Road name pronunciation

[Larry Scholnick]

Here in the Los Angeles area, there are several major streets whose names
are often pronounced incorrectly (or at least, not in conformance with local
pronunciation convention) by many out-of towners.

One of the biggest is SEPULVEDA Blvd.; most out-of-towners say:
sep-pul-VEE-dah; the local pronunciation convention is: sep-PUL-veh-dah
(where PUL rhymes with NULL, not PULL). Another is LA CIENEGA Blvd; the
local pronunciation is LA SEE-ENN-eh-gah.

Another out-of-towner detector is RODEO. In Beverly Hills, it's row-DAY-oh
Drive; nearby in Los Angeles it's ROW-dee-oh Road.

Are there any published guides to road name pronunciation that a traveler
can consult to find the local pronunciation for road names.

[Oscar Voss]

Post by Larry Scholnick
Are there any published guides to road name pronunciation that a traveler
can consult to find the local pronunciation for road names.

But if there were, the locals would have a harder time spotting the
tourists, and getting a good laugh at their expense ;-)

When I lived in San Diego, we'd get a chuckle when we heard tourists
mispronounce "La Jolla" as it looks in English, rather than the proper
Spanish rendition ("j" pronounced like the English "h," "ll" pronounced
like "y").

In Honolulu, the Likelike Highway (most of which is state route 63) is a
favorite linguistic trap to snare tourists -- it's pronounced
"lee-keh-lee-keh" rather than what it looks like in English. (But oddly
enough, the literal of that word in Hawaiian -- "very similar" --
resembles the English meaning.)

[Lepidopteran]

On Mon, 17 May 2004 15:36:49 GMT, "Larry Scholnick"

Post by Larry Scholnick
Here in the Los Angeles area, there are several major streets whose names
are often pronounced incorrectly (or at least, not in conformance with local
pronunciation convention) by many out-of towners.

Like Houston St. in Manhattan. While the city by that name is
pronounced "YU-ston", the street in the Village is pronounced
"HOW-ston".

Actually, I can think of more place names that are like that.

Bowie, MD, is pronounced "BOO-ee", not "BO-ee", like the popular
singer David Bowie.

Versailles, OH, is pronounced the way it's spelled by the locals, not
"ver-SI" like in France. Ditto for Notre Dame, IN and DuBois, PA.

I'm still not sure if Celina, OH is pronounced with a short or long I.

Never heard of anyone who sang "Do you know the way to San Joe's?"
(San Jose).

[Sandy Smith]

Post by Lepidopteran
Versailles, OH, is pronounced the way it's spelled by the locals, not
"ver-SI" like in France.

As is Versailles, Mo. (Say it "ver-SALES.")

Another Missouri alien detector: New Madrid. Bootheelers (and most
other Missourians) stress the second of the three syllables: new
MAD-rid, not New ma-DRID.

[Lepidopteran]

On Mon, 17 May 2004 19:07:55 -0400, Sandy Smith

Post by Sandy Smith
Another Missouri alien detector: New Madrid. Bootheelers (and most
other Missourians) stress the second of the three syllables: new
MAD-rid, not New ma-DRID.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Newark, DE pronounced "new-ARK", as
opposed to New Jersey's "NEW-irk"?

[Nick C]

Try the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) in Philadelphia. It's pronounced
"Sku-kle" (at least that's how they pronounce it on TV when reporting the
10+ mile backups every day).

Post by Lepidopteran
On Mon, 17 May 2004 19:07:55 -0400, Sandy Smith

Post by Sandy Smith
Another Missouri alien detector: New Madrid. Bootheelers (and most
other Missourians) stress the second of the three syllables: new
MAD-rid, not New ma-DRID.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Newark, DE pronounced "new-ARK", as
opposed to New Jersey's "NEW-irk"?

[Coconut]

Post by Lepidopteran
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Newark, DE pronounced "new-ARK", as
opposed to New Jersey's "NEW-irk"?

Yes, in DE, Its New-ark...When I lived in western Essex County in NJ,
everyone pronounced Newark NJ as 'nork'.
Chris
.

[Steve]

Post by Coconut

Post by Lepidopteran
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Newark, DE pronounced "new-ARK", as
opposed to New Jersey's "NEW-irk"?

Yes, in DE, Its New-ark...When I lived in western Essex County in NJ,
everyone pronounced Newark NJ as 'nork'.
Chris
.

