# why is Illinois pronounced that way? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 27, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337 "2016-02-27T22:03:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337/21 "2016-02-28T14:35:48Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > You may as well ask why these places in England have weird pronunciations. Many English people have a hard time with them: > > Alnwick – (Pronounced ANNICK /ˈænɪk/) > Althorp – (Pronounced ALLTREP /ˈɔːltrəp/) - Where Diana is buried > Belvoir – (Pronounced BEAVER /ˈbiːvər/) I went to a posh wedding in Belvoir Castle once. I will leave the jokes to your imagination. > Bicester – (Pronounced BISTER /ˈbɪstər/) > Gloucester – (Pronounced GLOSSTER /ˈɡlɒstər/) > > Near my home is a small town called Alcester. Locally it can be pronounces Allster or All cester (with a flat ‘A’). The first sound very like Ulster, a province in N Ireland. I lived near Bicester for 4 years when I was stationed at RAF Upper Heyford. Nice place. ---
**Author:** ![Nelson\_Pike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Nelson\_Pike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nelson_Pike)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337/22 "2016-02-28T15:11:32Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Yep. We natives say Mass-a-chu-SAY, just as the French intended. Same with Con-ECT-i-cut. Unless you are from the town of A_th_ol, in which case it’s Ma_th_achu_th_ets. ---
**Author:** ![svd678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@svd678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/svd678)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337/23 "2016-02-28T15:24:31Z")
#6 The one in Ill. may be pronounced Kay-ro. but the one in NY is pronounced Care-o. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337/24 "2016-02-28T15:30:34Z")
I’ve always pitied new hires at Boston-area radio and TV stations. They must be given a immense list of common place names with “proper” pronunciations so they don’t mangle them on-air. Or a link to [this website](http://www.worcestermass.com/pronounce/essexcounty.shtml) with a test afterwards. I’ve been listening to WBZ long enough so that I think I’ve got most of them down correctly by now. Peabody and Haverhill are two of my favorites. > [@John Mace](#): > > We natives say Mass-a-chu-SAY Or if you’re George Wallace during one of his presidential campaigns, you say Mass-a-tu-shits. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337/25 "2016-02-28T15:58:26Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Well, you get to share opprobrium with Kentuckians who have their own Versailles (pronounced similarly). > > One hopes the OP never hears about how Iowans pronounce the names of their towns (i.e. Nevada (ne-VAY-da) and Madrid (Maa-drid)) or has occasion to visit Rio (RY-o) Grande, Ohio\*. > > _home of “exciting events like the annual Bob Evans Farm Festival and Rio Grande Bean Dinner”_\* > \*\*bring your own mask and air freshener. Missouri is similar. The French colonized the area in the early 1800s. Then they were displaced by German settlers in the late 1800s. Who were then overwhelmed by 2nd or 3rd generation Americans of generally British descent. So first the French murdered the Indian’s names for things. Along with the Indians themselves. Then the Germans murdered the French pronunciations and (re)named a bunch of places with German names. Then finally the Scots / Irish / English Americans came in and re-murdered the French-as-said-by-Germans pronunciations while merrily murdering the German pronunciations too. So MO has a Versailles (vur SALES) and a Nevada (ne-VAY-da) too. And a Cuba (KOO-buh) and a New Madrid (MAD-rid). And Auxvasse (AWKS-vass). There’s a boulevard in St. Louis named for a German settler named “Spöde”. The legit anglicized spelling is “Spoede”. The illegit local pronunciation is SPAY-dee. Not far away is a boulevard named for a Frenchman: De Bolivier. Pronounced “duh-BOL-ih-vr” :eek: :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337/26 "2016-02-28T16:41:20Z")
> [@curwin](#): > > I understand the general process. What’s not clear to me is why would an American, encountering this French word, choose not to pronounce it either the way he heard the French people did, or the way he assumed it should be based on the spelling? Just to say I understand the question. I don’t have an answer, but there should be one. My quess: English speakers heard French Ill-in-wah, knew it was French, and knew that French “wa” was how French speakers pronounced O-Y / O-I. So They mentally corrected the French they heard, ignorant of the spelling convention with S. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337/27 "2016-02-28T16:51:06Z")
> [@svd678](#): > > #6 The one in Ill. may be pronounced Kay-ro. but the one in NY is pronounced Care-o. And neither is pronounced Chi Rho. Actually, I use “Care-o” for the corn syrup, and Kay-ro for the town in Illinois, as apparently the locals want it that way. There are several US “Berlins” that are sometimes pronounced with the first syllable emphasized, like you’re describing what the hot water on the stove is doing in some dialects. Like the previously mentioned “Madrid” becoming MAD-rid, rather ma-DRID. Most notably in referencing the “New Madrid Fault”. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337/28 "2016-02-28T17:06:42Z")
We still say FRAHNK-EN-STEEN ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337/29 "2016-02-28T18:21:47Z")
Nee-iii-gggg-hhh ! ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337/30 "2016-02-28T18:37:49Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > You may as well ask why these places in England have weird pronunciations. Many English people have a hard time with them: > > Alnwick – (Pronounced ANNICK /ˈænɪk/) > Althorp – (Pronounced ALLTREP /ˈɔːltrəp/) - Where Diana is buried > Belvoir – (Pronounced BEAVER /ˈbiːvər/) I went to a posh wedding in Belvoir Castle once. I will leave the jokes to your imagination. > Bicester – (Pronounced BISTER /ˈbɪstər/) > Gloucester – (Pronounced GLOSSTER /ˈɡlɒstər/) > > Near my home is a small town called Alcester. Locally it can be pronounces Allster or All cester (with a flat ‘A’). The first sound very like Ulster, a province in N Ireland. Actually they’re all pronounced “Mangrove Throatwarbler” ---
