I'm not sure where to put this and I don't see any such topic being discussed anywhere. I was just looking at some of Detroit's city streets that are are hard to pronounce. The Detroit streets mentioned are Gratiot, Cadieux, Livernois, Schoenherr, Charlevoix and Dequindre. There are of course several other examples within the city limits. I know there are other examples out there.
The way I at least pronounce these streets are Gra-shit, Cad ju, Liver-noy, Shane-err, Char-lo-voy, De-quin-der.
Only one I can think of for Boston is Kilmarnock St near Fenway.
Tchoupitoulas Street in New Orleans is the first thing that comes to mind. Out here, the only one I've heard occasionally mispronounced is Iliff Ave. (EYE-liff).
This isn't a street but a town in Long Island:
It's called Quogue. Pronounced "Kwog" supposedly.
Quote from: MultiMillionMiler on February 22, 2023, 09:14:16 PM
This isn't a street but a town in Long Island:
It's called Quoque. Pronounced "Kwog" supposedly.
It's Quogue. Quoque is a Latin word that's pronounced entirely differently.
The only three I can think right now for Kitchener-Waterloo, ON:
- Weber St: pronounced WEE-ber ['wibɚ]
- Krug St: pronounced KROOG ['kɹug]
- Daimler Dr: pronounced DIME-ler ['daimlɚ]
That's how I'd pronounce all three not knowing better, especially the last two where Krug is a famous champagne and Daimler as in Daimler-Chrysler. Weber could go either way, but there's a university in Utah called Weber State pronounced like that.
Maybe not difficult, but a regional variation: in MSP, Nicollet Avenue/Nicollet Mall is pronounced "Nickel-it." In other areas of the Great Lakes where the French explorer Nicolet's name is used, it's closer to the proper French "Nickel-ay" .
A lot of non-locals seem to get confused by things named for Spokane (including a major freeway in Seattle). It's Spo-CAN, not CANE.
Same can be said for a few indigenous-derived names, which is probably a trend nationally. The UW campus has streets named for all of WA's counties, which include a few shibboleths. Some streets are being given new Lushootseed names (such as sluʔwiɫ on the UW campus) without Anglicized alternatives.
Erskine Way in West Seattle also seems to trip people up, but it's Scottish in origin.
Tonnelle Avenue in Hudson county is pronounced TUNNEL-ee. Also, there is an alternative spelling Tonnele which seems to be the official name of the street in Jersey City. The signage is inconsistent and you see both spellings all over the place.
I was actually driving around Detroit with a friend of mine about 10 years ago and we were on Dequindre and he isn't from Detroit but rather was born in Houston and had lived in Lansing and Saginaw in Michigan. So he asked me how to pronounce the name of the street and I just said De-quin-der.
Quote from: Flint1979 on February 22, 2023, 08:28:01 PM
I'm not sure where to put this and I don't see any such topic being discussed anywhere. I was just looking at some of Detroit's city streets that are are hard to pronounce. The Detroit streets mentioned are Gratiot, Cadieux, Livernois, Schoenherr, Charlevoix and Dequindre. There are of course several other examples within the city limits. I know there are other examples out there.
The way I at least pronounce these streets are Gra-shit, Cad ju, Liver-noy, Shane-err, Char-lo-voy, De-quin-der.
Yeah, Detroit butchers the pronunciation of their old French names. The Google Map lady has problems with Schoenherr (I think it is pronounced pretty close to the German).
Another one that's often mispronounced, even though it's not hard, is Lahser - many say "lash-er".
Edit: Grand Rapids is not much better with French words. Campeau becomes "cam-paw".
The two most-mispronounced I can think of off the top of my head are both in New York:
Houston Street is not pronounced like the name of the city in Texas; rather, the "ou" is pronounced like the sound one makes that denotes pain ("HOW-stun" Street).
Schermerhorn Street in Brooklyn is not a Yiddish name, so the "Sch" is not pronounced as in "schmuck" or "schmear" but rather like an "Sk" sound. That's the one part everyone agrees on. The street name is variously pronounced like "SKEM-a-horn," "SKEM-er-horn," "SKIM-a-horn," or "SKIM-er-horn." The main thing that determines whether a given person pronounces the middle part as an "a" or an "er" is how much of a Brooklyn accent the person has. My grandfather always used the first of those four pronunciations, which is why I also pronounce it that way, but then he also elided a lot of other "er" sounds as "a" (an example was when he once used the word "trimesta"–he was referring to some schools that were discussing a switch from two semesters to three trimesters).