That's why NYC is The City - otherwise you get confused.

[Stephen Dailey]

Post by Sandy Smith

Post by Lepidopteran
Versailles, OH, is pronounced the way it's spelled by the locals, not
"ver-SI" like in France.

As is Versailles, Mo. (Say it "ver-SALES.")
Another Missouri alien detector: New Madrid. Bootheelers (and most
other Missourians) stress the second of the three syllables: new
MAD-rid, not New ma-DRID.

We have a few alien detectors in this state, whose name is pronounced
with a slight R in the first syllable, not "WAH-shing-ton:"

Spokane ("spo-KAN")
Sequim ("squim")
Chelan ("sha-LAN")
Yakima ("YAK-ma")
Des Moines (the final "s" is pronounced)

I've seen several window stickers with the proper phonetic pronunciation
of the state to the south: "Orygun."

===
Steve
Shoreline, Washington USA
***@seanet.com
17 May 2004, 1932 PDT

[Ubermonkey]

Post by Sandy Smith

Post by Lepidopteran
Versailles, OH, is pronounced the way it's spelled by the locals, not
"ver-SI" like in France.

As is Versailles, Mo. (Say it "ver-SALES.")
Another Missouri alien detector: New Madrid. Bootheelers (and most
other Missourians) stress the second of the three syllables: new
MAD-rid, not New ma-DRID.

Northern New Hampshire has somethign similar: Berlin as BER-lin and Milan as MY-lin.

Joel

[Desert Dave]

Post by Lepidopteran
On Mon, 17 May 2004 15:36:49 GMT, "Larry Scholnick"
I'm still not sure if Celina, OH is pronounced with a short or long I.

It's pronounced with a long I.


More unusual pronunciations for towns and/or streets/roads, all from the
Rochester NY area. Town names often form all or part of the road name:

Avon - short a, short o.
Bergen - soft g; BER-jin.
Charlotte - not SHAR-luht, it's shar-LOT.
Chili - both i's are long (CHYE-lye). The town was incorporated in 1824,
the same year as the nation Chile was formed, and named in its honor. Oops.
Cuylerville - KYE-ler-ville
Irondequoit - Just as spelled, uh-RON-de-koit.
LeRoy - not LEE-roy, it's luh-ROY.
Lima - also like the bean, and not the city in Peru.
Leicester - as any Englishman can tell you, it's pronounced LES-ter.
Nunda - pronounced nun-DAY.

In Massachusetts:

Gloucester - IIRC, locals say GLOSS-tuh
Leominster - LEM-in-stuh
Worcester - WISS-tuh

I'm sure there are others.

In Arizona:

Avondale - AV-in-dale.
Casa Grande - CASS-a GRAND.
Estrella - es-STRAY-yuh
Germann - ger-MAIN
Ocotillo - AHK-uh-TEE-oh. (Not the correct Spanish pronunciation
OH-koh-TEE-oh)
Prescott - PRESS-kit.
Tolleson - TAHL-i-sin.

And if you're ever in Kansas, the correct local pronunciation of Arkansas is
ar-KAN-sas, not AR-kan-saw.

[Larry Gould]

I think the ultimate test is Philadelphia's Schuykill Expressway.

Post by Larry Scholnick
Here in the Los Angeles area, there are several major streets whose names
are often pronounced incorrectly (or at least, not in conformance with local
pronunciation convention) by many out-of towners.
sep-pul-VEE-dah; the local pronunciation convention is: sep-PUL-veh-dah
(where PUL rhymes with NULL, not PULL). Another is LA CIENEGA Blvd; the
local pronunciation is LA SEE-ENN-eh-gah.
Another out-of-towner detector is RODEO. In Beverly Hills, it's row-DAY-oh
Drive; nearby in Los Angeles it's ROW-dee-oh Road.
Are there any published guides to road name pronunciation that a traveler
can consult to find the local pronunciation for road names.

[Coconut]

On Mon, 17 May 2004 19:24:31 +0000 (UTC), "Larry Gould"

Post by Larry Gould
I think the ultimate test is Philadelphia's Schuykill Expressway.

How do they pronounce it? I've heard it pronounced Skykill, Schoolkill
and even Skullkill.
All the best,
Chris

[Scott M. Kozel]

Post by Coconut

Post by Larry Gould
I think the ultimate test is Philadelphia's Schuykill Expressway.

