List of places in the United States with counterintuitive pronunciations: A–L

This list is a sublist of List of names in English with counterintuitive pronunciations.

Place names in the United States of America

A

• Aberdeen, Washington – stressed on the first syllable /ˈæbərdiːn/, unlike Aberdeen, Scotland, which is stressed on the final syllable
• Abiquiu, New Mexico – /ˈæbəkjuː/
• Acequia, Idaho – /əˈsiːkwə/
• Achilles, Kansas – /əˈkɪlɪs/
• Advance, Missouri - /ˈædvæns/
• Advance, North Carolina - /ˈædvæns/
• Alachua, Florida - /əˈlætʃuːeɪ/
• Albany, Georgia - stressed on the second syllable as "All-'ben-ny" or "Al-'bain-ny"
• Albuquerque, New Mexico - /ˈælbəkərkɪ/
• Alma, Wisconsin - /ˈæl.mə/
• Aloha, Oregon - /əˈloʊ.ə/
• Amherst, Massachusetts - /ˈæmərst/ (the h is silent)
• Arab, Alabama and Arab, Missouri – /ˈeɪræb/
• Arkansas - /ˈɑːrkənˌsɔː/
• Arkansas City, Kansas is pronounced /ɑːrˈkænzəs/, as is the Arkansas River to many Kansans.^[1]
• Armada, Michigan - /ˈɑːrmeɪdə/
• Athens, Kentucky, Athens, Illinois, Athens, Vermont and New Athens, Illinois – /ˈeɪθənz/
• Au Sable, New York, and the river of that name - /ɔːˈseɪbəl/ or /aʊseɪbəl/

B

• Bahama, North Carolina – /bəˈheɪmə/
• Bangor, Maine – /ˈbæŋˌɡɔːr/ BANG-gor (not "banger")
• Barre, Vermont – /ˈbæri/
• Beatrice, Alabama and Beatrice, Nebraska – /biːˈætrᵻs/; usually Beatrice is /ˈbiːətrᵻs/
• Beatty, Nevada – /ˈbeɪti/
• Beaufort, South Carolina – /ˈbjuːfərt/ (cf intuitive /ˈboʊfərt/ or /ˈboʊfɔərt/ of Beaufort, North Carolina)
• Belen, New Mexico – /bəˈlɪn/
• Bellefontaine, Ohio – /bɛlˈfaʊntᵻn/
• Belle Fourche, South Dakota – /bɛlˈfuːʃ/ bel-FOOSH
• Benld, Illinois – /bəˈnɛld/
• Bergen, New York – /ˈbɜːrdʒᵻn/
• Berlin, Connecticut; IL; MA; NH; NY (New); Berlin, Holmes County, Ohio; WI; and WI (New) – ⁱ/ˈbɜːrlᵻn/ (stress on first syllable)
• Bethlehem, Pennsylvania – /ˈbɛθləm/
• Bexar, Texas – /ˈbeɪ.ər/ or /ˈbɛər/
• Billerica, Massachusetts – /bɛlˈrɪkə/
• Bingen, Washington – /ˈbɪndʒən/
• Biscay, Minnesota – /ˈbɪski/^{[n 1]}
• Boca Raton, Florida – /ˈboʊkə rəˈtoʊn/
• Boerne, Texas – /ˈbɜːrni/
• Bois D'Arc, Missouri – /ˈboʊdɑːrk/
• Boise, Idaho – /ˈbɔɪsi/ in Idaho; /ˈbɔɪzi/ elsewhere in the United States
• Boise City, Oklahoma – /ˈbɔɪs/ locally ^{[2][n 2]}
• Bolivar Township, Benton County, Indiana, MO, MS, NY, OH, PA, OR, TN, WV – all named for Simón Bolívar but pronounced /ˈbɒlᵻvər/^{[n 3]}
• Bossier City, Louisiana – /ˈboʊʒər/
• Bowie, Maryland – /ˈbuːi/
• Buena, New Jersey - /ˌbjuːnə/
• Buena Vista, Colorado, OR, VA, TX, IA – /ˌbjuːnəˈvɪstə/
• Buddha, Indiana – /ˈbuːdi/
• Buhl, Idaho – /ˈbjuːl/
• Burien, Washington – /ˈbjʊəriən/