Another that is often mispronounced is Rio Road in Charlottesville. The "i" is a long "i" sound–it's like rye bread with an "o" on the end, as "RYE-oh," not like the name of the river on the US/Mexico border or the city in Brazil. There are various explanations for why it's pronounced the way it is, but I don't think anyone knows which is correct.
(Come to think of it, I'm sure we've had this sort of thread before because I'm sure I've mentioned Rio Road in this context. –Edited to clarify that it looks like we haven't done street names per se, but they've occasionally come up in threads about place names.)
Quote from: Flint1979 on February 22, 2023, 08:28:01 PM
.... Gratiot ....
The way I at least pronounce these streets are Gra-shit ....
So our late unlamented forum member who posted car horn videos from Illinois was misspelling his name all along and it should have been Cratiot.
:bigass:
In Milwaukee, WI, the locals regularly refer to S Kinnickinnic Ave (WI 32) as "KK". The first time that I heard that as a kid, I was looking all over a metro area street map for 'Milwaukee County 'KK''.
Mike
Boeke Rd in Evansville is a local shibboleth that I fortunately learned about early in my time living here. It's "BAY-kee" (a testament to the German roots of many parts of the city).
In the St. Charles, MO area, there's a Muegge Rd, and I know I've had it sounded out for me before but I forget how it's pronounced.
Jamacha Boulevard on the outskirts of San Diego used to confuse me. It's pronounced Ham-a-shaw, but I used to always think it was Ha-mah-cha.
In downtown Chicago, Ida B. Wells Drive is pronounced CONG-griss PARK-way.
Quote from: JayhawkCO on February 22, 2023, 09:04:09 PM
Tchoupitoulas Street in New Orleans is the first thing that comes to mind. Out here, the only one I've heard occasionally mispronounced is Iliff Ave. (EYE-liff).
Speaking of New Orleans, Chartres Street is often mispronounced. People may pronounce it as Char-tres (like it looks) or even Charter. It's char-turs.
Couldn't help thinking of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMU9px1pBbY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMU9px1pBbY)
When I was a kid, I thought Gough Street in San Francisco was pronounced similar to the painter (Vincent Van Gogh) as opposed to rhyming with "cough."
Here's a whole article on Bay Area place and street name pronunciations:
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/How-to-pronounce-Bay-Area-landmarks-streets-and-7287451.php
Quote from: TheStranger on February 23, 2023, 04:48:23 PM
When I was a kid, I thought Gough Street in San Francisco was pronounced similar to the painter (Vincent Van Gogh) as opposed to rhyming with "cough."
He was Dutch. Rhyming with 'cough' is pretty darned close to the actual pronunciation.
Quote from: 1995hoo on February 23, 2023, 08:29:55 AM
The two most-mispronounced I can think of off the top of my head are both in New York:
Houston Street is not pronounced like the name of the city in Texas; rather, the "ou" is pronounced like the sound one makes that denotes pain ("HOW-stun" Street).
Schermerhorn Street in Brooklyn is not a Yiddish name, so the "Sch" is not pronounced as in "schmuck" or "schmear" but rather like an "Sk" sound. That's the one part everyone agrees on. The street name is variously pronounced like "SKEM-a-horn," "SKEM-er-horn," "SKIM-a-horn," or "SKIM-er-horn." The main thing that determines whether a given person pronounces the middle part as an "a" or an "er" is how much of a Brooklyn accent the person has. My grandfather always used the first of those four pronunciations, which is why I also pronounce it that way, but then he also elided a lot of other "er" sounds as "a" (an example was when he once used the word "trimesta"–he was referring to some schools that were discussing a switch from two semesters to three trimesters).
Another that is often mispronounced is Rio Road in Charlottesville. The "i" is a long "i" sound–it's like rye bread with an "o" on the end, as "RYE-oh," not like the name of the river on the US/Mexico border or the city in Brazil. There are various explanations for why it's pronounced the way it is, but I don't think anyone knows which is correct.
(Come to think of it, I'm sure we've had this sort of thread before because I'm sure I've mentioned Rio Road in this context. –Edited to clarify that it looks like we haven't done street names per se, but they've occasionally come up in threads about place names.)
Quote from: Flint1979 on February 22, 2023, 08:28:01 PM
.... Gratiot ....
The way I at least pronounce these streets are Gra-shit ....
So our late unlamented forum member who posted car horn videos from Illinois was misspelling his name all along and it should have been Cratiot.
:bigass:
Oh we mentioned it a couple years ago I called him crashit on Gratiot.