How do they pronounce it? I've heard it pronounced Skykill, Schoolkill
and even Skullkill.

Skoo-kill or Skook-ul

--
Scott M. Kozel Highway and Transportation History Websites
Virginia/Maryland/Washington, D.C. http://www.roadstothefuture.com
Philadelphia and Delaware Valley http://www.pennways.com

[Kevin Flynn]

Post by Scott M. Kozel

Post by Coconut

Post by Larry Gould
I think the ultimate test is Philadelphia's Schuykill Expressway.

How do they pronounce it? I've heard it pronounced Skykill, Schoolkill
and even Skullkill.

Skoo-kill or Skook-ul

When I was at LaSalle in the early '70s, it was pronounced the "Sure-kill Crawlway."

[Scott M. Kozel]

Post by Kevin Flynn

Post by Scott M. Kozel

Post by Coconut

I think the ultimate test is Philadelphia's Schuylkill Expressway.

How do they pronounce it? I've heard it pronounced Skykill, Schoolkill
and even Skullkill.

Skoo-kill or Skook-ul

When I was at LaSalle in the early '70s, it was pronounced the "Sure-kill Crawlway."

In the Philly area, I've also heard it called the "Surekill Parking Lot".

--
Scott M. Kozel Highway and Transportation History Websites
Virginia/Maryland/Washington, D.C. http://www.roadstothefuture.com
Philadelphia and Delaware Valley http://www.pennways.com

[Kevin Flynn]

Post by Scott M. Kozel

Post by Kevin Flynn

Post by Scott M. Kozel

Post by Coconut

I think the ultimate test is Philadelphia's Schuylkill Expressway.

How do they pronounce it? I've heard it pronounced Skykill, Schoolkill
and even Skullkill.

Skoo-kill or Skook-ul

When I was at LaSalle in the early '70s, it was pronounced the "Sure-kill Crawlway."

In the Philly area, I've also heard it called the "Surekill Parking Lot".

Yes, the world's longest linear parking lot. I always liked to thnk
while sitting in traffic along the refineries in South Philly that I
wasn't actually consuming any fuel; the engine was idling off the air
around it.

[Exile on Market Street]

Post by Larry Gould
I think the ultimate test is Philadelphia's Schuykill Expressway.

Spelled that way, it's not.

Spelled correctly -- "Schuylkill" -- it is. The trap is found in the
first "l". The local pronunciation is as spelled in Larry's post, with
the first "l" dropped.

[Chris Bessert]

Post by Larry Scholnick
Here in the Los Angeles area, there are several major streets whose names
are often pronounced incorrectly (or at least, not in conformance with local
pronunciation convention) by many out-of towners.
sep-pul-VEE-dah; the local pronunciation convention is: sep-PUL-veh-dah
(where PUL rhymes with NULL, not PULL). Another is LA CIENEGA Blvd; the
local pronunciation is LA SEE-ENN-eh-gah.
Another out-of-towner detector is RODEO. In Beverly Hills, it's row-DAY-oh
Drive; nearby in Los Angeles it's ROW-dee-oh Road.
Are there any published guides to road name pronunciation that a traveler
can consult to find the local pronunciation for road names.

Nothing published...

But since the thread has been started, I'll throw in some Michigan
roads which people have problems with:

o Dequindre (Metro Detroit) - "duh-QWIN-der"
o Chene (Detroit) - "shane"
o Schoenherr (Detroit) - "SHAY-ner" or "SHANE-err"
o Lahser (Metro Detroit) - "LAH-sir" [1]
o Livernois (Detroit) - "LIVER-noy" not "LIVER-noys"
o Gratiot (Metro Detroit) - "GRAH-shit" not "gra-TOY-it"
o Okemos (Metro Lansing) - "OH-kuh-miss" not "oh-KEE-mose"
o Laplaisance (Monroe) - "la-PLEH-zints"
o Maple (Oakland Co) - "FIF-teen myle" :^)
o ...among many others!

[1] subject to great debate, however, with some maintaining it's always
been pronounced "LASH-er"...

Later,
Chris

[Some One]

Post by Chris Bessert
o Lahser (Metro Detroit) - "LAH-sir" [1]

I've lived in the metro Detroit area all my life and I've always heard it
pronounced Lasher until 20 years ago or so, when we started getting out-of-
town radio personalities.