C

• Cairo, Georgia and MS – /ˈkeɪroʊ/
• Cairo, Illinois, OH, and NY – ⁱ/ˈkɛəroʊ/
• Cahuenga Pass, California - /ˌkəˈwɛŋɡə/
• Calais, Maine and VT – ⁱ/ˈkælᵻs/ ^{[n 4]}
• Camano Island, Washington – /kəˈmeɪnoʊ/
• Canaan Valley, West Virginia – /kəˈneɪn/ locally
• Casa Grande, Arizona – /ˈkæsəˈɡrænd/ or /ˈkæsəˌɡrændi/
• Camp Hill, Pennsylvania – /kæmˈpɪl/
• Canyon de Chelly, Arizona – /ˈʃeɪ/
• Castile, New York /ˈkɒstaɪl/
• Celina, Texas – /sᵻˈlaɪnə/
• Chartres Street, New Orleans – /ˈtʃɑːrtər/
• Charlotte, Vermont – /ʃɑːrˈlɒt/
• Chatham, Massachusetts, NJ and NY – /ˈtʃætəm/
• Chehalis, Washington – /ʃəˈheɪlᵻs/
• Chelan, Chelan County, and Lake Chelan, Washington – /ʃᵻˈlæn/
• Cheyenne, Wyoming - (/ʃaɪˈæn/ shy-AN
• Cherryville, North Carolina – /ˈtʃɜːrvᵻl/
• Chewelah, Washington – /tʃᵻˈwiːlə/
• Chicago – /ʃᵻˈkɑːɡoʊ/
• Chickasha, Oklahoma – /ˈtʃɪkəʃeɪ/
• Chili, New York – /ˈtʃaɪlaɪ/^[3]
• Clatskanie, Oregon – /ˈklætskənaɪ/
• Coeur d'Alene, Idaho – /kɔərdəˈleɪn/
• Columbus, Ohio – /ˈklʌmbᵻs/
• Concord, Massachusetts and NH – /ˈkɒŋkərd/
• Conneaut, Ohio and Conneautville, Pennsylvania – /ˈkɒni.ɔːt/
• Conetoe, North Carolina – /kəˈniːtə/
• Connecticut – /kəˈnɛtᵻkᵻt/
• Copalis Beach, Washington – /koʊˈpeɪlᵻs/
• Copiague, New York - /koʊˈpeɪɡ/
• Coquille, Oregon – /koʊˈkiːl/
• Cordele, Georgia – /kɔərˈdiːl/
• Corfu, New York – /ˈkɔərfjuː/
• Cudahy, California – /ˈkʌdəheɪ/ or /ˈkuːdəhaɪ/

D

• Delhi, California, IA, LA, and NY – all /ˈdɛlhaɪ/
• Des Moines, Washington – /dᵻˈmɔɪnz/
• Des Plaines, Illinois /dɛsˈpleɪnz/
• Deschutes River, Oregon, and Deschutes River, Washington – /dᵻˈʃuːts/
• Mount Desert Island, Maine – /dᵻˈzɜːrt/^{[n 5]}.
• Duarte, California – /ˈdwɔərti/
• DuBois, Pennsylvania and Dubois County, Indiana – /duːˈbɔɪz/ or /duːˈbɔɪs/^{[n 6]}
• Duenweg, Missouri – /dʌnəˈwɛɡ/
• Dungeness River and Dungeness Spit, Washington – /ˈdʌndʒᵻnᵻs/^{[n 7]}.

E

• El Dorado, Arkansas, IL, KS, OK, TX and El Dorado Springs, Missouri – ⁱ/ɛldəreɪdoʊ/
• Elbe, Washington – /ˈɛlbiː/
• Elgin, Illinois – /ˈɛldʒᵻn/^{[n 8]}
• Elizabethton, Tennessee – /ᵻˌlɪzᵻˈbiːθən/
• Embarras River, Illinois – /ˈæmbrɔː/
• Ephrata, Washington – /iˈfreɪtə/^{[n 9]}
• Estacada, Oregon – /ˌɛstəˈkeɪdə/