Quote from: GaryV on February 23, 2023, 08:19:22 AM
Quote from: Flint1979 on February 22, 2023, 08:28:01 PM
I'm not sure where to put this and I don't see any such topic being discussed anywhere. I was just looking at some of Detroit's city streets that are are hard to pronounce. The Detroit streets mentioned are Gratiot, Cadieux, Livernois, Schoenherr, Charlevoix and Dequindre. There are of course several other examples within the city limits. I know there are other examples out there.
The way I at least pronounce these streets are Gra-shit, Cad ju, Liver-noy, Shane-err, Char-lo-voy, De-quin-der.
Yeah, Detroit butchers the pronunciation of their old French names. The Google Map lady has problems with Schoenherr (I think it is pronounced pretty close to the German).
Another one that's often mispronounced, even though it's not hard, is Lahser - many say "lash-er".
Edit: Grand Rapids is not much better with French words. Campeau becomes "cam-paw".
I'm trying to remember how that lady pronounces Schoenherr but I know it's not how it's really pronounced. I say that one Lah-sur it's kind of how it looks but a little different. We also have all the Indian names.
^ Pretty close to "shone-her"
She learned Dequindre now. I forget how she first butchered it.
Quote from: GaryV on February 23, 2023, 05:03:00 PM
^ Pretty close to "shone-her"
She learned Dequindre now. I forget how she first butchered it.
I can kind of remember a little bit about it now.
In Brampton, ON: Chinguacousy Rd (I think it's pronounced "Chi-coo-see"? At least that's what the traffic reporter said).
I can also think of one that is difficult for people to spell:
Eglinton Avenue in Toronto, people seem to misspell it as "Eglington". I'm pretty sure I've seen that misspelling on these forums as well as on Travelmapping forums.
A few near me
1. Boudinot Ave. Locals all pronounce it BOO-de-no (close to the French), but most GPS systems pronounce it BOW-di-not (BOW like bending at the waist, not a ribbon).
2. LaBoiteaux Ave (and Park). Most people I know say la-BOY-toe, but being a French major myself, I usually say la-bwah-TOE (not exactly how a true Frenchman would pronounce it, but closer).
3. Reading Road (and the town it runs through) - it's pronounced like Redding, CA, but newcomers sometimes pronounce it like "reading a book"
People often mispronounce Wabash Avenue in Lakeland, Florida as Wah Bosch. It's wah bish.
Quote from: kphoger on February 23, 2023, 03:17:47 PM
In downtown Chicago, Ida B. Wells Drive is pronounced CONG-griss PARK-way.
In New York, the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge is pronounced TAP-paan ZEE Bridge.
Ponce De Leon Avenue is a major road in eastern Atlanta named for the Spanish explorer. It is not at all pronounced like the Spanish, but rather just "PONSS duh LEE-ahn". But even if you get that right, you'll still get weird looks - I never encountered anyone who didn't just call it Ponce.
Also, a surprising number of people not from the area had trouble with "Chattahoochee", which is pronounced exactly as it's spelled - chat-uh-HOO-chee. I guess it has enough letters to throw people off.
A handful of good ones here in Tallahassee:
- Blountstown St - BLUNTS-town, named for the city it goes to
- Brevard St - bruh-VARD, like the county
- Bronough St - BRU-no (don't ask)
- FAMU Way - yes, this is its actual name, and it's FAM-you
- Ocala Rd - o-CAL-uh, like the city (a lot of people will say oh-CALL-uh)
- Ochlockonee Rd, also the river - o-CLOCK-nee (fun side note: the river and a town named after it are spelled Ochlocknee in Georgia, which makes a bit more sense)
- Monticello Dr - mon-ti-SELL-o, like the city not far east
Quote from: 7/8 on February 22, 2023, 11:21:53 PM
The only three I can think right now for Kitchener-Waterloo, ON:
- Weber St: pronounced WEE-ber ['wibɚ]
Quote from: JayhawkCO on February 22, 2023, 11:41:22 PM
That's how I'd pronounce all three not knowing better [...] Weber could go either way, but there's a university in Utah called Weber State pronounced like that.
There's more than a university - there's a county, a couple cities/communities, and a river all named "Weber", so it comes up a fair amount. If you pronounce it "webber" like the grill, you instantly identify yourself as an outsider.
I was told in Wichita, KS that Greenwich is pronounced as it's written. Plus the Arkansas River is not pronounced as the state, but as the state that Wichita is in with the prefix R.
My friend Allan who used to live there told me this.