Post by Chris Bessert
o Maple (Oakland Co) - "FIF-teen myle" :^)

I've been caught!

There are two others that always get my attention:

Davison (pronounced DAV-i-son, not DAV-id-son) referring to the freeway in
Detroit.

Mackinac (pronounced MAC-ki-naw, not MAC-ki-nack)

[Keith]

Post by Some One

Post by Chris Bessert
o Lahser (Metro Detroit) - "LAH-sir" [1]

I've lived in the metro Detroit area all my life and I've always heard it
pronounced Lasher until 20 years ago or so, when we started getting out-of-
town radio personalities.

Post by Chris Bessert
o Maple (Oakland Co) - "FIF-teen myle" :^)

I've been caught!
Davison (pronounced DAV-i-son, not DAV-id-son) referring to the freeway in
Detroit.
Mackinac (pronounced MAC-ki-naw, not MAC-ki-nack)

My dad says Lasher instead of Lahser. Lasher sounds better. How about
the city of Lima, OH? It's pronounced like the bean, not the city in
Peru.

[Chris Bessert]

Post by Some One

Post by Chris Bessert
o Maple (Oakland Co) - "FIF-teen myle" :^)

I've been caught!

Other similar ones that get people:

o Big Beaver and/or Quarton - "SIX-teen myle"
o Baseline - "ATE-myle"
o Northwestern (s. of I-696 only) - "lahj" or "JON-lahj"
o Earle Memorial Hwy - "van DIKE"
o US-127 (n. of Lansing only) - "twunny-SEH-vin"
o Paul B. Henry Freeway - "sowth BELT-lyne"
o M-28, US-41 - "out dare on dat twunny-EIGHT, eh?" or
"out dare on dat FORDY-wun, yah hey?"

Post by Some One
Davison (pronounced DAV-i-son, not DAV-id-son) referring to the freeway in
Detroit.

See, that's what's hard about growing up in Michigan -- you often
aren't aware of what gives out-of-towners and transplants fits! I grew
up hearing the Davison Frwy and the City of Davison (near Flint)
pronounced "DAY-vih-sin". It wasn't until I was much older that I
started hearing the "Phantom D" being pronouced and wondering where
those people were from...

Post by Some One
Mackinac (pronounced MAC-ki-naw, not MAC-ki-nack)

Again, having grown up understanding that "ac" can be pronouced "aw",
I still cringe any time I hear someone way "MACK-in-ACK." It sounds,
I dunno, so harsh and sharp sounding. Hard to explain. I blame the
dorks in Mackinaw City for resorting to the British spelling so many
years back. Now, all those tourists figure anything ending in "ac"
just MUST be different, because Mackinaw City ends in "aw!"

Personally, I'd rather do away with the "aw" spelling altogether. You'd
have "Mackinac City" on the south side of the Straits, "Mackinac State
Forest" and "Mackinaw Rd" in Saginaw & Bay Counties would change to
"Mackinac Rd."

I Have Spoken,
Chris

[Some One]

Post by Chris Bessert

Post by Some One
Mackinac (pronounced MAC-ki-naw, not MAC-ki-nack)

Again, having grown up understanding that "ac" can be pronouced "aw",
I still cringe any time I hear someone way "MACK-in-ACK." It sounds,
I dunno, so harsh and sharp sounding. Hard to explain. I blame the
dorks in Mackinaw City for resorting to the British spelling so many
years back. Now, all those tourists figure anything ending in "ac"
just MUST be different, because Mackinaw City ends in "aw!"
Personally, I'd rather do away with the "aw" spelling altogether.
You'd have "Mackinac City" on the south side of the Straits, "Mackinac
State Forest" and "Mackinaw Rd" in Saginaw & Bay Counties would change
to "Mackinac Rd."

Hmmm, I have to think about this one. The aw spelling makes more sense and
would be unlikely to get mispronounced but, at the same time, I like the
uniqueness of the ac spelling.

[Larry Harvilla]

Post by Chris Bessert
o M-28, US-41 - "out dare on dat twunny-EIGHT, eh?" or
"out dare on dat FORDY-wun, yah hey?"

Oh yah, in my rusty pickup truck in eight feeta snow, eh? You betcha.

