# Unpronouncable (by non locals) town names **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 20, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unpronouncable-by-non-locals-town-names/715544 "2015-03-20T22:03:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unpronouncable-by-non-locals-town-names/715544/121 "2015-03-25T13:32:59Z")
There’s a street in an area of Montreal called Thimens. It’s pronounced “Timmins.” It’s a weird pronunciation, not quite French and not quite English. In a similar French/English mashup pronunciation vein, we have an area called St-Leonard (saint lee-uh-nard) and a subway station called Square Victoria (skwar, rhymes with “car.”) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unpronouncable-by-non-locals-town-names/715544/122 "2015-03-25T13:41:41Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > Like Wisconsin, Minnesota has a lot of Native town names that are regularly tortured but here are some others. Some of these I’ve heard abused on the National news, others are just people from other states. > Minneapolis - not Minnianapolis; it doesn’t rhyme with Indianapolis. We get this from Indiana natives. > Chisago - no, really it’s not Chicago. Different state again. > Le Seuer (and Le Center) - the locals pronounce it LEE Sewer, which blows my mind but I always try to pronounce it their way when I’m in town. The names came from fur trappers. > Edina - say it with a short i for the E, then say DINE-ah. Not ee-DEEN-ah > Faribault - pronounce it Faihrbo. Okay, there is an I in there that is pronounced, but it seems to go missing more and more these days. > Manganese - yep, just like the metal. The town unincorporated however. > Mahtomedi > Eyota Are you sure about all those. I mean, I’m practically next door I think you have Minneapolis, St Paul, Rochester and, um Fargo, yeah, Fargo. Fargo’s in MN, right?\* The rest of the cities sound made up. What’s left, is it farmland? I honestly don’t know what you guys do over there. \*Yes, I know Fargo isn’t in MN, but I just figured it out recently, that movie didn’t explain it very well. Ohhh, Brainerd, forgot about that one, and I can also come up with Mankato. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unpronouncable-by-non-locals-town-names/715544/123 "2015-03-25T14:00:49Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > I grew up near Charlotte and I’ve always pronounced the “r”. Yeah, the “R” came into favor along about the mid-70s. Prior to that, it was always Shalotte. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unpronouncable-by-non-locals-town-names/715544/124 "2015-03-25T16:46:35Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > Edina - say it with a short i for the E, then say DINE-ah. Not ee-DEEN-ah Nothing could be finah than to be in Edina in the moooorrrning… > [@carnut](#): > > Mahtomedi I always have been calling it Mahtomedi Gandhi. > [@Joey\_P](#): > > Just thought of another one. The city I currently reside in is Cudahy. It’s pronounced Cud-ah-hey. Yet what I usually here is Cudahee or Qu-da-hay (qu like cute) or some combination of them. I’m even more surprised when it’s someone from just a few towns over that can’t say it. Are we really that far off your radar? You’re fifty something years old and you’ve never heard the name of a city that’s like 10 miles away? “You must be from Cudahy.” Haven’t thought of the Couch Potatoes in a long time… ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unpronouncable-by-non-locals-town-names/715544/125 "2015-03-25T18:05:52Z")
It has taken a number of years for my wife – an Ohio transplant – and I to come to terms with the fact that Lancaster (LAAAAN-cast-er), California is not pronounced the same as Lancaster (LAINK-is-ter), Ohio (or a number of other states back on that side of the country). ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unpronouncable-by-non-locals-town-names/715544/126 "2015-03-25T19:04:00Z")
That was fun. I took a little mental road trip. My Midwest Years Sault Ste Marie, MI (SOO san ma-REE) Saline, MI (suh-LEEN) New Prague, MN (noo PRAY-gue) Shakopee, MN (SHOCK-oh-pee) Marseilles, IL (mar-SALES) San Jose, IL (san JOE’S) Kearney, NE (CAR-nee) Beatrice, NE (bee-AAAH-tris) Des Plaines, Il (DEZ planes) Novi, MI (NO-vie) Hamtramck, MI (ham-TRAM-ick) My Colorado Years Tooele, UT (too-WILL-eh) Ouray, CO (yer-AY) Saguache, CO (suh-WATCH) Niwot, CO (NY-waht) Florida, CO (fluh-REE-da) Huerfano, CO (WAR-fuh-no) ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unpronouncable-by-non-locals-town-names/715544/127 "2015-03-27T03:54:15Z")
When my brother worked as a phone directory assistant, he had callers who may or may not have been natives, but they sure came up with some doozies for So Cal cities: Van New Eez (Van Nuys) Slime-Mar (Sylmar) Sarah Toss (Cerritos) Bree (Brea) Placenta (Placentia) And my all-time favorite, drum roll… Granola Hills (Granada Hills!) ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unpronouncable-by-non-locals-town-names/715544/128 "2015-03-27T10:44:39Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > When my brother worked as a phone directory assistant, he had callers who may or may not have been natives, but they sure came up with some doozies for So Cal cities: > > Van New Eez (Van Nuys) I lived in Van Nuys for several years, and yeah, no one out of the So Cal area could ever seem to figure that one out without help. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unpronouncable-by-non-locals-town-names/715544/129 "2015-03-27T11:57:36Z")
> [@stillownedbysetters](#): > > That was fun. I took a little mental road trip. > My Colorado Years > > Tooele, UT (too-WILL-eh) Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention Tooele Utah. Another interesting Utah town is **Spanish Fork** , which you wouldn’t think would have more than one pronunciation. But the locals pronounce it “Spanish FARK” Utah also has a lot of towns named after Book of Mormon places and characters. Outsiders can usually properly guess the correct pronunciation, but it might not be obvious that **Manti** , home of the Mormon Miracle Pageant, is pronounced “Man-Tie” ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unpronouncable-by-non-locals-town-names/715544/130 "2015-03-27T14:42:17Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > In Idaho, they have **Kammiah** , which no one will get right (they have the pronunciation on Wikipedia). Kamiah 🙂 As well as (in the area): Kooskia Wawawai Weippe Coeur d’Alene Pend Oreille Lapwai Moscow (not pronounced like the one in Russia) ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unpronouncable-by-non-locals-town-names/715544/131 "2015-03-27T16:49:31Z")
> [@Obeseus](#): > > Some odd ones in Vermont include the following: > Calais (rhymes with ‘palace’) This one really through me. There is a “Calais” in Maine - right on the border with Canada (you know “half french speaking” Canada ?). So it seemed obvious it would be pronounced like the French city: “Cal - lay”, but no…rhymes with palace. (made me wonder if this was very deliberate - like kind of a F\*ck You to Canada: “see, this is America ! We don’t speak no french here !”) Visiting Australia, it took a while to “accept” that Cairns is pronounced “can”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unpronouncable-by-non-locals-town-names/715544.md?page=6)