# 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:** 4
**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, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/62 "2022-08-17T20:55:40Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Some of my relatives, on my mom’s side, have lived in Oostburg Throw a rock in Oostburg, WI and you’ll hit one of my cousins. Some days you might hit me. And they/I will have had it coming. Let me know your dutch ancestral surnames, I’ll see how closely we’re related. ---
**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, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/63 "2022-08-17T21:00:06Z")
In Oregon (that’s OR-y-gun to anyone west of MN), I heard audiences start muttering and groaning when an out-of-state entertainer would say something about the “beautiful WILL-a-mette River”. It’s “will-LAM-ette”. And we always pronounced Beaverton as “those perverts up the road”. ---
**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 17, 2022, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/64 "2022-08-17T21:04:03Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Isn’t that more of general Midwestern dialect? I’m from Ohio and I pronounce the name of the Czech city as the former (/pɹeɪg/). To be honest, I’ve never heard the Czech capital pronounced “PRAIG”. Around here, in Chicago and its environs, I’ve only ever heard “PRAHG.” (Whether you call Chicago “midwest” for your dialect survey, I don’t know.) I’d be curious if other areas pronounce it as “PRAYG.” Honestly, if someone said that word around me, even with context, it would take me a bit to understand what they’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/65 "2022-08-17T21:16:03Z")
Well, outsiders may call Baltimore Maryland BALL-ti-more. And technically, they’re correct. But natives only know it as “BAWL-uh-mer.” Or “BALL-tee-mor.” Depends on the neighborhood you’re from. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/66 "2022-08-17T21:16:31Z")
As a youth, we spent our summers in Corvallis. We pronounced it WILL-a-mette until a native corrected us. There’s a city next door spelled spelled Philomath which we pronounced PHIL-o-math. It’s actually phi-LO-muth. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/67 "2022-08-17T21:37:48Z")
The little town my Dad grew up in is named Kingman, KS. He told me it was pronounced “Caymin”. (Or maybe it was Cayman? He’s not around to ask anymore.) ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/68 "2022-08-17T22:35:05Z")
Zzyzx (“zy-zix”), CA. Also, San Francisco. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/69 "2022-08-17T22:37:09Z")
Any number of them in England: I cribbed this list from a magazine **1. Marylebone (London)** Wrong: Ma-ree-lee-bone Right: Mar-lee-bone **2. Teignmouth (Devon)** Wrong: Tane-mouth Right: Tin-muth **3. Bicester (Oxfordshire)** Wrong: Bi-ses-ter Right: Bis-ter **4. Hunstanton (Norfolk)** Wrong: Hun-stan-ton Right: Hun-ston **5.** **Cholmondeley (Cheshire)** Wrong: Chol-mon-de-lee Right: Chum-lee **6. Godmanchester (Cambridgeshire)** Wrong: God-man-ches-ter OR Gum-ster Right: God-munch-ester **7. Southwell (Nottinghamshire)** Wrong: South-well Right: Suth-ul **8. Magdalen College (Oxford/Cambridge)** Wrong: Mag-de-lain Right: Maud-lin **9. Leominister (Herefordshire)** Wrong: Lee-o-min-ster Right: Lemster **10. Shrewsbury (Shropshire)** Wrong: Shrews-bury Right: Shroos-bree **11. Happisbrugh (Norfolk)** Wrong: Happ-is-bruh Right: Hays-bruh **12. Gloucester (Gloucestershire)** Wrong: Glos-es-ter Right: Glos-ter **13. Belvoir Castle (Grantham, Leicestershire)** Wrong: Bel-vwar Castle Right: Beaver Castle **14. Ruislip (Greater London)** Wrong: Roo-i-slip Right: Ry-slip **15. Gateacre (Liverpool)** Wrong: Gate-acre Right: Gatt-a-ker ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/70 "2022-08-17T22:38:57Z")
What, no “Worcestershire”? Not a town, but NYC has Houston (“how-sten”) Street. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/71 "2022-08-17T22:44:12Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > What, no “Worcestershire”? A strange omission I grant - Woostashire is a classic. Near me is a town called Alcester. Some locals call it Alster, and some pronounce it as it is spelt. There is also the River Thames - pronounced Temz. ---