[Chris Bessert]

Post by Larry Harvilla

Post by Chris Bessert
o M-28, US-41 - "out dare on dat twunny-EIGHT, eh?" or
"out dare on dat FORDY-wun, yah hey?"

Oh yah, in my rusty pickup truck in eight feeta snow, eh? You betcha.

Yah, I got to go downuhda Shopko to pick up da layaway, eh?

Later,
Chris

[Larry Harvilla]

Post by Chris Bessert

Post by Larry Harvilla

Post by Chris Bessert
o M-28, US-41 - "out dare on dat twunny-EIGHT, eh?" or
"out dare on dat FORDY-wun, yah hey?"

Oh yah, in my rusty pickup truck in eight feeta snow, eh? You betcha.

Yah, I got to go downuhda Shopko to pick up da layaway, eh?
Later,
Chris

And while I'm dere, I gotta go Maynards to get da wife a new shovel. She
gotta stop wearin umm out, eh? :)

Actually, in true Yooper usage, you probably could have gotten away with
"go Shopko." I've heard the word "to," as in "go to _____," omitted and
just "go ____" (place name) used.

[Keith]

Post by Larry Harvilla

Post by Chris Bessert

Post by Larry Harvilla

Post by Chris Bessert
o M-28, US-41 - "out dare on dat twunny-EIGHT, eh?" or
"out dare on dat FORDY-wun, yah hey?"

Oh yah, in my rusty pickup truck in eight feeta snow, eh? You betcha.

Yah, I got to go downuhda Shopko to pick up da layaway, eh?
Later,
Chris

And while I'm dere, I gotta go Maynards to get da wife a new shovel. She
gotta stop wearin umm out, eh? :)
Actually, in true Yooper usage, you probably could have gotten away with
"go Shopko." I've heard the word "to," as in "go to _____," omitted and
just "go ____" (place name) used.

Lame.

[Larry Harvilla]

Post by Larry Harvilla

Post by Chris Bessert

Post by Larry Harvilla

Post by Chris Bessert
o M-28, US-41 - "out dare on dat twunny-EIGHT, eh?" or
"out dare on dat FORDY-wun, yah hey?"

Oh yah, in my rusty pickup truck in eight feeta snow, eh? You betcha.

Yah, I got to go downuhda Shopko to pick up da layaway, eh?
Later,
Chris

And while I'm dere, I gotta go Maynards to get da wife a new shovel. She
gotta stop wearin umm out, eh? :)
Actually, in true Yooper usage, you probably could have gotten away with
"go Shopko." I've heard the word "to," as in "go to _____," omitted and
just "go ____" (place name) used.

Lame.

Only because you know you wouldn't last 10 seconds up there. I understand
they have a year-round Keith-hunting season ...

Really, boy, you need to get yourself some sisu, as Yoopers would say ...

[Chris Bessert]

Post by Larry Harvilla

Lame.

Only because you know you wouldn't last 10 seconds up there. I understand
they have a year-round Keith-hunting season ...
Really, boy, you need to get yourself some sisu, as Yoopers would say ...

Larry: It's not worth it. To me it's becoming clear Keith's only
desire is to make smartass little remarks in the hopes that it will
prompt some kind of big online brouhaha. Remember the "Meeting!"
thread? Ninety-nine percent of it was people letting Keith know how
much of an asshole he is here, but he was *still* thrilled by it all!
Yes, it's inconceivable by the rest of us that he would revel in
everyone insulting him back, but it's clear he's not like the rest
of us. I'm all for letting him sit in his own mess. He's not worth
my time. He can make implications about my sexual orientation all
he wants, but I really don't care. He'll only look like an even bigger
fool (is that possible?) when I don't respond.

At least that's *my* two cents. It'll be hard to give up this round
of "punch the buffoon," but I think it's worth it...

Later,
Chris

--
Chris Bessert
***@aol.com
http://www.michiganhighways.org
http://www.wisconsinhighways.org
http://www.ontariohighways.org

[Chris Aseltine]

Post by Chris Bessert
Larry: It's not worth it. To me it's becoming clear Keith's only
desire is to make smartass little remarks in the hopes that it will
prompt some kind of big online brouhaha.

If only we were all as insightful as you.

[Don't Follow The Balls When They Make The Street]

Brouhaha? Ha! Ha! Ha!