Quote from: TheStranger on February 23, 2023, 04:48:23 PM
When I was a kid, I thought Gough Street in San Francisco was pronounced similar to the painter (Vincent Van Gogh) as opposed to rhyming with "cough."
Here's a whole article on Bay Area place and street name pronunciations:
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/How-to-pronounce-Bay-Area-landmarks-streets-and-7287451.php
There's also a Gough Street in Baltimore that some pronounce "guff", rhyming with "rough".
Quote from: TheStranger on February 23, 2023, 04:48:23 PM
When I was a kid, I thought Gough Street in San Francisco was pronounced similar to the painter (Vincent Van Gogh) as opposed to rhyming with "cough."
Here's a whole article on Bay Area place and street name pronunciations:
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/How-to-pronounce-Bay-Area-landmarks-streets-and-7287451.php
Quote from: epzik8 on February 28, 2023, 07:46:08 PM
There's also a Gough Street in Baltimore that some pronounce "guff", rhyming with "rough".
Gochenhour Road in Woodstock, Virginia is pronounced "goke-ken-hour". But in West Virginia, most folks with that surname pronounce it with a silent "CH" kind of like "go-an-hour".
Quote from: roadman65 on February 28, 2023, 05:47:27 PM
I was told in Wichita, KS that Greenwich is pronounced as it's written.
I've heard native Wichitans pronounce it three different ways: green-witch, grenn-itch, grenn-witch.
The road is presumably named after the tiny unincorporated community called Greenwich, which I believe is pronounced green-witch. Therefore, that's the pronunciation I use for the road as well.
(https://i.imgur.com/LRQEMKJ.png)
Quote from: roadman65 on February 28, 2023, 05:47:27 PM
Plus the Arkansas River is not pronounced as the state, but as the state that Wichita is in with the prefix R.
I've read that arr-kin-saw is also a minority pronunciation of the river's name in Colorado. Maybe someone else can confirm or deny.
Quote from: US 89 on February 28, 2023, 05:25:35 PM
- Ocala Rd - o-CAL-uh, like the city (a lot of people will say oh-CALL-uh)
I've heard a few outsiders / co-workers pronounce it:
OAK-a-luh and that makes me giggle. Probably the most mis-pronounced city in Florida.
Quote
- Bronough St - BRU-no (don't ask)
:-D
In Finland, there are no hard to pronounce street names.
I would have assumed that Ocoee is the most-mispronounced in Florida just because it's not at all apparent how to say it.
Quote from: golden eagle on February 23, 2023, 04:20:39 PM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on February 22, 2023, 09:04:09 PM
Tchoupitoulas Street in New Orleans is the first thing that comes to mind. Out here, the only one I've heard occasionally mispronounced is Iliff Ave. (EYE-liff).
Speaking of New Orleans, Chartres Street is often mispronounced. People may pronounce it as Char-tres (like it looks) or even Charter. It's char-turs.
There is a street here in Houston also named Chartres that runs alongside interstate 69/US 59 on the east side of downtown. Here everyone says "char-tres"
in north Houston there is a Kuykendahl Road and it's pronounce "ker-kin-dall"
Quote from: JayhawkCO on February 22, 2023, 11:41:22 PM
That's how I'd pronounce all three not knowing better, especially the last two where Krug is a famous champagne and Daimler as in Daimler-Chrysler. Weber could go either way, but there's a university in Utah called Weber State pronounced like that.
Fair enough. Weber is most likely to be messed up probably because of the barbecue brand. I've never heard of Krug champagne, so I assumed it'd rhyme with hug, bug, etc. I remember my parents pronouncing Daimler as "DAME-ler" when we first moved here, so that's why I included that one. I guess the streets in my area are easy to pronounce. :)
Quote from: andrepoiy on February 28, 2023, 10:45:59 AM
In Brampton, ON: Chinguacousy Rd (I think it's pronounced "Chi-coo-see"? At least that's what the traffic reporter said).
As someone who grew up in Brampton, I pronounce it "Chin-COO-see" (basically the same, just with the
n).
Coggeshall St in New Bedford, MA. Many including myself pronounce it "KOG-zall"
Locally, we have Humboldt Ave. I've heard "hum-bolt" and "hum-blot".
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on March 06, 2023, 04:15:12 PM
Locally, we have Humboldt Ave. I've heard "hum-bolt" and "hum-blot".
Not exactly a place name, but "Hum-blot" is a candidate for this thread: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=33009.0
Almost certainly a misreading of the letter placement and/or just not knowing how it's said.
