# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/61 "2005-07-11T14:12:14Z")
**Ninjachick** beat me to my favorite about the river in Philadelphia. This one is getting flogged, my brother lives in Lonk-ister county PA, I live near Lang-caster NY. So it’s not an east/west coast thing it’s just those PA people. Near Rochester NY there is Chili (Chi-lie) and Lima (Lee-ma) I know you ain’t from Buffalo if you ever order Buffalo wings. We will look at you and say Buffalo’s don’t have wings, silly. Here it’s just “wings” Love the Indian names around Buffalo. Tonawanda and Cheektowaga sound like they look, but Og help you with the pronouncing the Scajaquada Expressway. ---
**Author:** ![Bendarr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e56c9b/32.png) [@Bendarr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bendarr)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/62 "2005-07-11T16:14:20Z")
> [@Miss Purl McKnittington](#): > > 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. Fellow native here (Or at least I presume so). I also want to add Waukesha, Wah-ke-shaw. Not wah-kee-shah. Oh and here is one that pretty much trips up a non-native: Rio. that’s right Rio, Wis. Pronounced like the river? Duran Duran reference? Nope. Pronounced RI(long I) - oh. RI-oh. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/63 "2005-07-11T16:21:05Z")
My native Ohio has a bunch of them: Bellefontaine is “Bell-FOUNT-n” Lima is “LYE-ma” Cadiz is “CAY-diz” Medina is “Me-DYE-na” Vienna is “Vye-EN-na” Berlin is “BER-lin” The Scioto River is “Si-OH-to”, not “Skee-oto” Toledo is “To-LEE-do” Conneaut is “CON-ne-awt” ---
**Author:** ![wampeter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@wampeter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wampeter)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/64 "2005-07-11T16:23:06Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > NevAHda. As in Las Vegas, NevAHda. Ouch. Wrong. Tourist. Stop it. > > It is Nevada…no AHHH in the middle. A…as in rad, bad, sad, had, mad, lad…Nevad-a. Thank you, thank you, thank you! (NevAda is my home state…) ---
**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:** [July 11, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/65 "2005-07-11T19:43:14Z")
Then again there’s Nevada (Ne-VAY-da), Iowa, seat of Story County. One county over you find Madrid (MAD-rid). ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/66 "2005-07-11T20:05:23Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Vidalia, GA - That’s V(eye)-DAYL-yuh, not Vi-DAL-yuh > > Beaufort, SC- BYOO-fert, not BO-fert In North Carolina, it IS BO-fert County. My radio instructor told us to get it right if we wanted to keep credibility. In Maryland (long A, two syllables total. Not “Mary-Land”) We have Worchester (Wooster) and Wicomico (Why-COM-ico) counties. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/67 "2005-07-11T20:05:39Z")
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan is pronounced _exactly the way you’d think it would be_. When your town is called Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, you don’t need any idiosyncratic pronunciations. However, natives can get through ‘Saskatchewan’ in just over 2 syllables instead of the usual 4. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/68 "2005-07-11T20:11:06Z")
> [@Random](#): > > How are you doing on Des Plaines (river/suburb), Devon(street) and Goethe (street)? Well, AFAIK, Goethe is pronounced normally, isn’t it? Gert-uh. That’s what the CTA automated voice says. I pronounced both Des Plaines and Devon incorrectly the first time, and was promptly corrected. I got 'em now. Also have Paulina down. Whew. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2005, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/69 "2005-07-11T20:16:13Z")
> [@](#): > > More locally, in the HUB, Peabody is pronounced “PEE-bi-dy”, not “PEE-BO-dy” and Medford is pronounced “MEH-fud” not “MED-ford.” Just what I came in to say, **linty green**. “Peabody” should be pronounced as if it has no vowels, and you’re just pronouncing the initial “P” as a letter (and as if there’s an “E” at the end): **P-b’d’ E** I’ll add that I once caught a book reading on tape as by an out-of-stater because he pronounced “Haverhill” as it it were “Haver Hill”. But the second “H” is slent: **Haver’ll** When I was younger I had a problem with “La Jolla” in southern California, pronouncing it as if it were an English word rather than Spanish, until I was gently corrected. In upstate New York **Chili** and [N]Nunda\*\* are usually mispronounced. In the former both "i"s rhyme with “sky”. In the latter, the “u” is short and the “a” is long and stressed. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/70 "2005-07-11T20:37:01Z")
There’s a town, and river/water system in Kansas named Marias de Cygnes. French origin, I believe. Anyway, I have not idea how it would be pronounced in French, but if you speak fluent Kansan it’s MARE-uh-duh-ZEEN. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/71 "2005-07-11T20:39:37Z")
That should have been _Marais_ de Cygnes. ---