[James C. Schul]

Post by Chris Bessert
o Livernois (Detroit) - "LIVER-noy" not "LIVER-noys"

One way to remember this is that it rhymes with Illinois! That
despite the fact I've always heard the last syllable
stressed--"ill-uh-NOY".

-James, who notes that Illinoisans hate pronunciation of the "s" in
the "Land of Lincoln"

[Chris Bessert]

Post by James C. Schul

Post by Chris Bessert
o Livernois (Detroit) - "LIVER-noy" not "LIVER-noys"

One way to remember this is that it rhymes with Illinois! That
despite the fact I've always heard the last syllable
stressed--"ill-uh-NOY".
-James, who notes that Illinoisans hate pronunciation of the "s" in
the "Land of Lincoln"

Maybe if they learned how to drive, we'd stop purposely mispronouncing
their state.

Having lived in Holland, Michigan in the past, I got a quick education
on all the Chicagoans coming up the eastern Lake Michigan coast to
vacation. I liked to call them "Ill-annoyances" or just plain "Ill-
annoying." Basically, it seems anyone with Illinois plates on Michigan
freeways drives either 20 or 90. That's it. You have those slowpokes
at 20 mph who are apparently in awe over that large body of water they
can see from the highway... you know, THE SAME DAMN ONE THEY CAN SEE
FROM CHICAGO!! You have to swerve to miss hitting them. Then you have
those who do 90 mph and you can't get out of their way fast enough.

Later,
Chris

[Mark Stauter]

Post by James C. Schul
Illinoisans hate pronunciation of the "s"

Indeed. The correct pronunciation is, of course, EEL - luh - NWAH. 8-)

Mark Stauter
Rolla (RAWL - uh, not ROLL - uh), Mo.

[Basiltoe345]

Post by James C. Schul
One way to remember this is that it rhymes with Illinois! That
despite the fact I've always heard the last syllable
stressed--"ill-uh-NOY".
-James, who notes that Illinoisans hate pronunciation of the "s" in
the "Land of Lincoln"

That's totally true about the "s" thing, but I have noticed there is a bone of
contension in the pronunciation in the FIRST syllible amongst Illinois
Residents.

ILL-in-oy vs. ELL-in-oy
&
mILK vs. mELK*

*to me it seems, that the same people who say Ellinois, also say Melk, but I
have heard exceptions!

I wonder if anyone else has noticed this other than me

also I find it a wonder that in Illinois where the "S" is always silent, we say
DeS PlaineS "dis splains" and not "De Plaine"

however when we refer to Iowa's capital, we then get it right

if fact when I was little and playing with my first map of the U.S. I called
Des Moines,
"dezz MOY ness" not knowing the diff.

and what about Joliet
"Jolly-et" or "Joe-ly-et" I don't know
but I know we will never hear "jhol-lee-ay"

[Wally Sevits]

Post by Chris Bessert
But since the thread has been started, I'll throw in some Michigan
o Lahser (Metro Detroit) - "LAH-sir" [1]
[1] subject to great debate, however, with some maintaining it's always
been pronounced "LASH-er"...

I recall it as "LAH-SHER" with equal stress on each syllable.

As from this radio jingle:

See Dexter Chevrolet on Eight Mile Road
The Big Dealer on the Big Road
Dexter Chevrolet on Eight Mile Road
Between LAH-SHER and EV-ER-GREEN...


TAZ

[Mitsguy2001]

Subject: Road name pronunciation
Date: 5/17/2004 11:36 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Here in the Los Angeles area, there are several major streets whose names
are often pronounced incorrectly (or at least, not in conformance with local
pronunciation convention) by many out-of towners.
sep-pul-VEE-dah; the local pronunciation convention is: sep-PUL-veh-dah
(where PUL rhymes with NULL, not PULL). Another is LA CIENEGA Blvd; the
local pronunciation is LA SEE-ENN-eh-gah.
Another out-of-towner detector is RODEO. In Beverly Hills, it's row-DAY-oh
Drive; nearby in Los Angeles it's ROW-dee-oh Road.

I think that one is fairly well known. Another example is Houston Street, in
New York City. It's pronounced "HOW-stun". It is not pronounced like the city
in Texas with the same spelling.

