# Unusual pronunciations of place names **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 13, 2005, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-pronunciations-of-place-names/294328 "2005-03-13T14:51:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2005, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-pronunciations-of-place-names/294328/101 "2005-03-17T03:01:03Z")
> [@Sample\_the\_Dog](#): > > Hey, compared to some other lives going on around there, it ain’t so shabby. I was being sarcastic - you ever _been_ to Playa del Carmen? ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2005, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-pronunciations-of-place-names/294328/102 "2005-03-17T23:56:07Z")
> [@Avarie537](#): > > Here in Indiana, we have: > > Milan = MY-lun > Peru = PEE-roo > Versailles = ver-SALES > Terre Haute = TARE-uh HOAT (rhymes with coat) > > Those are the only ones I can think of right now. Although I’m sure the residents of Mexico, IN and Russia, IN have figured out some god-awful way to pronounce their hometowns, I’ve never heard them personally. Actually, it’s ROOSHAville (Russiaville, IN). This is opposed to Rushville, IN, which is pronounced as it is spelled. As far as I know, though, Mexico is still pronounced with the standard US-ian Mex-i-co. And most of the people I know _from_ Terre Haute pronounce it TARE-uh HUT. It’s just the rest of the state, etc., that use the version that rhymes with coat. Then, of course (but slightly off topic) is the fact that South Bend is in the far northern part of the state, but North Vernon is in the southern part of the state. However, French Lick is pronounced just how you’d think it would be. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-pronunciations-of-place-names/294328/103 "2005-03-18T02:03:58Z")
This is a town I drive through on the way to mom’s house in St. Anthony, Idaho. I’ve always pronounced it INK-um but baby bro’ claims the natives call it INcome. Any Idyhoans to weight in on this one? Curiously enough, Inkom was in the news a couple of weeks ago – a local took off down I-15 with her cat clinging to the roof of the car for miles. Kitty took a wild ride but survived. ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-pronunciations-of-place-names/294328/104 "2005-03-18T02:11:35Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > Curiously enough, Inkom was in the news a couple of weeks ago – a local took off down I-15 with her cat clinging to the roof of the car for miles. Kitty took a wild ride but survived. What’s even funnier is that during this 10 mile trip the woman stopped for gas. She didn’t notice the cat. And the cat didn’t get off the roof! ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-pronunciations-of-place-names/294328/105 "2005-03-18T02:18:45Z")
I did wonder how she could have stopped for gas and not noticed an orange kitty clinging to the car. Perhaps it was a tall SUV? ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-pronunciations-of-place-names/294328/106 "2005-03-18T03:03:14Z")
I’ve always said Inkom as one would say, “take those rubber stamps and **ink 'em**.” I’ve never said it “income”, as in one’s income taxes. Another Idaho town, **Picabo**. If you said “Pih-CAW-bo” or any variant thereof, you’re going to be identified as an out-of-stater. It’s “peek-a-boo”, just like the famous Olympic skier. ---
**Author:** ![Nunavut\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@Nunavut\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunavut_Boy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-pronunciations-of-place-names/294328/107 "2005-03-18T03:10:23Z")
Yes, I also don’t like it when people pronounce “Nunavut” as “noneofit”. The next joke whose punchline is “Nunavut/noneofit” is getting bitchslapped. A reasonable english approximation is “noon-a-voot” Qikiqtarjuaq - kick-ah-tar-juak Pangnirtung - pang-irr-tongue Gjoa Haven - joe haven Kimmirut - kim-ah-root Iqaluit - ick-ahh-lou-it/ick-ahh-lou-eet ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-pronunciations-of-place-names/294328/108 "2005-03-18T03:30:50Z")
Thanks for that, **NB**. Some time ago, when I was a wee sprat, an Inuk friend of my dad’s who was visiting Montreal taught me to pronounce Kangiqsualuujjuaq (a village in northern Quebec) properly. No, I won’t try to transcribe it. ---
**Author:** ![Nunavut\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@Nunavut\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunavut_Boy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-pronunciations-of-place-names/294328/109 "2005-03-18T03:44:35Z")
Yeah, I don’t blame you. That one looks like a mouthful!! ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-pronunciations-of-place-names/294328/110 "2005-03-18T03:46:36Z")
