Regional place names that aren't spelled the way the locals say them.

[Wacka]

Worked at a Denny's in college and laughed at people trying to pronounce  Scajaquada. After several attempts we said "you mean the 198 right?"

[LewPort71]

Kanawha River...West Virginia

[Just Jack]

North of me is Pulaski, NY.  The correct polish pronunciation is pull-as-ski.  They pronounce it pull-as-sky. 

[ICanSleepWhenI'mDead]

Surprised nobody offered this one yet - - Locals pronounce New Orleans, LA as Naw-lins, which is about as far away as possible from the non-Cajun way I pronounced it growing up in WNY.

[Saxum]

On 3/5/2022 at 6:53 AM, Pete said:

There was a plane crash in Mianus bridge(on 95).  Howard Stern when he was in NYC called ticket office and asked how much a one way ticket from la guardia to my anus cost lol

 

I am sure he got a bulk rate.

 

I went to UB and could not understand where some people in dorms were from.

Lots of variations on Lon G'Island (Long Island)

I picked up unintentional and tried to order a Lon G'Island and he had no idea what I was talking about.

[ExiledInIllinois]

4 hours ago, Just Jack said:

North of me is Pulaski, NY.  The correct polish pronunciation is pull-as-ski.  They pronounce it pull-as-sky. 

Tomorrow (first Monday of March) is Casimir Pulaski Day in Chicago.   City Holiday,  kids get school off. 

 

A true American hero!

 

Anyway... That's the "hick element" and long vowels.

 

Here:

 

Cairo, Illinois is: KAY-ro. 

 

/smdh...

 

[Chef Jim]

My wife makes fun of how we pronounce:

 

Begen

Chili

Java 

[SoTier]

10 hours ago, Chef Jim said:

My wife makes fun of how we pronounce:

 

Begen

Chili

Java 

 

Nobody in WNY lives in Java but in JAY-va.

 

I always thought that Long Islanders pronounced their area as Lon-GUY-land.  

 

Point Gratiot in Dunkirk is pronounced locally as "GRAT-IT".  I think the correct French pronunciation is GRAT-oh.

Au Sable, NY -- the Chasm, Forks, and the village/town -- is pronounced locally as oh-SAY-bull.  It should be oh-SAHB-luh.

 

Skaneateles and Scajacquada are some of those place names that only locals can say.   I've always put Snowqualmie in that same group.

[The Poojer]

In the Virgina version it's pronounced Pyule-ass-key

 

15 hours ago, Just Jack said:

North of me is Pulaski, NY.  The correct polish pronunciation is pull-as-ski.  They pronounce it pull-as-sky. 

[Wacka]

20 hours ago, Limeaid said:

 

I am sure he got a bulk rate.

 

I went to UB and could not understand where some people in dorms were from.

Lots of variations on Lon G'Island (Long Island)

I picked up unintentional and tried to order a Lon G'Island and he had no idea what I was talking about.

When I was at UB decades ago,  a girl was wearing her boyfriend's Grand Island  (Pork Chop Island) HS letterman's jacket. A lunch of Lon Guylanders were talking about what town they were from. She, wearing the jacket, says that she is from the Island too.They asked Massapequa? Islip? where? She replied " This is WNY, not NYC . Grand Island you idiots."

Edited March 7, 2022 by Wacka

[Draconator]

There was a bar in Buffalo on Arkansas St, called the Arkansas. Yet they insisted they pronounce the name of the bar R-KAN-SAS.

[SoTier]

2 hours ago, Draconator said:

There was a bar in Buffalo on Arkansas St, called the Arkansas. Yet they insisted they pronounce the name of the bar R-KAN-SAS.

 

I think that used to be a common local pronunciation of Arkansas in the Midwest when I lived there.  I don't know if that's still the case.  

 

Some Midwesterners and Westerners change the endings of place names when the names end in vowels:  the Absaroka Range in Montana/Wyoming often becomes AB-sa-ro-key while the last syllable in Missouri becomes "uh" instead of "ee".

[Toomstone.Part.Duex]

On 3/4/2022 at 7:21 PM, That's No Moon said:

Hockessin, DE  HO-kessin 

Newark, DE new-ARK 

Versailles, PA ver-SAILS 

Pequea Valley, PA PECK-way 

Wilkes-Barre, PA BARE-ee

 

 

 

I was going to put Wilkes-Barre.   I work in WB and people from out of state never say it right.  Most say Wilkes-BAR   

 

 

[Gugny]

20 hours ago, Just Jack said:

North of me is Pulaski, NY.  The correct polish pronunciation is pull-as-ski.  They pronounce it pull-as-sky. 

 

There is a road in a neighboring town (Fort Ann, NY) named Tripoli Road.  Pronounced, "try-POLE-ee."

[coloradobillsfan]

Buena Vista, Colorado

 

ruffles a lot of feathers here since the town voted to pronounce their name "BEYOO-NA VIS-TA" instead of the traditional Spanish pronunciation.  

 

Edited March 7, 2022 by coloradobillsfan

[ExiledInIllinois]

1 hour ago, Gugny said:

 

There is a road in a neighboring town (Fort Ann, NY) named Tripoli Road.  Pronounced, "try-POLE-ee."

WTF! That's how they'd pronounce it in Midwest! 

 

You simply can't take the country out of folk.

 

San Jose gets: San Josie! Shaking my head in disbelief...

 

Bourbonnais, Illinois gets: Burr-BONE-us.

 

Joliet gets: JOLLY-ette.  WHICH,  is probably closest to the original (I am assuming) French: Joelie-aye??

[That's No Moon]

5 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

WTF! That's how they'd pronounce it in Midwest! 

 

You simply can't take the country out of folk.

 

San Jose gets: San Josie! Shaking my head in disbelief...

 

Bourbonnais, Illinois gets: Burr-BONE-us.

 

Joliet gets: JOLLY-ette.  WHICH,  is probably closest to the original (I am assuming) French: Joelie-aye??

I'd go with ZHO-li-ay given that J in French usually is more like a Z

[ExiledInIllinois]

 

BUT! Joliet... I think was going to be corrupted  to "Juliet"... Situated next to Romeoville and there were going to be "Twin Cities?"

 

?? Man... Things change?  I always thought it was the explorer, Louis Jolliet. Hence the "Jolly" thing?

 

Anyway... We are built on a very illiterate and corrupted English country.  😆 

[That's No Moon]

2 hours ago, Toomstone.Part.Duex said:

I was going to put Wilkes-Barre.   I work in WB and people from out of state never say it right.  Most say Wilkes-BAR   

 

 

I have family in Nanticoke so I've been there many times.

[ExiledInIllinois]

1 minute ago, That's No Moon said:

I'd go with ZHO-li-ay given that J in French usually is more like a Z

ANY you slice it... It's a clustereff and true bastardization.  Louis Jolliet is 2 "L's"...