[Mike Tantillo]

Post by Larry Scholnick
Here in the Los Angeles area, there are several major streets whose names
are often pronounced incorrectly (or at least, not in conformance with local
pronunciation convention) by many out-of towners.
sep-pul-VEE-dah; the local pronunciation convention is: sep-PUL-veh-dah
(where PUL rhymes with NULL, not PULL). Another is LA CIENEGA Blvd; the
local pronunciation is LA SEE-ENN-eh-gah.
Another out-of-towner detector is RODEO. In Beverly Hills, it's row-DAY-oh
Drive; nearby in Los Angeles it's ROW-dee-oh Road.
Are there any published guides to road name pronunciation that a traveler
can consult to find the local pronunciation for road names.

Houston street in NYC is a biggie! Not like the city in texas, but
"HOUSE-ton", like the thing we live in and the measure of weight.

Here in Charlottesville, we have Rio Road....."r-EYE-oh" road, not
"r-EE-oh" road. And of course, anyone who refers to Jefferson Park
Ave by its full name is from out of town....to us, its plain old JPA.
Even the postman manages to get letters addressed only as "JPA" to my
mailbox!

[Scott M. Kozel]

Post by Mike Tantillo
Houston street in NYC is a biggie! Not like the city in texas, but
"HOUSE-ton", like the thing we live in and the measure of weight.
Here in Charlottesville, we have Rio Road....."r-EYE-oh" road, not
"r-EE-oh" road. And of course, anyone who refers to Jefferson Park
Ave by its full name is from out of town....to us, its plain old JPA.
Even the postman manages to get letters addressed only as "JPA" to my
mailbox!

A couple roads in the Richmond area that are pronounced differently from
how they look, are Parham Avenue, pronounced "PAIR-um", the first
syllable rhyming with the fruit "pair", and Cowardin Avenue (part of
US-1 in Richmond), pronounced "coe-WORE-din", with "coe" rhyming with
"toe".

--
Scott M. Kozel Highway and Transportation History Websites
Virginia/Maryland/Washington, D.C. http://www.roadstothefuture.com
Philadelphia and Delaware Valley http://www.pennways.com

[Andy P. Jung]

Post by Larry Scholnick
Here in the Los Angeles area, there are several major streets whose names
are often pronounced incorrectly (or at least, not in conformance with local
pronunciation convention) by many out-of towners.
sep-pul-VEE-dah; the local pronunciation convention is: sep-PUL-veh-dah
(where PUL rhymes with NULL, not PULL). Another is LA CIENEGA Blvd; the
local pronunciation is LA SEE-ENN-eh-gah.
Another out-of-towner detector is RODEO. In Beverly Hills, it's row-DAY-oh
Drive; nearby in Los Angeles it's ROW-dee-oh Road.
Are there any published guides to road name pronunciation that a traveler
can consult to find the local pronunciation for road names.

In New Orleans we have
Burgundy St.
Calliope St.
Socrates St.
How about the New Orleans suburb of Metairie?

Tchoupitoulas St.
http://www.gumbopages.com/yatspeak.html

[Dan Hartung]

Post by Larry Scholnick
Here in the Los Angeles area, there are several major streets whose names
are often pronounced incorrectly (or at least, not in conformance with local
pronunciation convention) by many out-of towners.

Something I wrote on the topic on Metafilter ages ago:
http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/7556#79994

(I googled it looking for anything new on the RAY-seen question -- all I
found was this blog entry:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/katu/662841.html
)

It's OT because in Janesville we have a "Racine St.", and someone just
asked me for directions the other day to "RAY seen street". I told them
where RUH seen street was, though.

It's easy to find anyplace with lots of foreign names, though, having
this sort of problem (or useful trip-up, depending on your perspective)
-- French, Spanish, and Indian names predominating this genre. In
Wisconsin, lots of the latter give you placenames like "Minocqua" (long
OH" -- filtered through French no doubt). The one that used to drive me
crazy was the local newscaster who pronounced "muhnROW" as "MONNrow"
(apparently that's the way it's pronounced in Louisiana, where he wasn't
from).

A good general rule of thumb is that a name established over a century
ago may have been badly mangled in translation. Hence, KAYrow (Cairo),
Illinois, New MADrid MO, etc. Our forefathers tended toward pronouncing
things as they appeared to be spelled; linguistic overcorrection in the
20th century results in faux "proper" pronunciations, such as "forTAY"
for forte, lahn-zhee-RAY for "lingerie" (LAN zhay ree). The British, in
general, retain the original mangled pronunciation, which is a useful
marker for British v. American English.