On north side of Chicago, Goethe st. Pronounced 'gert-eh' :cool:
Chicago's northern suburbs have Aptakisic Road. The struggle for me is mainly deciding which syllables get emphasis. "APP-tuh-KISS-ick".
Other weird ones in Chicagoland:
-Caton Farm Road (It's a long A. `K-Tun Farm)
-Gougar Road ("ou" as in "loud". GOW-gher)
-Schmale Road (Shmolly)
-Lies Road (Lease)
-Paulina Street (It's a long I, not a Spanish I.)
-Touhy Avenue (TOO-ee)
-Techny Road (TETCH-nee)
-Pfingsten Road (not too hard to figure out, but it's a weird name)
Quote from: Poiponen13 on March 05, 2023, 02:28:08 PM
In Finland, there are no hard to pronounce street names.
Oh really? How about Hylkeenpyytajantie? (https://goo.gl/maps/n4W8tcnDD7gH23jEA)
I always thought Frelinghuysen Avenue in Newark, NJ is hard to pronounce.
Quote from: paulthemapguy on March 12, 2023, 06:15:17 PM
Other weird ones in Chicagoland:
-Caton Farm Road (It's a long A. `K-Tun Farm)
-Gougar Road ("ou" as in "loud". GOW-gher)
-Schmale Road (Shmolly)
-Lies Road (Lease)
-Paulina Street (It's a long I, not a Spanish I.)
-Touhy Avenue (TOO-ee)
-Techny Road (TETCH-nee)
-Pfingsten Road (not too hard to figure out, but it's a weird name)
Wow, I pronounced Lies Road as it's spelled the whole time I lived there! Learn something new every day...
Schmale is second nature to me, considering I used to live less than 500 yards east of it and I used to work less than 400 yards west of it. It's also pretty obviously a German name.
I didn't learn the correct pronunciation of Paulina for several years, probably because I never really had any need to take the Brown Line.
Hmm... I wonder if most outsiders would pronounce Devon Avenue incorrectly.
Quote from: 1995hoo on March 05, 2023, 03:18:19 PM
I would have assumed that Ocoee is the most-mispronounced in Florida just because it's not at all apparent how to say it.
I guess most place names in Florida made it seem less obvious (uh-Co-E) than it should have be; typically long-O for Okeechobee (Oh-key-CHO-bee), Oviedo (O-vey-dough), and Opa-Locka (Opa! Lock-ah) although they're from different origins.
Quote from: kphoger on March 01, 2023, 12:00:28 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on February 28, 2023, 05:47:27 PM
I was told in Wichita, KS that Greenwich is pronounced as it's written.
I've heard native Wichitans pronounce it three different ways: green-witch, grenn-itch, grenn-witch.
The road is presumably named after the tiny unincorporated community called Greenwich, which I believe is pronounced green-witch. Therefore, that's the pronunciation I use for the road as well.
(https://i.imgur.com/LRQEMKJ.png)
Quote from: roadman65 on February 28, 2023, 05:47:27 PM
Plus the Arkansas River is not pronounced as the state, but as the state that Wichita is in with the prefix R.
I've read that arr-kin-saw is also a minority pronunciation of the river's name in Colorado. Maybe someone else can confirm or deny.
I've never heard it the 'kansas' way in my life.
There's a street in Des Moines, that I see on signs as Keo Way, but it's a shortened form of Keo[long unpronounceable sequence] Way.
Anyone from the area, or just know?
One of my relatives grew up on Lake Chadesa Drive in Teays Valley, West Virginia. That word is pronounced the way that every name that ends in an "A" is supposed to be pronounced in West Virginia: Chuh-dess-eee.
Charleston, SC you have Legare Street, pronounced Luh-gree. Huger (a town along with a street) is pronounced Eu-gee.
Hasell St (downtown Charleston) is pronounced Hay-zul.
Old Charlestonians pronounce the Cooper River as Cuh-pur.
SM-G998U
Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on March 14, 2023, 08:28:51 PM
There's a street in Des Moines, that I see on signs as Keo Way, but it's a shortened form of Keo[long unpronounceable sequence] Way.
Anyone from the area, or just know?
I'm not from Des Moines, but my sister and her husband live there, so I've spent a decent amount of time in the city. My understanding is that it's pronounced exactly as I would expect: Keosauqua = kee-uh-SOCK-wuh. Maybe it's just because I've spent my whole life in this part of the Midwest, but that name doesn't throw me off at all.
