# You're not from around here, are you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 10, 2005, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817 "2005-07-10T04:10:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2005, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/41 "2005-07-10T21:50:36Z")
> [@Snowboarder Bo](#): > > New Orleans is NOR-lens, not NOO OR-leens or NOO Or-lee-ans. The don’t get quite as upset, but then, they live in New Orleans after all. 😛 I’m under the impression that almost anything except “New Or-leens” is acceptable. Never mind that the parish is Or-leens Parish. Logic has nothing to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2005, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/42 "2005-07-10T21:52:53Z")
> [@VunderBob](#): > > VunderWife watches a long list of those annoying Judge X shows. I don’t remember if it was on Judy or Joe Brown, but some pretentious oaf of a princess came on one of them with her Chihuahua, and she insisted that it was a SHE-WA-wa. > > That’s all I can even rememer of the case. I don’t remember what the dispute was, nor who won; just that for the 27 years since I had high school Spanish, I’ve pronounced the name of the bred and the Mexican state all wrong. Hmph, she was wrong, not you. It’s pronounced Chee hwa hwa, with an almost not there h for some people. There’s a little more emphasis on the first syllable, but since there’s no accent, all the syllables should receive nearly identical emphasis. Pronunciation can vary depending upon the region and how careful the person is about using proper pronunciation, but I’ve never heard anybody actually from Mexico say SHE-WA-wa. There’s a teeny town near here named Japatul. Now, I don’t claim to know the correct pronunciation, but the generally accepted way is to say Ha-pa tool or Hapahtl, not Juh pate oolie. Then there’s the Ewiiaapaayp band of the Kumeyaay, which is also the name of a town, which pretty much defeats everybody except the Kumeyaay. Generally people just say ‘the town named after the native americans with the name that starts with a K.’ Brisbane is pronounced Briz-bin, I’ve been told. Is that true? How do you pronounce Worcestershire (as in the sauce)? I pronounce it Lea & Perrins. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2005, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/43 "2005-07-10T21:53:55Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > “I’m sorry the ATM is out of order, shall I direct you to another one nearby? Let’s see, you’re at branch 655 in Coppidge? I see there’s one on Ronk-On-Coma Road, or are you closer to Hope-adge?” Ha. I remember that commercial. Two days ago I got asked if the #1 train stops at Hyoo-stuhn Street. Twice. (Houston Street is pronounced House-ton Street.) ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2005, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/44 "2005-07-10T22:22:53Z")
Here in Iowa, we seemed to have forgotten how other places pronounce their placenames, but we still use 'em anyway. For example, Madrid, Iowa is actually MAD-rid. Nevada, Iowa is nuh-VAY-duh. I was also thrown for a loop by Stange Drive in Ames, IA - it’s pronounced as “stang”. ---
**Author:** ![infamousmom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d6d6ee/32.png) [@infamousmom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infamousmom)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2005, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/45 "2005-07-10T22:59:53Z")
My late father always pronounced “menu” as “may-noo.” Confused many a waitperson with that one, he did. ---
**Author:** ![infamousmom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d6d6ee/32.png) [@infamousmom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infamousmom)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2005, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/46 "2005-07-10T23:01:39Z")
> [@fluiddruid](#): > > For example, Madrid, Iowa is actually MAD-rid. > > Nevada, Iowa is nuh-VAY-duh. Yup… and the river that flows through Wichita, Kansas, is, so help me, the Ar-Kansas River. None of this “Arkansaw” bidness in the Cow Pie State! ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2005, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/47 "2005-07-10T23:06:46Z")
> [@Ashes](#): > > Hmph, she was wrong, not you. It’s pronounced Chee hwa hwa, with an almost not there h for some people. There’s a little more emphasis on the first syllable, but since there’s no accent, all the syllables should receive nearly identical emphasis. Pronunciation can vary depending upon the region and how careful the person is about using proper pronunciation, but I’ve never heard anybody actually from Mexico say SHE-WA-wa. **Ashes[sup]2[/sup]**, dear, that was meant to be dripping in sarcasm… ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2005, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/48 "2005-07-10T23:40:41Z")