**Author:** ![joe.russell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@joe.russell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joe.russell)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337/31 "2016-02-28T22:20:02Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Well, you get to share opprobrium with Kentuckians who have their own Versailles (pronounced similarly). > > One hopes the OP never hears about how Iowans pronounce the names of their towns (i.e. Nevada (ne-VAY-da) and Madrid (Maa-drid)) or has occasion to visit Rio (RY-o) Grande, Ohio\*. > > _home of “exciting events like the annual Bob Evans Farm Festival and Rio Grande Bean Dinner”_\* > \*\*bring your own mask and air freshener. Us iowans dont know how to pronounce much of anything. Just mumble everything together if you dont know how to say it. Take peoria, ia. Pronounced ‘pure-e’ ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337/32 "2016-02-28T22:22:45Z")
I believe the Miami in Oklahoma is called “My A Maw”. Certainly not like the one in Southern Florida. Newark is another one. In Ohio, it’s “Nurk”, in Delaware, it’s “New wark”, and in New Jersey, it’s “New erk”. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337/33 "2016-02-28T22:29:11Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > Yes, in Illinoy we have Dez Plainz (Des Plaines) and Vur-sails (Versailles) among others. We have much to answer for to the French. 🙂 I read this here I think, in a fairly recent thread–I thought it was a joke. One last time: this is true? > [@Pai325](#): > > Go to Cairo, Illinois. It’s pronounced Kay - Ro, like the corn syrup. Never knew that either. (NYC native.) ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337/34 "2016-02-28T22:30:25Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > We still say FRAHNK-EN-STEEN 🙂 Gotta love meta/in jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337/35 "2016-02-28T22:35:15Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > I read this here I think, in a fairly recent thread–I thought it was a joke. One last time: this is true? Yep, them is how it’s pronounced, and don’t you forget it.\* Unless you’re referring to the part about answering to the French. Those Frogs ain’t owed nuthin’. \*I used to live not far from Ver-SALES Road in Lexington, Kentucky. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337/36 "2016-02-28T22:42:44Z")
> [@](#): > > There’s a boulevard in St. Louis named for a German settler named “Spöde”. The legit anglicized spelling is “Spoede”. The illegit local pronunciation is SPAY-dee. There are places in Sacramento named for a former school board member named Goethe that are pronounced GAY-thee. But he was apparently a pretty bad racist, so there is a move underway to rename everything. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337/37 "2016-02-28T23:13:36Z")
Would you guys say it somewhat shows Americans’ lack of regard for other languages? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337/38 "2016-02-28T23:17:48Z")
Something I never understood, is that Indiana has a city called Terre Haute, which the natives call “TEAR-reh HOTE,” which is not a bad approximation of the actual French pronunciation; about as close as you can expect without people adopting fey, fake French accents when saying it, the kind that would require transcripts to have the word in italics. Anyway, when I meet people from outside Indiana, they seem to universally say “TA-ra HUT.” It usually works the other way-- outsiders try to approximate the original-language pronunciation, and natives have a sui generis pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337/39 "2016-02-28T23:26:27Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > Would you guys say it somewhat shows Americans’ lack of regard for other languages? No. I suspect if there are places in other countries that are named for foreign places (like, biblical places), they are pretty mangled, and just the way the Greek and Latin translations of the Hebrew scriptures and gospels mangled things, I think it’s just the way it goes. There’s a French music group called Tri Yann, and I try my best to make out what they are saying, although they have regional accents, and a few songs in Basque. They had one song I could not make out at all, and couldn’t even figure out what language it was in. When I saw the lyrics (many years after hearing it for the first time), I couldn’t believe it. They were singing (trying anyway) in English. I’m sure they were trying their best, and not mocking or disregarding English in any way, it was just the best they could do. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337/40 "2016-02-28T23:30:05Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > There’s a French music group called Tri Yann, and I try my best to make out what they are saying, although they have regional accents, and a few songs in Basque. They had one song I could not make out at all, and couldn’t even figure out what language it was in. When I saw the lyrics (many years after hearing it for the first time), I couldn’t believe it. They were singing (trying anyway) in English. I’m sure they were trying their best, and not mocking or disregarding English in any way, it was just the best they could do. Ha ha! “Ye Jacobites by Name,” was it? They do sing a couple of songs in Breton, which is where I thought you were going. They also do one in Irish with a similarly impenetrable accent. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-illinois-pronounced-that-way/747337.md?page=3)