Commonly mispronounced words

[Happy Monkey]

I'm a lifelong DC resident, and that's how I pronounce it, too.

Probably because of the Metro announcers.

[Hime]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

I'm a lifelong DC resident, and that's how I pronounce it, too.

Probably because of the Metro announcers.

Where's the second U, then? :p It should be Joo-Dish- Ee-Ary.

[Happy Monkey]

It's a schwa.

[Clodfobble]

Street names should be permanently exempt. Around here we have:

Manchaca = "MAN-shack"
Koenig = "KAY-nig"
Manor = "MAY-ner"

[monster]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Street names should be permanently exempt. Around here we have:

Manchaca = "MAN-shack"
Koenig = "KAY-nig"
Manor = "MAY-ner"

Local towns/street names:

Saline = Sall Een
Milan = My Lan
Delhi = Dell Hi
Lyon = Lie On
Kuehnle = Keenly (not sure how else you would pronounce it but it still seems odd)

[Perry Winkle]

Street names...I wonder how they get butchered so badly...Maybe it reflects the education level of the people who propagate the pronunciation?

I can't imagine a well read person coming up with some of the pronunciations.

What about "Houston"...is it [House-ton] or [Hews-ton]? In Manhattan it's the former, EVERYWHERE else it's the latter. Who's right?

The 'oe' and 'ue' in Koenig and Kuehnle should be pronounced like the umlauted 'o' and 'u' in German right?

[Sundae]

Street/ place names that can't be pronounced correctly by the way they are spelled are a way of spotting the tourists and giving the locals a laugh at their expense.

[SadistSecret]

That is so true. I don't know many tourists that can correctly pronounce Des Moines.

[Perry Winkle]

Originally Posted by SadistSecret

That is so true. I don't know many tourists that can correctly pronounce Des Moines.

Iowa: Idiots out walking around. No offense intended. I'm from Missouri, it's genetic.

[monster]

Of course in the UK, the sport is to confuse the tourists by occasionally having place names that are pronounced as they are written.

Tintwistle, Edinburgh, Slough, Worcester are not among them.

[Shawnee123]

Mackinac Island is pronounced Mackinaw.

I got extra credit in 7th grade history because our teacher was talking about Edinburgh and I told him he was pronouncing it incorrectly. He said "Really? show me." (Not in a mean way, he was a sweetheart) So I pulled out the encyclopedia and showed him. He was amazed. Know how I knew? I had a big crush on the Bay City Rollers in 6th grade.

Around here we have Russia (rooshie) Versailles (ver-sales) and Houston (house-ton). But we're pretty hick-ified in these parts.

[monster]

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

Mackinac Island is pronounced Mackinaw.

have we mentioned Michigan yet? Brits pronounce it MiTchigan. We did when we moved here. Boy, does that piss people off! (Brits: It's MiSHigan. Like Michelle)
Even the immigration guy at Newark was upset when we told him where we were headed. Newark! Where pronunciation butchery is a compulsory class for elementary school graduation.

[Kingswood]

For many place names, pronunciation is not at all obvious for various reasons and not everyone knows the necessary shibboleth.

If you are a local, the correct pronunciation of the place name is not obvious from the spelling, and correct pronunciation is really THAT important to you, then either put up the correct pronunciation on the signs that say WELCOME TO (insert place name here), or learn to put up with incorrect pronunciation from time to time.

I live in Melbourne (the big city in Oz, not the little place in Florida). We are as guilty of anyone of having a place name with a correct pronunciation that is not immediately obvious. It's MEL-b@n (@ = schwa), NOT MEL-borrn. There are three silent letters that are not pronounced, including the "r". I tend to fall in the put-up-with-it school, but if I had the means, motive and opportunity would consider a quick pronunciation addition to the big "Welcome to Melbourne" sign on the freeway from the airport. Preferably on April 1st, where it would be more likely to be dismissed as an April Fool's prank.

[Urbane Guerrilla]

The time-honored pronunciation of my town's name in English, which is spelled Hueneme, is "Why-nee-me." It seems to be what happens when English-speaking sailors and farmers get hold of a Spanish transcription of a Chumash Indian word. When I'm speaking Spanish, it usually comes out "Whey-ney-mey." Haven't the foggiest which way might be more accurate.

[DanaC]

have we mentioned Michigan yet? Brits pronounce it MiTchigan. We did when we moved here. Boy, does that piss people off! (Brits: It's MiSHigan. Like Michelle)

I've always thought it was mishigan anyway.