• wjrii@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    The little town in Texas is also “New Ark”.

    Some of my other favorites:

    Texas

    • Montague = mon-TAYG (hard ‘g’)
    • Italy = IT-lee (2 syllables)
    • Buda = BUD-duh (EDIT: or is it BYOO-duh ?)

    Georgia

    • Vienna = VYE-eena
    • Cairo = KAY-roe

    Canada (less experience here, tbf)

    • Newfoundland = NEW-fin-LAND (do NOT slur the “land” part. Enunciate!)
    • ninjabard@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Texas has so many. Bogota pronounced buh-GO-duh

      Arkansas has a Lafayette county pronounced luh-FAY-it even though that county literally borders Louisiana.

      Don’t even get me started on Bowie, DeKalb, or Houston.

      • flicker@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        I’m gonna add one I love trotting out from Oklahoma.

        There’s a Miami, Oklahoma. It’s pronounced My-am-uh.

        I’ve got about a billion from Oklahoma specifically.

      • ripcord@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Ah yes. “Hoo-ston” and “How-ston” are definitely both things.

        “De-kab” and “De-kalb”

        Haven’t run into the Bowie one.

        • ninjabard@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          In Texas it’s Boo-wee. That was the man’s name as is the knife that bears it. Outside of Texas people mispronounce it as Bow-ee like Ziggy Stardust.

          If you’re talking about David (rest in power) Bowie, then it’s Bow-ee. But the knife is Boo-wee.

      • wjrii@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        I defer to you then. I just know it’s not Booduh like it god damned well should be. Was reminded elsewhere in this thread that we also have a Ne-VAY-duh in Texas, to say nothing of the Native American placenames that almost every state has specifically to fuck with newcomers, even though they undoubtedly moved from a state that has its own examples.

        • KingJalopy @lemm.ee
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          4 months ago

          Lol, that’s what I thought it was until they corrected me on the phone. I don’t live anywhere near there but that’s how they say it to me.