I found that sticker on my walk home last night. I'm not blogging it because it illustrates my mood or anything like that -- in fact I've been pretty upbeat this week, even though I have a lot going on workwise. The first week of school (for teachers) is always a crazy time as we go through all of the standard all-school meetings and training sessions. Yesterday we had one on creating "courageous global citizens," and today we have child protection training, which is mandated by law.
And of course, we're still setting up the library, so when the training is done I'm organizing shelves and displays and moving stuff around. Yesterday we divided the board games into three different groups for display in three areas, for example. Plus I'm taking departed patrons out of the library system and organizing magazine sign-ups (don't ask) and blah blah blah.
I honestly don't mind it all, but it is boring to write (and read) about. Hence not much to blog about my days at the moment. Students come back on Tuesday.
Blogger Margaret uploaded this entertaining map the other day, supposedly showing the town names in each state that are the hardest to pronounce. (You may have to click on it to see the names clearly.) Like Margaret, who disputed Washington's choice of Puyallup, I took issue with some of them immediately.
In my home state of Florida, for example, the name chosen is Ocoee, which is a city near Orlando. I would have chosen Immokalee, Chokoloskee or Islamorada, all of which I have mispronounced at one time or other. For years I did not know that the "s" in Islamorada is silent, as in island.
What about Mississippi? Their choice is Louisville, and even assuming it's pronounced LEWISville (because why else would it be hard to pronounce?), a quick look at Google maps offered a host of other worthy contenders. There's Hushpuckena, Arkabutla, Looxahoma, Bogue Chitto, Toomsuba, Shubuta, Eastabuchie and Wiehe -- and also Splunge, which is just funny.
Likewise, the choice for Nebraska is Cairo, which I assume must be pronounced KAYro. (Because, again, why else would it be hard to pronounce?) But they overlooked Unadilla, Ohiowa, Otoe, Niobrara, Verdigre, Minatare, Joder (surely not the Spanish curse word?) and Ough.
And finally, Colorado. Seriously? Crested Butte is the best they could do? What about Iliff, Capulin, Abarr, Arickaree, Hoehne and Gulnare?
There are others I could challenge as well, but I suppose the point is that mispronunciation is in the eyes (or mouth) of the pronouncer. Still, it was a fun exercise. It would be interesting to do it for Britain. I'm sure the winners would be somewhere in Wales, home of the famous Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, which is an actual place.
And Llanfair PG , as locals call it, had the long name devised by a Victorian to bring tourists....and it is still working,!
ReplyDeleteWe have some village names that people struggle with every County I reckon. Hoxne not far from me is one but it's too early in the morning to think of others.
ReplyDeleteWe have loads here too. The locals had great fun catching me out when we first moved here!
ReplyDeleteA few well known ones in UK spring to mind......Loughborough, Belvoir, and Ulgham ( which is in Northumberland and we were asking directions to it many years ago......it's actually pronounced " Uffam"!) Another fun one is Happisburgh in Norfolk!
ReplyDeleteI agree about many of the names chosen for the map. There are so many better. I had too look up Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch to hear how it’s pronounced. Wow!!!
ReplyDeleteAre "courageous global citizens" people like J.D.Vance and Steve Witcoff?
ReplyDeleteI think the hardest place name to say in Yorkshire is Slaithwaite - pronounced "Sla-w-it" or "Slath-wait".
Good luck with Keokuk in Iowa.
ReplyDeleteBirthplace of my best friend and despite 30 years of patience (on her part!) I still cannot pronounce it in a way deemed correct 😀
When we lived in Wales Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, was literally known as Llanfair PG ... so much easier. My favourite mispronunciation is Mousehole in Cornwall. I need to holiday there one day.
ReplyDeleteOf course with my hubby being Scottish he can pronounce all the weirdly ... to my mind ... misspelt Scottish town names, Kirkcudbright and Hawick spring to mind as they look so easy to say, my Mum in law had a good laugh the first time I mentioned them though!!
What an enjoyable post. There are so many place names that can be mispronounced and cause much hilarity to the cognoscenti.
ReplyDeleteFor Michigan: Mackinac Island.
ReplyDeleteNJ is full of trap names, which tell you who's new here! Mainly it's where you put the emphasis, as in Manalapan or Hoboken.
ReplyDeleteSouth Carolina has so many places with names that are hard to pronounce, one of them is a street called Huger St. Looks like HEW-ger but is pronounced U-gee.
ReplyDeleteI'm still learning.
Locally we have Cherryville, pronounced Cherr Ville. But I guess that's dialect more than pronunciation. From when we lived in Ohio there was Versailles KY - Ver Sails. Fun!
ReplyDeleteColorado: Saguache = Sa watch
ReplyDeleteI just rolled with my states hardest to pronounce name because I have not heard of the place and it looked reasonably difficult to pronounce. The town I live in is evidently hard to pronounce too as I use it to distinguish if the phone caller is local or not. I have live near here all my life so have always pronounced it the way all the locals do. But outsiders typically say the first syllable wrong with a long instead of short vowel sound and thus tell me they aren't from around here.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right about Florida. Mostly the places named for the people who lived here before the Europeans "discovered" it. Bogus map is you ask me although I have always loved the sound of Nacogdoches.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear that you are feeling upbeat. That is good.
Glad your school year has started off well and you are feeling positive.
ReplyDeleteI live on Pottowattomie Court which always has to be spelled out for people. A long name for a short street of 10 houses.
I looked at the map and what they've chosen is hard or impossible to pronounce. A list with one name per state is not enough.
ReplyDeleteHard to pronounce names usually have a history and the history is generally interesting. Beyond the great history, a simple to pronounce name would be better for everybody. I find, a mispronounce a name usually brings laughter/smiles from the locals. That seems to be worldwide.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're easing back into the library. Things should get lively when the students return.
I didn't think too many of the names were that difficult but that may be because I'm pronouncing them wrong: like Houston in NYC versus in Texas. On my own blog, I started up a bit of a kerfuffle over whether it's Pew AL up or Pew ALL up. I say the latter but many say the former. I've lived here for 69 years so I can pronounce it however I want! :)
ReplyDelete