The french derived street names in Kaukauna, WI (ie: https://goo.gl/maps/EU3nmva83DvWtKbt7
Also, a couple of blocks to the north on Desnoyer St: https://goo.gl/maps/765igBwCXmQyta6w7. (Delanglade St is WI 55)
Mike
Shawano Ave in Green Bay. (The 2nd "A" is not pronounced.)
It is Keosauqua Way. Keosauqua is the Meskawki word for the Des Moines River, translating to "Bend in the River."
Pronounced Kee-eh-sawk-wah
Quote from: Dirt Roads on March 14, 2023, 10:15:51 PM
One of my relatives grew up on Lake Chadesa Drive in Teays Valley, West Virginia. That word is pronounced the way that every name that ends in an "A" is supposed to be pronounced in West Virginia: Chuh-dess-eee.
How do you pronounce Teays?
Near Philadelphia PA, there is a river and places and streets named Schuykill. It;s pronounced "Skookle"
Quote from: kphoger on March 15, 2023, 10:27:54 AM
Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on March 14, 2023, 08:28:51 PM
There's a street in Des Moines, that I see on signs as Keo Way, but it's a shortened form of Keo[long unpronounceable sequence] Way.
Anyone from the area, or just know?
I'm not from Des Moines, but my sister and her husband live there, so I've spent a decent amount of time in the city. My understanding is that it's pronounced exactly as I would expect: Keosauqua = kee-uh-SOCK-wuh. Maybe it's just because I've spent my whole life in this part of the Midwest, but that name doesn't throw me off at all.
It's entirely possible I misread it, the last time I was through there was 2002, and it's sorta lost in the years. I was on a Greyhound, and woke up because 235 seemed like the surface of the moon.
Quote from: Dirt Roads on March 14, 2023, 10:15:51 PM
One of my relatives grew up on Lake Chadesa Drive in Teays Valley, West Virginia. That word is pronounced the way that every name that ends in an "A" is supposed to be pronounced in West Virginia: Chuh-dess-eee.
Quote from: Troubleshooter on March 16, 2023, 04:05:41 PM
How do you pronounce Teays?
Simple. Don't Teays me bro'. My understanding is that the folks in Teays Valley, Pickaway County, Ohio pronounce it the same way (but I don't know, for sure).
Quote from: Sctvhound on March 15, 2023, 09:11:58 AM
Charleston, SC you have Legare Street, pronounced Luh-gree.
Ew. This is the worst butchering of French pronunciation I've heard (well, read) since Fond du Lac.
Speaking of which, every single French street name is hard to pronounce to English speakers. I can't say the same for English names and (most) French speakers, weirdly enough.
Quote from: Sctvhound on March 15, 2023, 09:11:58 AM
Charleston, SC you have Legare Street, pronounced Luh-gree.
Quote from: LilianaUwU on March 16, 2023, 09:59:55 PM
Ew. This is the worst butchering of French pronunciation I've heard (well, read) since Fond du Lac.
Speaking of which, every single French street name is hard to pronounce to English speakers. I can't say the same for English names and (most) French speakers, weirdly enough.
Not every one. In Scary, West Virginia the road on the "back side" of Scary Creek is named Ventroux Road. (It has a St. Albans address). But it is pronounced "vin-true". Not too far off the French pronunciation. Back to our thread, the real reason that Ventroux Road belongs here is that all the locals pronounce it "vin-true holl-lar".
California is full of Spanish/Mexican influence everywhere, and the anglicization of city names and street names is very inconsistent.
We have cities like Camarillo (named after founder of the town, a Mexican-American man named Adolfo Camarillo), and it's pronounced Cam-a-REE-o, giving homage to the pronunciation of the Spanish double L.
Then of course, Spanish city/neighborhood names like Los Angeles, Paso Robles (RO-bowls), and Los Feliz (Laas FEE-lis) are completely anglicized. So, naturally, Los Feliz Blvd is pronounced as such.
Here are some other examples:
El Segundo Blvd (El Seg-UHN-doh)
Van Nuys Blvd (Van EYES)
Hueneme Rd (Why-KNEE-me)
Latigo Canyon Rd (LAH-di-go)
Houston Street in Manhattan is pronounced as if it starts with the word "house," not like the city in Texas.
Quote from: dgolub on March 18, 2023, 08:13:38 AM
Houston Street in Manhattan is pronounced as if it starts with the word "house," not like the city in Texas.
Texans are the ones that say it incorrectly. There are other House-ton Streets around, but only one Hews-ton.
Quote from: formulanone on March 14, 2023, 06:52:48 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on March 05, 2023, 03:18:19 PM
I would have assumed that Ocoee is the most-mispronounced in Florida just because it's not at all apparent how to say it.
