Local and regional mispronunciations

[Dan]

What about wor-sh instead of wash. I had a teacher in HS that even said wush pronounced like "rush".

That screams "Appalachia".

I remember one time, driving through southern Virginia, scanning across the AM band and stopping to hear an old school fire-and-brimstone-y'all-goin'-to-hell preacher.

"When JUH-HEE-UH-SUH-HUS rizzed up from his grave ...
"Ya'll rizz up ... rizzup now and sing Onward Christian Soldiers"

Rizz = rise. Rissed up = rose up. Never heard that anywhere else before or since. I have heard every letter in "Jesus" pronounced as individual syllables many times, though.

I won't get into the Buffalo eyacksint, where "and" and "that" are two syllable words.

[jsk1983]

My grandmother, from western Pennsylvania, has some odd pronunciations for some words. Eagle is "Igle", League is "Lig", Legal is "ligal", etc.

[Veloise]

...afterwards I'll go to Hudson's to return that sweater. ..."

I thought that Hudson's was formerly pronounced like "Marshall Field's" and now "Macy's." (We lost our Detroit-based department store chain some years ago.)

Mackinac Bridge and Island are pronounced like the lower peninsula Mackinaw.

Nacogdoches in Texas is phonetic (if you can speak Spanish words). The same town in Louisiana is, roughly, "nack-a-dish."

[Gotta Speakup]

Between California where I grew up and Boston where I live now, there are so many mispronunciations that its hard to know where to start.

There is a town called Los Gatos pronounced Las Gatus
San Jose is one word Sannazay
Locals refer to a major street as "The El Camino"

Besides the obvious Bostonisms, there is
"So arn't I"

Visitors always want to say COPEly square. Not Copley square. grrrrr.

But the best strange language I ever heard was a Southern woman who said of another person, "She always enjoyed poor health."

[Whose Yur Planner]

Since I come from northwest Indiana, where do I begin.. The worst one that I remember is Don and Dawn are pronounced the same,. You have the hear it to understand. More than anything is the flow and rythm of the language. Up there, people speak in word burst-like a verbal machine gun.

[wahday]

Oh Boy. This is a fun topic. I have a real penchant for local (or something like "loewcoo" in the Philly/South Jersey/Chesapeake Bay region) pronunciation.

In Philly (and surrounding areas), people would say:
Werter (instead of water)
Hoewme (instead of home - applies to all long "o" sounds)
Stek (instead of steak, like "Youse wanna goew git a cheese stek? or just a hoewgie?")
Scullions (instead of scallions)
Begel (instead of bagel)
Pelluh (instead of pillow)
Shoewa (instead of shore - "youse goewin down da shoewa?")
And so many more. This area is inflicted with the use of, among other things, the Welsh "l" in which your tongue never quite touches the roof of your mouth. It results in a lot of words that sound like they are being swallowed - its almost a w sound. Like the unfortunately named "Quality Toyota" dealership that comes out "Quawitee Toyoewtuh")

Texas was wonderful for this stuff, too. For all the Spanish speaking folks around, it was amazing how few Anglos could pronounce Spanish words correctly. It seemed almost deliberate to me. People would say:
Guadaloop (instead of Guadalupe)
San Jasinto (instead of "San Haseento")
Perdinalis (instead of Pedernales)

In New Mexico, most people take pride in trying to pronounce Spanish words as correctly as possible - especially if they have come from outside of the state (like me). This is a little out of hand, too, with all the over-pronouncing going on, but at least people are making an effort. I can't think of too many from here at the moment, except people saying "riadoso" for the town "ruidoso."

[mendelman]

Maister mentioned the most egregious here in the Great Lakes region - the "s" at the end of store names

I'm sorry, but the Boston/Rhode Island accent makes my brain want to explode. Thanks, Afflecks for putting it into entire movies.

