears to hear it every time. Suffolk is likewise pronounced “SUF-fick”. ---
**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:** [August 17, 2022, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/30 "2022-08-17T16:12:48Z")
Emmaus PA; em-AY-us Mahopac NY; MAYO-pak; mah-hopak (has varied over time) Scituate RI; skitch-oo-it Scituate MA; sitch-oo-it Newark NJ; NEW-urk Newark DE; NEW-ark The Bronx NY; duh BRONKS Baltimore MD; ball-mur (Maryland; mer-lin) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/31 "2022-08-17T16:13:57Z")
Near Pittsburgh we have Mount Lebanon, which is pronounced differently than Lebanon. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/32 "2022-08-17T16:16:39Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > The better your Spanish, the worse you’ll do on the name. Same here on California’s central coast. Paso Robles (PASS-O-ROBE-ELS) and Avila (AV-A-LA) Beach should make anybody with a semester of high school Spanish under their belt cringe. ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/33 "2022-08-17T16:19:13Z")
Kearney, NE is pronounced “Carney.” Cairo, NE is pronounced “Karo” (like the corn syrup). Norfolk, NE is pronounced “Norfork.” Beatrice, NE is pronounced “Be-atriss.” ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/34 "2022-08-17T16:20:18Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > > [@Procrustus](#): > > > > And don’t get me started on Puyallup and Sequim. > > These were the first to come to mind. > > AIUI: “pwee-lip” and “sqwim”. > > Also, Yreka, CA. Puyallup is the one I came in to mention. I had heard the name long before I saw it spelled (grew up in Oregon), and my sister lived there for a while. I thought it was pronounced “pyu-allup.” Yreka is “wy-reka” isn’t it? I don’t live there, but that’s what I’ve heard on the radio driving through. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/35 "2022-08-17T16:22:31Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Oostburger (a hamburger on a hard roll with a bratwurst on it too). Gotta balance your beef fat and your pork fat. You betchya. > [@mattgg](#): > > “It has been said” on Wikipedia isn’t a solid enough source for me. Well, it USED to be pronounced like the city in Germany, and now it isn’t. And the change happened around WWI. I suppose it didn’t have to be a “reaction to anti-German sentiment” - it could have changed so the city didn’t get confused with the other Berlin and attacked. Could be, could be… eta: The Wikipedia article had cites to support that statement. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/36 "2022-08-17T16:35:18Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > I believe that Detroit is mispronounced as well from its French origins. The French would be something like “day-TWAH”. But aren’t many towns mispronounced by non-locals because locals have Americanized the town name? Like one of the OP examples: > [@Hampshire](#): > > New Prague, MN. Actually pronounced ‘praig’ and not ‘prahg’. ‘praig’ would be an Americanization and ‘prahg’ more the original pronounciation. Or Milan, Michigan. Not ‘mi-LAHN’, as an Italian might say it, it’s pronounced ‘MY-lin’. This post confuses me though: > [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > I pity anyone who actually speaks French when they visit St. Louis > > grav-OY for Gravois > Day PAIR for Des Peres > Kuh-RON-doe-let for Carondolet Granted, I only took 3 semesters of French in college, and that was a long time ago, but aren’t those pronunciations pretty close to what the actual French would sound like? ETA: never mind, I think Gravios in French would be more like ‘grav-WAH’ and the last syllable of Carondolet would of course be ‘lay’ not ‘let’. ‘Day PAIR’ for Des Peres still seems correct, though. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/37 "2022-08-17T16:36:41Z")
I have family in Orleans, Ontario (pronounced “Ore-LEANS”) which I’m told is pronounced differently from New Orleans (“Nw’ORE-linns”) but I suspect the French might pronounce them both the same. When I lived in the states, it was rare to come across an American who didn’t pronounce the names of some Canadian cities diffeently that I was used to. I can understand “Toronto” as opposed to the locals’ “TRAH-nah” because of the spelling, but I never quite understood how Americans got “MOHNT-ree-awl” for “MUN-tree-all.” ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/38 "2022-08-17T16:36:46Z")
Staunton, VA. Virginia residents pretend the “u” doesn’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/39 "2022-08-17T16:41:43Z")
Chaptico, Md is CHOP-tih-coe LaPlata, Md is Luh PLAY-tuh ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/40 "2022-08-17T16:42:51Z")
> [@2\_More\_Bits](#): > > Cairo, NE is pronounced “Karo” (like the corn syrup). Same with the one in Illinois. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/41 "2022-08-17T16:50:38Z")
Lived there ten years. Pronounced Lake Oar-ee-un, not Oar-rye-un. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832.md?page=3)