I guess most place names in Florida made it seem less obvious (uh-Co-E) than it should have be; typically long-O for Okeechobee (Oh-key-CHO-bee), Oviedo (O-vey-dough), and Opa-Locka (Opa! Lock-ah) although they're from different origins.
I met a guy from near Oviedo once and if I recall correctly, he was insistent that it was pronounced oh-vee-AY-doh.
There's also an Ocoee River in Tennessee and Georgia that's somewhat well known as a white water rafting site, which maybe helps with that one some.
Quote from: LilianaUwU on March 16, 2023, 09:59:55 PM
Speaking of which, every single French street name is hard to pronounce to English speakers.
Well, the abundance of silent letters and vowel sounds that don't exist in English doesn't exactly help... and also it's not quite true. Duchesne, Utah for example is remarkably close to the actual French pronunciation, except for that "ew" sound that doesn't exist in English.
Quote from: RZF on March 18, 2023, 12:19:49 AM
We have cities like Camarillo (named after founder of the town, a Mexican-American man named Adolfo Camarillo), and it's pronounced Cam-a-REE-o, giving homage to the pronunciation of the Spanish double L.
Ironically, the pronunciation you give ignores the double L completely–pretends it doesn't exist.
Quote from: kphoger on March 20, 2023, 09:26:40 AM
Quote from: RZF on March 18, 2023, 12:19:49 AM
We have cities like Camarillo (named after founder of the town, a Mexican-American man named Adolfo Camarillo), and it's pronounced Cam-a-REE-o, giving homage to the pronunciation of the Spanish double L.
Ironically, the pronunciation you give ignores the double L completely–pretends it doesn't exist.
REE-o, REE-yo. Same diff. :D
Only because a lot of people don't even pronounce the the Y in BEYOND.
In contrast, in Spanish that consonant sound is always pronounced. In some contexts and in some cultures it even becomes like English ZH. In northern Mexico, I'd expect to hear the name Carillo pronounced with a voiced palatal fricative (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiced_palatal_fricative), or at least as an approximant (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiced_palatal_lateral_approximant).
The farther away you get from the Rio Grande in Texas, the more Anglicized place names get. Like Alva-RAY-do, RYE-o Vista, A-LEE-do and O-Viil-uh. Then there's the South Texas town of Re-FUR-io, which only gets mentioned in football score reports.
There is a rural road in Saginaw County that is spelled Bueche and I have heard about 3 or 4 different ways of pronouncing it. I think the correct pronunciation is Bu-ch but the first time I heard someone pronounce it they pronounced it Bu-Key.
EDIT: Today I had Waze on and had to use Bueche Road. Waze pronounces it BEACH simple as that.
Chili Ave (NY 33A), which connects Rochester and the town of Chili. Many people think it's pronounced chilly, like the food chili, but it's actually pronounced chai-lye (ryhmes with thigh)
I think I might of mentioned it before, but Bearss Avenue in Tampa, Florida is pronounced Bur ss. Rhymes with purse.
Quote from: webny99 on March 22, 2023, 03:08:02 PM
Chili Ave (NY 33A), which connects Rochester and the town of Chili. Many people think it's pronounced chilly, like the food chili, but it's actually pronounced chai-lye (ryhmes with thigh)
That's the same as Chili, WI ( 'CHAI LIE' ).
Mike
Quote from: Rothman on March 18, 2023, 09:12:28 AM
Quote from: dgolub on March 18, 2023, 08:13:38 AM
Houston Street in Manhattan is pronounced as if it starts with the word "house," not like the city in Texas.
Texans are the ones that say it incorrectly. There are other House-ton Streets around, but only one Hews-ton.
As far as I know, Houston Avenue in Norman is pronounced the same as Houston, Texas. :D
I would also imagine that Houston Street in Broken Arrow is pronounced like the city in Texas, given that the surrounding streets are Galveston, El Paso, Dallas, Fort Worth...
Quote from: Rothman on March 18, 2023, 09:12:28 AM
Quote from: dgolub on March 18, 2023, 08:13:38 AM
Houston Street in Manhattan is pronounced as if it starts with the word "house," not like the city in Texas.
Texans are the ones that say it incorrectly. There are other House-ton Streets around, but only one Hews-ton.
They aren't even named for the same person. Houston, Texas is named for Sam Houston. Houston Street in Manhattan is named for William Houstoun (yes with that spelling). So them being pronounced differently makes sense.