[I-420]

You can definitely tell an out-of-towner in Atlanta that doesn't
automatically known how to say Ponce De Leon Drive. It can really get
funny :D

Post by Larry Scholnick
Here in the Los Angeles area, there are several major streets whose names
are often pronounced incorrectly (or at least, not in conformance with local
pronunciation convention) by many out-of towners.
sep-pul-VEE-dah; the local pronunciation convention is: sep-PUL-veh-dah
(where PUL rhymes with NULL, not PULL). Another is LA CIENEGA Blvd; the
local pronunciation is LA SEE-ENN-eh-gah.
Another out-of-towner detector is RODEO. In Beverly Hills, it's row-DAY-oh
Drive; nearby in Los Angeles it's ROW-dee-oh Road.
Are there any published guides to road name pronunciation that a traveler
can consult to find the local pronunciation for road names.

[Steve]

Post by I-420
You can definitely tell an out-of-towner in Atlanta that doesn't
automatically known how to say Ponce De Leon Drive. It can really get
funny :D

Isn't that Floridian? I always pronounce it Ponse Dih Lee-own.

[Bartolo]

Post by Larry Scholnick
Here in the Los Angeles area, there are several major streets whose names
are often pronounced incorrectly (or at least, not in conformance with local
pronunciation convention) by many out-of towners.
sep-pul-VEE-dah; the local pronunciation convention is: sep-PUL-veh-dah
(where PUL rhymes with NULL, not PULL). Another is LA CIENEGA Blvd; the
local pronunciation is LA SEE-ENN-eh-gah.
Another out-of-towner detector is RODEO. In Beverly Hills, it's row-DAY-oh
Drive; nearby in Los Angeles it's ROW-dee-oh Road.
Are there any published guides to road name pronunciation that a traveler
can consult to find the local pronunciation for road names.

In Ontario, CAN
Toronto is said by many locals tor-o-noe
Yonge St. as in young
Don Valley Parkway is often called just the DVP
Windsor said win-ser
Ottawa is Oddawa
My hometown of Wiarton is said Yer-ton

[Chris Bessert]

Post by Bartolo
[...]
Ottawa is Oddawa

This is interesting to note. I live in West Michigan, a few miles
from Ottawa County and have also been to Ottawa, Ontario many times.
(Ottawa is a nice city, BTW, and I highly-reccommend a visit!)

Anyway, the two are pronounced differently, likely due to one of those
minor linguistic differences between the U.S. and Canada:

o Ottawa County, Michigan: "AAAH-duh-wuh"
o Ottawa, Ontario: "AWE-duh-WAW"

Of course, speaking of linguistic differences, I always love to quote
the differences between "produce" (e.g. lettuce, corn, beets) and
"process" (e.g. the steps you take in doing something):

U.S.: "PRO-dooce" / "PRAW-sess"
Canada: "PRAW-juice" / "PRO-sess"

Funny how those are flipped around like that, eh?

Later,
Chris

--
Chris Bessert
***@aol.com
http://www.michiganhighways.org
http://www.wisconsinhighways.org
http://www.ontariohighways.org

[On the Woad Again]

Post by Chris Bessert

Post by Bartolo
[...]
Ottawa is Oddawa

This is interesting to note. I live in West Michigan, a few miles
from Ottawa County and have also been to Ottawa, Ontario many times.
(Ottawa is a nice city, BTW, and I highly-reccommend a visit!)
Anyway, the two are pronounced differently, likely due to one of those
o Ottawa County, Michigan: "AAAH-duh-wuh"
o Ottawa, Ontario: "AWE-duh-WAW"
Of course, speaking of linguistic differences, I always love to quote
the differences between "produce" (e.g. lettuce, corn, beets) and
U.S.: "PRO-dooce" / "PRAW-sess"
Canada: "PRAW-juice" / "PRO-sess"
Funny how those are flipped around like that, eh?

Arkansas (the State): AR-kan-saw

Arkansas City (the town) ar-KAN-sas city






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[John Mara]

Post by On the Woad Again
Arkansas (the State): AR-kan-saw
Arkansas City (the town) ar-KAN-sas city

Pittsfield, Mass has Onota Street and Onota Lake pronounced uh-NO-tuh

John Mara