> [@VunderBob](#): > > **Ashes[sup]2[/sup]**, dear, that was meant to be dripping in sarcasm… But of course; I just had to point out the \*many ways \* in which she was a fool. I’m very helpful that way. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/49 "2005-07-11T00:15:56Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > The capital of Pennsylvania Amish country is pronounced LANK-i-ster. You can always tell who the newbie radio personalities who just moved to the area are by their pronunciation of it. It’s invariably Lay-an-CAST-er. > > I’m proud to note that I picked up a clue about two days after I moved here and haven’t missed a step since… Or how about Carnegie? Everyone else in the world pronounces it CARN-a-gee. Not here in the Steel City, oh no. It’s carn-NEHG-ee. That’s one way to tell if someone’s a native Pixburgher an’at. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/50 "2005-07-11T00:20:09Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Or how about Carnegie? Everyone else in the world pronounces it CARN-a-gee. > > Not here in the Steel City, oh no. It’s carn-NEHG-ee. That’s one way to tell if someone’s a native Pixburgher an’at. > > 😉 Heh! I grew up in Altoona, which is firmly in Pittsburgh’s orbit (no true Altoid is an Iggles fan!). We always said car-NEHG-ee, mostly under the influence of Pittsburgh TV stations (KDKA and WTAE were on our cable system as “local” channels…Myron Cope and Joe DeNardo were icons of my childhood). Even the school, when I was looking around for one in my senior year of high school, was pronounced car-NEHG-ee Mellon. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/51 "2005-07-11T00:23:45Z")
Wisconsin is said the way it’s spelled. Not West-sconsin or Wes-con-sin. Wisconsin. Sheh-boy-guhn, not Shee-boy-gan. K’no-sha, not Key-naw-sha. Oconomowoc? O-co-no-mow-ock? Oc-mawna-awk? Just hush. O-conna-muh-wok is what you want. Please, leave Pewaukee to the natives. Oh, and you know that cow with the nose ring, no udder, and a bad temper? I hate to break it to you, but that’s no cow. It’s a bull. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/52 "2005-07-11T00:24:32Z")
> [@whiterabbit](#): > > I’m under the impression that almost anything except “New Or-leens” is acceptable. Never mind that the parish is Or-leens Parish. Logic has nothing to do with it. That’s very true. You’ll hear natives say NAW-luns, New OR-lee-uns, New AW-leen-uns, New OR-luns, New AH-luns, or even creating a few more syllables as need be. But it is never, ever, EVER New Or-LEENS. Unless it’s, as Whiterabbit said, Or-LEENS Parish. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/53 "2005-07-11T00:27:27Z")
Oh, another you know you’re not from here New Orleanian pronunciation that’s commonly mispronounced by the entire rest of the world: Tulane University, which is correctly pronounced with the accent on the first syllable, i.e. TOO-lane. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/54 "2005-07-11T00:32:22Z")
Re: Tulane. My friend used to live on Freret. Nice area; but the Burgundy digs were better when I visited because it was right there at the Quarter. Anyway… Even some people who live in Westminster, CA call it 'West **minister**. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/55 "2005-07-11T00:38:13Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Heh! I grew up in Altoona, which is firmly in Pittsburgh’s orbit (no true Altoid is an Iggles fan!). We always said car-NEHG-ee, mostly under the influence of Pittsburgh TV stations (KDKA and WTAE were on our cable system as “local” channels…Myron Cope and Joe DeNardo were icons of my childhood). Even the school, when I was looking around for one in my senior year of high school, was pronounced car-NEHG-ee Mellon. Well, Western PA, then. Hell, I think they even speak our language in Eastern Ahigha! ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/56 "2005-07-11T01:27:30Z")
Some streets around Metro Detroit (mostly East Side, because, well… :: points at location :: ) Gratiot – GRA-shit (short a, like ‘apple’) Cadieux – CAD-jew Schoenherr – SHANE-err Dequindre – De-KWIN-derr Charlevoix – SHAR-le-voy Dix – Dicks (though I doubt many people would know the proper pronunciation of that word) And of course, the city itself : Detroit. Heh heh heh. Surprisingly, Beaubien is pronounced pretty much correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Fredescu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/73ab20/32.png) [@Fredescu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fredescu)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/57 "2005-07-11T01:45:17Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Unless it’s Nevada, Missouri (pronounced “Ne-VAY-da”) Seen on a guest list in the Jedi afterlife: Anakin Skywalker (Nee Vader) Sorry ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/58 "2005-07-11T02:11:16Z")
Bala Cynwyd: it’s Baa-laa kin-wood. The Schuylkill is pronounced, more or less, school-kul or school-gul. If you’re really from Philly, it’s probably going to sound more like skoogil. It is not shu-yil-kill. ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/59 "2005-07-11T02:54:45Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I’ll admit to having wrecked a few pronunciations here in Illinois. I’m learning, though. How the hell am I supposed to know that “Palos Heights” is pronounced “PAY-luss Heights”? How are you doing on Des Plaines (river/suburb), Devon(street) and Goethe (street)? ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/60 "2005-07-11T05:30:00Z")
When that kid up north shot up his school a national correspondent said the wounded were taken to a hospital in BEEMEEgee. Also: Not a pronunciation but a typo. The local news did a report on the Coast Guard station in Duluth and the graphic said the interviewee was a Bozens Mate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817.md?page=4)