F

• Faneuil Hall, Boston, Massachusetts – /ˈfænəl/ or /ˈfænjəl/
• Fremont, California - /ˈfriːmɒnt/
• Fries, Virginia – /ˈfriːz/

G

• Galice, Oregon – /ɡəˈliːs/
• Galveston, Indiana – /ɡælˈvɛstən/^{[n 10]}
• Gloucester, Massachusetts and Glocester, Rhode Island — /ˈɡlɔːstər/^{[n 11]}
• Gnadenhutten, Ohio - /dʒᵻˌneɪdənˈhʌtən/
• Gogebic County, Michigan - /ɡoʊˈɡiː.bɪk/
• Greenwich, Connecticut, Greenwich, New York and Greenwich Village in New York City – /ˈɡrɛnᵻtʃ/^{[n 12]}
• Gruene, Texas – /ˈɡriːn/

H

• Haverhill, Massachusetts – /ˈheɪvərɪl/ or /ˈheɪvrɪl/
• Havre, Montana – /ˈhævər/, equally:
• Havre de Grace, Maryland – /ˈhævərdᵻˈɡreɪs/
• Hereford, Texas and PA – /ˈhɜːrfərd/
• Hindman, Kentucky – locally /ˈhɪmən/ ^{[n 13]}
• Hockessin, Delaware – /ˈhoʊkᵻsᵻn/
• Holcomb, Missouri – /ˈhɔːkəm/
• Houston
  • Houston, DE, GA, OH and Houston Street (Manhattan) – /ˈhaʊstən/
  • Houston, Texas – /ˈhjuːstən/ or /ˈjuːstən/ ^{[n 14]}
• Hualapai, Arizona – /ˈwɒləpaɪ/
• Huger, South Carolina – /ˈhjuːdʒi/ or /ˈjuːdʒi/
• Humble, Texas - /ˈʌmbəl/
• Hurricane, Utah, WV and MS – /ˈhərᵻkən/ ^{[n 15] [n 16]}

I

• Illinois – /ˌɪlᵻˈnɔɪ/
• Ilwaco, Washington – /ɪlˈwɑːkoʊ/^{[n 17]}
• Inez, Kentucky - /ˈæniːz/^{[n 18]}
• Iowa, Louisiana - /ˈaɪ.əˌweɪ/
• Ironton, Ohio – /ˈɑːrntən/
• Ischua, New York – /ˈɪʃweɪ/
• Isla Vista, California – /ˈaɪləˈvɪstə/
• Iselin, New Jersey – /ˈɪzlən/
• Isle au Haut, Maine – /ˈaɪləhoʊ/
• Islip, New York – /ˈaɪslᵻp/
• Italy, Texas – /ˈɪtli/^{[n 19]}

J

• Juab County, Utah – /ˈdʒuːæb/
• Strait of Juan de Fuca, (divides part of Canada from United States)– /wɑːndəˈfjuːkə/
• Julian, Pennsylvania – /dʒuːliˈæn/

K

• Kalaloch, Washington – /ˈkleɪlɒk/
• Kamela, Oregon – /kəˈmiːlə/
• Kamiah, Idaho – /ˈkæmi.aɪ/
• Kearney, Missouri, NE and NJ, as well as Kearney Street in Springfield, Missouri – /ˈkɑːrni/
• Keechelus Lake, WA – /ˈkɛtʃələs/
• Kissimmee, Florida – /kɪˈsɪmiː/
• Kosciusko, Mississippi – /kɒziˈɛskoʊ/
• Kosciusko County, Indiana – /kɒsiˈɒskoʊ/
• Kountze, Texas – /ˈkuːnts/
• Kure Beach, North Carolina – /ˈkjʊəri/