**Author:** ![Corii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Corii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corii)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/72 "2005-07-11T20:43:52Z")
“Oh, you’re from WaRshington?” - Yeah we warsh our clothes in the warsher My own goof, when I first moved here I pronounced Puget (pyoo-get) Sound as “Poo-zhet” Sound. In my defense I was apparently channling the Pink Panther at the time. ---
**Author:** ![La\_Llorona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@La\_Llorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/La_Llorona)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/73 "2005-07-11T20:49:59Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Well, AFAIK, Goethe is pronounced normally, isn’t it? Gert-uh. That’s what the CTA automated voice says. I’m told it’s GOTH-ee, but I’m not a native or even a resident, so what do I know? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/74 "2005-07-11T21:00:07Z")
> [@Ashes](#): > > How do you pronounce Worcestershire (as in the sauce)? I pronounce it Lea & Perrins. WUSS-teh-sheh. (We don’t stress the r’s very much in English.) Then you have: Wymondham (WIN-dem) Happisburgh (HAZE-burruh) Tacolneston (TACK-uh-stun) Bawdeswell (BORDZ-well) Deopham (DEEF-um) Garboldisham (GARBLE-shum) the river Bure (to rhyme with “pure”) and outside my home county of Norfolk there are: Loughborough (LUFF-burruh) Cirencester (normally as it’s spelled, but SISS-isster to certain antique ladies) Mousehole (MOUZ-el) (not to be confused with Mousehold, in Norwich, which is pronounced exactly as spelled) Frome (FROOM) Gloucester (GLOSS-ter) and in Wales: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwryndrobwyllllantisiliogogogoch 😃 (Don’t ask.) (And yes, I have spelled that correctly, and it does have four consecutive **l** s in it.) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/75 "2005-07-11T21:18:42Z")
A character on “21 Jump Street” once said “I grew up in Mun-au-chie, New Jersey.” If you grew up there, you’d know it’s pronounced MOON-auk-ee. In Massachusetts, Quincy is KWIN-zee. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/76 "2005-07-11T21:52:27Z")
About 6 months ago there was a question on how to pronounce **Cuyahoga** County in Ohio. These are the pronunciations I’ve heard from natives: Ky-ah-Ho-guh Ky-ah-Hog-uh Kee-ah-Ho-guh Kee-ah-Hog-uh Kee-hog-uh Ky-hog-uh Kwah-guh Kwah-gah ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/77 "2005-07-11T21:59:42Z")
Ft. Meade has Canine Road: new folks put a doggie spin on the pronunciation, but anyone who has been there longer than a month knows that it’s pronounced kuh-NEEN. > [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > In L.A., it’s called PCH – not _the_ PCH. On the other hand, it’s _the_ [freeway]. e.g., ‘_the_ ten’ or ‘_the_ four-oh-five’. Also used is ‘the Santa Ana Freeway’ or ‘the Santa Monica Freeway’. As a native of southern L.A. County and having lived in the City of Los Angeles proper for 17 years before moving to the PNW, I can’t remember hearing anyone who lived there saying ‘eye-four-oh-five’ or ‘eye-five’. In at least one episode of the _X-Files_, Scully complains about traffic on “_the_ 95.” 😃 > [@NinjaChick](#): > > 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. > [@Mr. Goob](#): > > **Ninjachick** beat me to my favorite about the river in Philadelphia. I went to college near Philly and was going to post that one, too. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/78 "2005-07-11T22:06:41Z")
In Illinois, they got some a them classy city names: “Cairo”, Illinois is pronounced Kay-Ro “Marseilles”, Illinois is pronounced Mar-Sales ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/79 "2005-07-11T22:45:37Z")
There are many names where I am from that are often mispronounced. My favourite is still the Miramichi. Everyone in NB I know pronounces it: “meer-a-mih-SHEE”. And I don’t know if it’s regional, but we often (but not always) put the word “the” before it. When I was a teenager and working summers at the local factory, a politician (can’t remember for the life of me who) was coming through, introducing himself to “common folks” like us. He was very English. As in, no French accent (NB is a bilingual province). This isn’t much of an issue to anyone, except for him, apparently. Many of our French employees (most of them are from the Miramichi, Chatham, Tracadie, Rogersville, etc) had some questions for him. Some of them are very loud people. One of them accused him of not understanding much about the northern half of the province (the “French half” - inaccurate, but close enough). The fellow spluttered and said to her, “Why, I practically grew up in Meery-MEECHY! [the Miramichi!]” He was laughed out. I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard. I’d never heard anyone call it that before, until years later, on the Weather Channel. I don’t laugh so much now, though. Since moving out here, I’m still trying to get my tongue around such acrobatic names as Puyallup, Skyhomish, Medina, Snohomish, weird names like Shilshole… etc. I’ve got most of them down by now, but they took some work. Some were just tongue twisters. ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817/80 "2005-07-11T23:20:37Z")
In **New York** , ‘Excuse me, sir’ is pronounced ‘Hey, asshole!’ 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817.md?page=5)