[pete-rock]

Texas was wonderful for this stuff, too. For all the Spanish speaking folks around, it was amazing how few Anglos could pronounce Spanish words correctly. It seemed almost deliberate to me. People would say:
Guadaloop (instead of Guadalupe)
San Jasinto (instead of "San Haseento")
Perdinalis (instead of Pedernales)

I visited Decatur, Illinois once, a city smack in the middle of Illinois. They have a main street called El Dorado Avenue, and the locals pronounce it "el-der-RAY-da".

[KSharpe]

What is the correct pronunciation of Beaufort?

[ofos]

Texas was wonderful for this stuff, too. For all the Spanish speaking folks around, it was amazing how few Anglos could pronounce Spanish words correctly. It seemed almost deliberate to me. People would say:
Guadaloop (instead of Guadalupe)
San Jasinto (instead of "San Haseento")
Perdinalis (instead of Pedernales)

A few years after I moved to Texas, the Honorable William P. Clements, better known as Bill, became Governor. He was a native and hugely successful in the "awl bidness" but his Spanish (and English) was the stuff of legends. After 20+ years, I still cringe thinking about him introducing "Ma gud fren, the Guvner of the Meskin Stite of TAM-Al--Leep-ASS (Tamaulipas).

[luckless pedestrian]

I grew up In Syracuse and then lived in Boston for 16 years after college so I have a really weird accent

I swallow some words and have long aaaaaa's on others but then I often drop or re-work an r from the alphabet too - very weird....

for example:

Syracuse:
aunt is ant
potatoes is padada's


North suburban Boston (not to be confused with the south shore, please)
dark is daaaaak
draw is drawer

I do find a super strong accent that I'm not used to hearing anymore (thus making it strong) to be a little painful or distracting, as in I listen to the accent and not the message

but I do miss radio/tv announcers having accents - that's just a tragedy

[Dan]

In New Mexico, most people take pride in trying to pronounce Spanish words as correctly as possible - especially if they have come from outside of the state (like me). This is a little out of hand, too, with all the over-pronouncing going on, but at least people are making an effort. I can't think of too many from here at the moment, except people saying "riadoso" for the town "ruidoso."

This takes me back to my Las Cruces years, where news announcers and Hispanophiles would overpronounce Spanish place and street names; not just simple "Nicaragua on public radio" overpronunciation, but saying the word louder, and adding rolling Rs where there aren't normally present. Thus, instead of "Las Cruces", you'd often hear Las CahRRRRRROses

[Maister]

What is the correct pronunciation of Beaufort?

Planit provided the answer.

Beaufort, NC = BO-fort
Beaufort, SC = BU-fert

There are Marine bases near both towns and I lived near both towns. He's right, they really do pronounce it differently depending where you're at.

and those who were very much into their Hispanic identity would overpronounce Spanish place and street names

wasn't there an SNL skit during the Phil Hartman era about this sort of thing (LA=LohZahnjayleez). Any youtube searchers?...

[TexanOkie]

Texas was wonderful for this stuff, too. For all the Spanish speaking folks around, it was amazing how few Anglos could pronounce Spanish words correctly. It seemed almost deliberate to me. People would say:
Guadaloop (instead of Guadalupe)
San Jasinto (instead of "San Haseento")
Perdinalis (instead of Pedernales)

These pronunciations may have began as Anglo butchering, but now are actually the accepted proper pronunciations for those places. Also, Llano, TX is pronounced with an English "L" sound rather than the Spanish "LL", and I'm sure there are numerous other places where the butchered Spanish is now the official pronunciation. Perhaps not in New Mexico, but definitely in California and Texas.

[Bubba]

wasn't there an SNL skit during the Phil Hartman era about this sort of thing (LA=LohZahnjayleez). Any youtube searchers?...

1990 - with Jimmy Smits. Transcript here. No youtube (that I could find).

Kathy: Well.. I think Neek-o-rah-gwa is important. But not just Neek-o-rah-gwa but, also.. Han-der-us! And, especially.. El Salv-uh-door!