\ Inspired by a previous post that mentioned attempts to pronounce like the locals… When I was a kid, we had a set of those World Book encyclopedias like a lot of folks had back then who wanted to see their kids get a better shot at formal education. (I actually used them a lot, by the way, and even read them for fun, and did wind up getting a formal education… probably more than was good for me.) I remember how, even at that tender age, I felt so condescended to when I opened up to the entry for my state and read this: **Georgia** : _jaw’-juh_, _jaw’-jih_… First of all, everyone I knew said it more like jor-juh. Jaw-juh sounded like something from a TV spoof. But more importantly, even if some dialects did pronounce it that way, they wouldn’t have rendered it like that in the encyclopedia. Even I knew that much. By the same token, I’ve noticed that mispronouncing the local shibboleth is often the better alternative if it’s obvious to God and everybody that you ain’t from around here. 😉 \ ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-pronunciations-of-place-names/294328/111 "2005-03-18T08:05:22Z")
> [@Unintentionally Blank](#): > > I still like the recient commercial whereby the teenaged boy mailes a package to Pa-ho-e-nix. > > The lady next to him looks at him funny and he says (as only a know it all teenaged boy can) “You know, the capital of Arizona!” I thought the capital of Arizona was Tuxson? ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-pronunciations-of-place-names/294328/112 "2005-03-18T10:38:04Z")
New Zealand is pronounced Nu Zillund by many (most) who live here, not New Zeeeeeeeee Land. Whakatane is pronounced Fuck-a-ta-neigh. This ‘Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukaka pikimaunga horonukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu’ takes serious effort. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-pronunciations-of-place-names/294328/113 "2005-03-18T10:52:54Z")
Oh and Karangahape road is prounounced K road. Well that is what everyone calls it :D. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-pronunciations-of-place-names/294328/114 "2005-03-18T12:50:15Z")
Contrary to what Johnny Cash may have told you in “40 Shades of Green” Donaghadee is pronounced “don ACK a DEE” NOT “DON hadee”. Johnny, you were a great man, but I think you just looked at a map when you wrote that song as you obviously didn’t get a local person to say the names for you. Irish place names are fun. There’s a story of a radio competition where the listeners had to phone in with the name of a town or village in Ireland that was a part of the human body. A lady called up, and live on air, gave her answer as “Killcock”, at which point the presenter said “Actually we were looking for Athy (a thigh), but we’ll give it to you anyway.” ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-pronunciations-of-place-names/294328/115 "2005-03-18T16:09:42Z")
I pride myself on at least being able to _spell_ Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwryndrobwyllllantisiliogogogoch, which is Welsh for “let’s fabricate an insanely long place name solely to wind up the English”, but I freely admit I haven’t a prayer of pronouncing it any way that won’t get me laughed at anywhere west of Offa’s Dyke. I also like the apocryphal tale of an Australian tourist in the vicinity of Birmingham (the _real_ one) asking for directions to “Loogabarooga”. He made more progress when someone worked out that he was trying to pronounce “Loughborough” (LUFF-boro … how else?) ---
**Author:** ![john\_paul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/51bf81/32.png) [@john\_paul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/john_paul)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-pronunciations-of-place-names/294328/116 "2010-05-25T01:11:08Z")
In Connecticut, the river is pronounced THAYmes, as is the street in Newport, RI. In England, TEMZ. BO-guh-tah, Peru, BUGota, NJ. And why is Kansas pronounced as written but Arkansas is said as Arkansaw? LEEmuh, Peru, LIE-muh Ohio. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-pronunciations-of-place-names/294328/117 "2010-05-25T01:46:38Z")
> [@john\_paul](#): > > BO-guh-tah, Peru, BUGota, NJ. Haven’t spent loads of time there, but I always heard buhGOtuh. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-pronunciations-of-place-names/294328/118 "2010-05-25T02:33:59Z")
The most annoying for me is a town near where I grew up (well, about four miles from where I grew up), that’s called Stanford-Le-Hope. This is in Essex, England, not in France: it’s ‘Stan (like Dan the Man),’ ‘Fd’ (the vowel hardly said at all) Le (with a long ee, like the name Lee) Hope (like the English word Hope). The automated train announcer acts as if we’ve made a sudden sojourn to France and says ‘Stan-FOR’ l’ ‘op.’ I think I recognise the voice as the same person who says ‘Holborn’ on the tube. But then she goes all American - despite this being London - and says ‘Hol-born.’ She says it exactly like it’s spelt, but Holborn has always been ‘Hoe-bn.’ Grrrr. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-pronunciations-of-place-names/294328/119 "2010-05-25T03:12:12Z")
Zombie( **zom** -bee) thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-pronunciations-of-place-names/294328.md?page=5)