Mispronunciations by non-locals

[Endlight]

Yup, my favorite comes from my own people, the French-Canadians.

They all insist on going to EE-to-bee-ko-kee instead of Etobiko. Although its spelled Etobicoke, the "e" at the end is silent.

I always get a chuckle at this one. For non Canadians, Etobikoke is a suburb of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Or as they say down there, "Toronna".

Language is so much fun.

 

[gsdx]

I'm guessing most non-locals wouldn't figure out that the k in "Etobicoke" is silent.

I'm wondering also if people who are reading this are pronouncing it 'EE-tow-BUY-coke' instead of a short 'E' at the begining: 'e-TOW-bee-coe'

In Idaho, very close to the Washington border is a town that I would have no idea how to pronounce if someone didn't tell me:
Coeur D'Alene (I think it's supposed to be pronounced "Core-da-lane")

The closest English pronunciation for 'Coeur' (which means 'heart') us 'cur', as in the animal. To make the 'oeu' sound, you have to form your lips to say 'cur', but you have to form your tongue to say it 'key'. However', 'cur' is much closer than 'core'.

 

[Endlight]

Sorry Renaissanceman, I missed your post when I wrote mine. tried to correct it but the 10 minutes had elapsed.

Gotta be fast on the draw on these boards. LOL

 

[Críostóir]

As a person who grew up in a town called Okemos (OAK a muss, not oh KEY muss), I always try to pronounce things as the locals do. It took me some time to realize that Toronto is pronounced Chronno, with the ch as in 'change'.

Of course the same name varies in pronunciation depending on the location. Newark, NJ is pronounced Nerk or sometimes Nwerk, but Newark, DE is pronounced New Ark, and Newark, OH is pronounced NERK a HIGH, with the state as part of the name. And Houston, TX is pronounced HEWS ton, while Houston Street in NYC is pronounced HOWS ton. But the most difficult street name for non-locals in NYC is Avenue of the Americas, which is always pronounced Sixth Avenue by the locals!

Americans are often stunned by the pronunciations of British placenames; this is because the names are so old that actual sound change in the English language has taken place since the signs went up! Nothing here is that old (in writing, anyway). Example: Featherstone Haugh, which is pronounced FAN shaw.

My screen name, btw, is pronounced CHRIS toh ohr. My actual first name is pronounced CHRIS tah fur...it is most frequently mispronounced by leaving off the last two syllables!

 

[slobone]

Funny story... a few years ago, SF MUNI installed voice-over mechanisms in their buses that would announce the intersections as they were passed, so passengers always knew where they were. But the recordings were made in Japan by a person who didn't know English except phonetically, and rhymed Gough with Thorough. So every time a bus crossed Gough, the voice-over said "Such-n-such and GO!"

Was that at the corner of Touch and Gough?

 

[dte]

I just can't get over the number of Aussies who can't even pronounce the name of their own country correctly ..... they say "Austraya" ... it grates me every time.

 

[SeanFL]

Ah, so many I can think of but the one that stumps most people is town near where I grew up. Valatie, NY. Pronounced va-LAY-sha

 

[aussieduo]

Australia is full of places that are mispronounced. My home town, Mackay, Queensland, is always mispronounced, Locals insist, as do I, that it is pronounced rhyming with eye, non-locals say it should be pronounced rhyming with hay. I think the locals should know how their own town's name is pronounced. I take offense to outsiders telling locals how to pronounce the name of their home town.

The area where I live has a National Park that is only ever pronounced correctly by locals. Even Australians from other areas are stumped when trying to pronounce it, but once you know how, its so simple

Eungella ( pronounced young-gullah)

It is the local Aboriginal name for a Rainforest in the mountains about 70km west of here. It means Land in the clouds, which is an apt description, so much of the forest is always in the clouds, and hence, very wet. The locals here often are amused, especially with toursits trying to pronounce it.

As has already been mentioned, Brisbane is always mispronounced, especially by Americans. Here it is pronounced, Briz-bin.

How about some of these-

Eimeo, a suburb of Mackay (eye-mio), Nhulunbuy (nulunboy), Goondiwindi (gundiwindi), Eucla (you-cla)

 

[gsdx]

I've stayed away from 'other language' names simply because most of them are impossible to pronounce anyway. Nunavut is full of place names which have origins in the Inuit language. With so many languages making up names, some of them can be impossible.

Try wrapping your tongues around these: Umingmaktok, Inoucdjouac, Musquodoboit and Keeseekoowenin.

(Please don't ask me how to pronounce them. The only one I know is Musquodoboit. It's 'muss-kih-DAH-bit', 'muss' as in 'fuss'. )

 

[bj____]

There's one street even some locals still can't pronounce in Houston. It's Kuykendahl (kirk-IN-doll).

 

[PixelHerder]

I think its only pronounced MC-EYE because of the Aussie accent. If i put one the aussie accent, it sounds like EYE.. if i speak English accent, its Hay.

Mac-HAY English Accent
Mac-EYE Aussie Accent.

so id say the correct way to pronounce it is HAY, but it sounds EYE cos of your accent.

In Scotland we pronounce it Mac-EYE the same as the Aussies

 

[justsimon]

The closest English pronunciation for 'Coeur' (which means 'heart') us 'cur', as in the animal. To make the 'oeu' sound, you have to form your lips to say 'cur', but you have to form your tongue to say it 'key'. However', 'cur' is much closer than 'core'.

I think if you pronounce it the (real) French way in Coeur d'Alene, you'll get your ass kicked. There they say it Kore-de-Lane.