L

• Lac Courte Oreilles, Wisconsin – /ləˌkuːtəˈreɪ/
• La Fayette, Alabama, GA, MS, TN – /lᵻˈfeɪ.ət/ ^{[n 20]}
• La Grande, Oregon – /ləˈɡrænd/
• La Jolla, California – /ləˈhɔɪ.ə/
• Lake Oswego, Oregon – /ɒsˈwiːɡoʊ/
• Lamesa, Texas – /ləˈmiːsə/
• La Plata, Maryland – ⁱ/ləˈpleɪtə/
• Lapwai, Idaho – /ˈlæpwaɪ/
• Latah, Washington and Latah County, Idaho – /ˈleɪtɑː/
• Leakey, Texas – /ˈleɪki/
• Lebam, Washington – /ləˈbæm/
• Lebanon, New Hampshire, and Lebanon, Pennsylvania (and the county of the same name) – /ˈlɛbənən/ or even /ˈlɛbnən/
• Leicester, Massachusetts – /ˈlɛstər/^{[n 21]}
• Leicester, Vermont – /ˈlaɪstər/
• Lemhi County, Idaho – /ˈlɛmhaɪ/
• Lemoore, California – officially /ˈliːmɔːr/ after the founder, quickly becoming /ləˈmɔːr/ due to its spelling and the number of new people moving into the town
• Leominster, Massachusetts – /ˈlɛmᵻnstər/
• Lewes, Delaware – /ˈluːɪs/ or a more difficult /ˈljuːɪs/
• Lima, Ohio – /ˈlaɪmə/
• Lodi, California, and elsewhere in US – /ˈloʊdaɪ/
• Lompoc, California – /ˈlɒmpoʊk/
• Louisville, Colorado, GA, OH – /ˈluːᵻsvᵻl/
• Louisville, Kentucky - ⁱ/ˈluːəvəl/, or ⁱ/ˈlʌvəl/
• Lowville, New York - /laʊvɪl/

See also

• List of places in the United States with counterintuitive pronunciations: M–Z
• Grapheme
• English spelling
• Pronunciation of Chinese names in English - counterintuitive Q, X, C, Zh, etc. in words romanised in Pinyin.

Notes and References

Notes

1. ↑ c.f. Atlantic Ocean's Bay of Biscay /bᵻˈskeɪ/
2. ↑ The "s" sound generally merges with the same sound in "City."
3. ↑ In contradistinction to the surname, by convention, these rhyme with "Oliver"
4. ↑ The town of Calais in France was for centuries also pronounced /ˈkælᵻs/ in English; today /kæleɪ/, with initial stress in British English and final stress in American English are the normal pronunciations.
5. ↑ Homophone to the dining course, dessert
6. ↑ Cf the surnames Du Bois and De Bois, which is often -/ˈbwɑː/
7. ↑ c.f. English low-lying point (without a middle syllable).
8. ↑ c.f. Scottish original place or Elgin, Texas /ˈɛlɡᵻn/
9. ↑ c.f. intuitive Borough of Ephrata, Pennsylvania, which is pronounced /ˈɛfrətə/
10. ↑ c.f. intuitive/ˈɡælvᵻstən/ for larger Galveston, Texas
11. ↑ As per traditional English town, county and nursery rhyme
12. ↑ Beginning defies traditional English rules (c.f. green) But Greenwich, New Jersey is pronounced as if it were "green-witch"
13. ↑ Intuitively /ˈhaɪndmən/ is sometimes used outside Eastern Kentucky
14. ↑ Named via Sam Houston after Houston, Scotland, a concatenation of "Hu's town"'
15. ↑ The last syllable is standard in the British pronunciation of hurricane, but not in American English, whereas the first syllable is counterintuitive and muted compared to hurricane in either.
16. ↑ Anecdotally, locals of Hurricane say that the proper pronunciation rhymes with that of the neighboring town La Verkin.
17. ↑ c.f. various Waco towns
18. ↑ locally
19. ↑ with two syllables only
20. ↑ c.f. Indiana and Louisiana: /lɑːfaɪˈɛt/, approximating their original French
21. ↑ As per English town and county

References

1. ↑ http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Arkansas
2. ↑ http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=4&article_id=9295&page_number=4
3. ↑ Though indeed named after the country Chili, now Chile Town of chili.org

Further reading

• Miller, G. M., ed. (1971). BBC pronouncing dictionary of British names. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-431125-2. 
• Ordnance Survey of Ireland (1989). Gazetteer of Ireland. Government Publications Office. ISBN 0-7076-0076-6. 

External links

• h2g2 guide to Pronouncing British Placenames
• How Do You Pronounce That Name? on genealogymagazine.com
• A Pronunciation Guide to Names of Public Figures
• Debrett's Pronunciation of English surnames.