**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, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/72 "2022-08-17T22:49:23Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > natives only know it as “BAWL-uh-mer.” I lived in Charles Village for 8 years. I came to call it either “Bawl-TIH-more” or “Bawl-mer”, depending on my mood and companions. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/73 "2022-08-17T22:59:05Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > There is also the River Thames - pronounced Temz. But the river through London, Ontario is the Thaymes. There is Go-ee-thee Street in Chicago, spelled Goethe. The Schuylkill River through Philly is called the Skookill. (And the Expy along it is usually called the SureKill). There is a town in Ontario that used to be named Berlin that changed it to Kitchener (after some British mucky muck) in 1916. No fiddling with the stress. Let us recall Ark-KAN-sas Ave. in Atlantic City. Incidentally, Houston, TX and Houston St. in NYC are named after two different people whose names were pronounced differently. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/74 "2022-08-17T23:01:12Z")
I lived for some years in Stouffville, Ontario. Non-locals would get tripped up by the “ffv” combination, and often say it like two separate words: “Stouff Ville.” The actual pronounciation is “STOW-ville,” and very often, “STOW-vl.” ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/75 "2022-08-17T23:05:36Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Incidentally, Houston, TX and Houston St. in NYC are named after two different people whose names were pronounced differently. Interesting! However, I suspect many people visiting NYC still call it “Hyoo-ston” Street. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/76 "2022-08-17T23:23:39Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > Norfolk is pronounced “NOR-fick”, not “NOR-folk” Friend of mine was stationed there while in the Navy and they referred to it as “Nofuck Vagina.” Couldn’t get out of the habit afterward either, probably best he came back home to California or he’d likely have gotten into some fights over that lol. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Natchitoches, LA. Pronounced NACK-uh-DISH. One of the few benefits of working in a call center is being able to ask how the hell to pronounce place names and that was one that had always confuzzled me until I got a customer on the phone from there and asked them to set me straight. Cracks me up though because there’s no good reason why THOSE letters in THAT order ought to be pronounced like that and yet, here we are. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > Nunda (“nun-day”. I always wondered if there was a “Nunda hyundai”, which would not only be mispronounced, but would rhyme) Not if you were pronouncing “Hyundai” the way a Korean person would. Or a Japanese person for sure–it’s HYOON-die. I learned to speak Japanese before Hyundai was a car available in the states and I die inside a little every time I have to mispronounce it in order to be understood. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/77 "2022-08-17T23:33:51Z")
Anorther one from Oregon: Yachats: have no idea how non-locals pronounce it, but unlikely to be YAH-hahts ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/78 "2022-08-17T23:34:06Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > **10. Shrewsbury (Shropshire)** > Wrong: Shrews-bury > Right: Shroos-bree One of the hosts on _Escape to the Country_ always pronounces it Shrows-bree. All the others say Shroos-bree. In L.A. Sepulveda is actually pronounced correctly, but you can always tell an out-of-towner by their mispronunciation. ---
**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 17, 2022, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/79 "2022-08-17T23:36:04Z")
Which is ? ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/80 "2022-08-18T00:18:02Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > In L.A. Sepulveda is actually pronounced correctly, but you can always tell an out-of-towner by their mispronunciation. I’m not from LA so lets see if I’m correct. I would guess it is pronounced “se-PUHL-vih-da” but out-of-towners say “sepull-VEE-da”? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832/81 "2022-08-18T00:27:35Z")
Around here: Valatie, NY. Pronounced as though the final letter were an “a.” Cohoes, NY. Pronounced cuh-HOES. Outsiders pronounce it CO-hoes. Rensselaer, NY. RENS-ler, not, as many guess, Rens-LEER [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-that-only-locals-get-the-pronunciation-correct/969832.md?page=5)