“Last time I was in Chi-Town I nearly froze to death and wished I were in Hotlanta. I had just flown in from Frisco and my next stop was the Big Apple. After that, I had to jet out to LaLa Land for a meeting with my agent.”
What Nicknames and Mispronunciations Do You Dislike?
That paragraph you just read was excerpted from this article which was written by Chris McGinnis of TravelSkills — and it contains terms which causes him to cringe: Chi-Town for Chicago; Hotlanta for Atlanta; Frisco for San Francisco; and Big Apple for New York. I find that many of the terms are used in the media more often than by ordinary people…
…but I thought I would both comment on — and add to — the list based on my experiences.
New York
Many nicknames have been used to refer to New York: in addition to the Big Apple, I have heard The City That Never Sleeps and Gotham — but the one I have heard the most often by far is when New York is simply called “the city.” As a person who was born and raised in New York, I have never heard someone ask “which city?” in response — even when used several states away.
Nevada
Years ago, I was on business in Carson City, which is the capital city of the state of Nevada — and I was gently chastised for mispronouncing the name of the state: “It’s Ne-VAH-da, not Ne-VOH-da.”
Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas
These three states are clumped together in the middle of the United States and are not pronounced the way they appear. I have heard mi-ZUR-rah, ILL-i-NOY, and AR-ken-saw.
Does that mean that people in south Florida live in the city of my-AM-mah?
Even weirder is that the name of the Arkansas River is pronounced differently, depending on where you are located. I was not surprised when people in the state of Kansas pronounce the name of the river as it appears: AR-kan-sas, as “kansas” is in the name Arkansas. In the state of Arkansas, the river has the same pronunciation as the state.
I have never referred to Chicago as Chi-Town or Windy City; and I cannot imagine residents of Chicago taking kindly to the moniker of Second City.
Massachusetts
No one necessarily mispronounces the name of this state; but as part of New England, it contains many cities and towns which could keep a person scratching his or her head: Peabody is PEE-buddy and not pee-BODY; Leominster is pronounced LEMON-ster; Worcester is pronounced WOOST-er; and Gloucester is GLOSS-ter.
I have never referred to Boston as “bean town.”
Biloxi
I cannot tell you how many times I have heard the name of this seafood and gambling mecca on the Mississippi Gulf Coast mispronounced. The correct pronunciation is Bi-LUX-ee; not Bi-LOX-ee.
Newark
If you are referring to the largest city in New Jersey, the pronunciation is indeed NEW-urk; but although the name of the city located in Delaware approximately 125 miles southwest is spelled exactly the same, the locals are quite vigilant in ensuring that you pronounce the name of their city new-ARK.
Senoia
How would you pronounce Senoia? If you live in this small city in Georgia located approximately 40 miles south of Atlanta, you would pronounce it se-NOY and not se-NOY-a, which might earn a one-way ticket out of town.
Carmel
This is a special pet peeve of mine. Yes, the correct pronunciation of this city — whether you are in Indiana or California — is indeed KAR-mull; but I cringe when I hear someone pronounce the word caramel the same way. Yes, either pronunciation is technically officially acceptable; but I prefer KAH-ruh-mell for the pronunciation of the sweet treat.
Summary
This is by no means a comprehensive list — rather, these are examples which immediately came to my mind — and I do not necessarily dislike them myself.
If you have been reading The Gate for a long time, you probably know that I eschew the use of nicknames — such as blog, app and meds — and the same holds true for the nicknames and mispronunciations of places around the world.
I can only imagine how many more locations you can add to this list in the Comments section below…
Photograph ©2017 by Brian Cohen.
