What did you say?
By AnjaP
@Rollo1 (16679)
Boston, Massachusetts
October 21, 2015 7:27pm CST
I was amused by this video that my niece posted on Facebook. It's people from other parts of the US trying to pronounce the names of Massachusetts towns.
The majority of Massachusetts towns and cities originate either with the British colonists, or the Native American tribes that lived here. Even the name Massachusetts is Native American. But we really don't think twice about these names, because we've heard them all our lives. But to people living outside of New England, they could pose some pronunciation problems.
They left a few names off that I might have thrown at this group. Scituate and Woburn come to mind, for instance. But it's the same anywhere you go, some words and names will be pronounced differently than you expect. And you know you've got it wrong when they look at you like you're an idiot.
What words or names where you live get pronounced badly by visitors or tourists?
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13 people like this
14 responses
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
22 Oct 15
Hey I live in TN and a lot of our names are Indian names and you should hear what people do them!
2 people like this
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
22 Oct 15
@Rollo1 The correct spelling was harder than pronouncing them correctly.
2 people like this
@tuttiharris (1338)
• Chattanooga, Tennessee
22 Oct 15
Abby, where in Tennessee, I am in Chattanooga. How neat is this....
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160663)
• United States
22 Oct 15
I have seen videos of people trying Kansas names, and I grew up in Oklahoma, it is different dialects of native American terms, plus German, Swedish and a few other languages.
2 people like this
@arthurchappell (44998)
• Preston, England
22 Oct 15
In Manchester England we can't even say Manchesta! properly, sorted comes out as 'sor'ed, and we make up words like Bazzin' which means very good.
1 person likes this
@Rollo1 (16679)
• Boston, Massachusetts
22 Oct 15
We have two Manchesters, here. One is in Mass and the other in New Hampshire. But the one in Mass got tired of the confusion and renamed themselves Manchester-by-the-Sea. We have local words no one else understands, too. For instance, the liquor store is called a "packie", short for package store. I think regional words and phrases are quite fun, and give people a sense of community and belonging. You can learn a lot about people from their languages and dialects.
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (44998)
• Preston, England
22 Oct 15
@Rollo1 dialects and regional accents are always fascinating
@1creekgirl (41424)
• United States
22 Oct 15
We have a small town nearby that is always pronounced wrong by strangers. Conetoe. People call it cone toe. But it's a native American word pronounced ka need' duh.
1 person likes this
@1creekgirl (41424)
• United States
22 Oct 15
@Rollo1 That's true. We always ha
ve a good laugh when a new weather man pronounces it wrong
ve a good laugh when a new weather man pronounces it wrong
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
22 Oct 15
I saw that on Facebook It was funny. I can't think of one that is mispronounced around here. Hubby is from Mass so I know how to pronounce most of them there.
1 person likes this
@Rollo1 (16679)
• Boston, Massachusetts
22 Oct 15
I note that as you move further from Mass, you get some of the same names but the spelling changes or the pronunciation can too, sometimes. But every place has names and words that are unique to that place and that immediately identify outsiders by their pronunciatons.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
22 Oct 15
@Rollo1 You are right. Everyone in Ontario says eh? at the end of sentences. When we first moved here it drove me crazy. Then my kids started saying it I blew a gasket until I went to school to meet the teachers and my daughter (in high school), her favorite teacher said it about 10 times in every sentence. Gob smacked I was but now I don't hear it and hopefully I don't say it either. I can't think of any words that points to our outsiders, I know there are words, I just can't think of any at the moment.
@LadyDuck (471497)
• Switzerland
22 Oct 15
Well, it's hard for me to think that a norther Italian city could not be pronounced correctly by someone coming from the south. It's different if I move to the top right of Italy, where they have many Austrian names, but this another matter because it is another language.
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (50249)
• United States
22 Oct 15
There are a good many Mississippi towns that get pronounced incorrectly too.
1 person likes this
@Sheilamarie78 (2586)
• Canada
22 Oct 15
I love some of the river names in New England, too. I'm thinking of the Ompompanoosic and Ottawaquechee as examples.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
22 Oct 15
I saw something like this once with non-Americans trying to pronounce Massachusetts, was funny
@garymarsh6 (23404)
• United Kingdom
22 Oct 15
I love the way my American friends can't pronounce English place names.I was nearly crying with laughter in the centre of London one time when they said Lie cest ur square. We pronounce it Lester but spelt Leicester!
1 person likes this
@Rollo1 (16679)
• Boston, Massachusetts
22 Oct 15
If you watched the video, you'd see that there is a town in Massachusetts called Leicester, pronounced Lester, or perhaps Lestah, if you're in Boston. We have no trouble with English place names here, most of our towns bear English place names.
1 person likes this
@tuttiharris (1338)
• Chattanooga, Tennessee
22 Oct 15
I live in Chattanooga.. and most tourist and news people in other cities pronounce Chattanooga wrong. But mercy, I am from the Hills of Tennessee and my English is not that good, I speak Red Neckish or Hillbillish. :: smiles :: so I don't mine.
1 person likes this