Executive #1: But wasn't the big story the defeat of Hor-tay-ga! And.. the fall of the san-duh-nees-tahs!

Executive #2: Excuse me, everybody, I'd like you to meet our new Economics correspondent.. Han-toe-nee-o Man-dos-ah!

Antonio Mendoza: Or.. Antonio Mendoza.

Kathy: Oh, it's nice to meet you, Han-toe-nee-o!

Dan: I'm sorry. Is it Man-dos-ah? Or Min-doz-ah?

Antonio Mendoza: Mendoza.. just Mendoza.

[mike gurnee]

Unless you have lived Appalachia, you can't talk. A small KY town is called Yo-se-mite.

[Mud Princess]

Upstate New York has a lot of oddly pronounced names.

Here, Berlin is BER-lin, not Ber-LIN.
Greenwich is GREEN-witch - not like GREN-itch Village in NYC.
Chili, outside Rochester, is apparently CHI-LIE, not like chili as in peppers.

People who aren't from around here often have difficulty with Native American place names, but even I can't pronounce Irondequoit My mouth just can't handle it.

I had to ask to find out that Staunton, Virginia is in fact pronounced STAN-ton.

And that Beaufort, NC vs. Beaufort, SC is very confusing to a non-Southerner like me.

[Plannerbabs]

In southern Indiana, and other parts of the state:
Milan--MY-lann
Versailles--VURR-sales, or sometimes VUR-sah-lees
Russiaville--ROOSHA-ville
Vevay--VEE-vee
and
Indianapolis--Ind-da-NAP-o-lis. The emphasis on "Nap" is entirely un-ironic, and pretty common.

[CJC]

These pronunciations may have began as Anglo butchering, but now are actually the accepted proper pronunciations for those places. Also, Llano, TX is pronounced with an English "L" sound rather than the Spanish "LL", and I'm sure there are numerous other places where the butchered Spanish is now the official pronunciation. Perhaps not in New Mexico, but definitely in California and Texas.

Another example of this from California is the city of Vallejo. It's pronounced using the English "L" sound instead of the Spanish "LL", but the Spanish "J" sound. So, Va-Lay-Ho.

[Mastiff]

From Oklahoma:

Chickasha - CHICK-uh-shay
Hobart - HOE-bert
Altus - AL-tus (not "AHL-tus")
Chautauqua - shuh-TAH-kwa
Stoops - GOD

You forgot Miami, OK... my AH ma

Oh, and just a tip for those who don't know... Oregon is (or ah gun) not (or E gone)!

[zman]

My wife (raised in North Idaho) taught me that Moscow, ID is prounouced Moss-Co, while Moss-Cow is in Russia.

She also refers to Boise with the "s" being pronouced as an "s", while I pronounce the "s" as a "z".
She: Boy-sea
Me: Boy-zee

[Maister]

Anyone ever heard of the state called illinoize?

[pete-rock]

One way to tell someone is not from Detroit (de-TROYT) is to hear someone say "DEE-troyt".

Also, it's not uncommon to hear a Chicagoan pronounce the name of the city as "sha-KAW-ga".

[Maister]

One way to tell someone is not from Detroit (de-TROYT) is to hear someone say "DEE-troyt".

True.

Anyone ever hear someone from West Virginia refer to that city near the Ohio-Michigan border as TOO-LEE-DOO. I have.

[Gedunker]

My wife (raised in North Idaho) taught me that Moscow, ID is prounouced Moss-Co, while Moss-Cow is in Russia.

Hate to correct your missus, but "there are no cows in Moscow" is taught to television journalists so they learn to pronounce it properly, which is the same as your wife pronounces Moscow, ID.

Here's one for luckless ped: there's a lake in northern Maine named Chemquasibamticook. Good luck wrapping your mouth around that pissah!

plannerbabs Great to see you, stranger! And you are absolutely correct about vee-vee (spelled Vevay), Indiana.