Quote from: Flint1979 on March 23, 2023, 06:54:46 AM
Quote from: Rothman on March 18, 2023, 09:12:28 AM
Quote from: dgolub on March 18, 2023, 08:13:38 AM
Houston Street in Manhattan is pronounced as if it starts with the word "house," not like the city in Texas.
Texans are the ones that say it incorrectly. There are other House-ton Streets around, but only one Hews-ton.
They aren't even named for the same person. Houston, Texas is named for Sam Houston. Houston Street in Manhattan is named for William Houstoun (yes with that spelling). So them being pronounced differently makes sense.
Nah. Sam Houston pronounced his name wrong.
Quote from: dgolub on March 18, 2023, 08:13:38 AM
Houston Street in Manhattan is pronounced as if it starts with the word "house," not like the city in Texas.
Quote from: Rothman on March 18, 2023, 09:12:28 AM
Texans are the ones that say it incorrectly. There are other House-ton Streets around, but only one Hews-ton.
Quote from: Flint1979 on March 23, 2023, 06:54:46 AM
They aren't even named for the same person. Houston, Texas is named for Sam Houston. Houston Street in Manhattan is named for William Houstoun (yes with that spelling). So them being pronounced differently makes sense.
Quote from: Rothman on March 23, 2023, 07:05:45 AM
Nah. Sam Houston pronounced his name wrong.
You'all are just spelling it wrong. In West Virginia, it's spelled "Hugheston". Most of the Hughes in West Virginia were actually Huguenots, but some were Jewish descendants from Wales. I was going to make a joke about how the Dutch would spell Houston, but the Dutch word "huis" (house) is pronounced the same in both of our languages.
Quote from: Dirt Roads on March 23, 2023, 08:51:43 AM
Quote from: dgolub on March 18, 2023, 08:13:38 AM
Houston Street in Manhattan is pronounced as if it starts with the word "house," not like the city in Texas.
Quote from: Rothman on March 18, 2023, 09:12:28 AM
Texans are the ones that say it incorrectly. There are other House-ton Streets around, but only one Hews-ton.
Quote from: Flint1979 on March 23, 2023, 06:54:46 AM
They aren't even named for the same person. Houston, Texas is named for Sam Houston. Houston Street in Manhattan is named for William Houstoun (yes with that spelling). So them being pronounced differently makes sense.
Quote from: Rothman on March 23, 2023, 07:05:45 AM
Nah. Sam Houston pronounced his name wrong.
You'all are just spelling it wrong. In West Virginia, it's spelled "Hugheston". Most of the Hughes in West Virginia were actually Huguenots, but some were Jewish descendants from Wales. I was going to make a joke about how the Dutch would spell Houston, but the Dutch word "huis" (house) is pronounced the same in both of our languages.
I can get behind changing Houston, TX to Hugheston. :D
Nashville's most infamously mispronounced street is Demonbreun St. The correct pronunciation is "Duh-MUN-bree-UN" , but a lot of folks pronounce it "DEE-mun-BROO-un" . Another one is LaFayette St., which is not the French pronunciation but rather "Luh-FAY-it" . Same goes for the little town NE of Nashville.
Two counties south of Nashville is Maury County. It's pronounced like "Murry" instead of like the first name of the talk show host.
Rolater Road in Frisco, TX is continually mispronounced, and it's all because of the newbies. Should be "RAW-luh-ter" but instead it's now suddenly "ROLL-LAY-ter."
Quote from: Road Hog on March 24, 2023, 02:54:31 AM
Rolater Road in Frisco, TX is continually mispronounced, and it's all because of the newbies. Should be "RAW-luh-ter" but instead it's now suddenly "ROLL-LAY-ter."
I guessed it correctly! But, honestly, that's because I've spent way too much time perusing the
Texas Almanac Pronunciation Guide (https://www.texasalmanac.com/drupal-backup/images/topics/TownPronunciationGuide.pdf) (.pdf warning), so by now I'm starting to get a good feel for Texas placename pronunciations.
Quote from: roadman65 on March 22, 2023, 03:15:42 PM
I think I might of mentioned it before, but Bearss Avenue in Tampa, Florida is pronounced Bur ss. Rhymes with purse.
I always said it exactly like the football team, and wondered how they could mess up the spelling.
Around Pittsburgh, there is a river, plus some streets and towns named Monongahela. I'm torn between "mon-un" and "ma-non" for the first two syllables, with the rest being "ga-hee-la"; which one is right?
Quote from: Henry on March 27, 2023, 10:08:49 PM
I always said it exactly like the football team
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