Note: This article pertaining to What Nicknames and Mispronunciations Do You Dislike? was originally published on Wednesday, December 20, 2017 at 11:05 in the evening and has been updated.
Chi-Town is way too cold. I would rather be in Hotlanta. I had just arrived from Frisco; and my next stop is the Big Apple. After that, I am off to LaLa Land for a meeting.
What Nicknames and Mispronunciations Do You Dislike?
That paragraph you just read contains terms which can cause people who are local to those cities to cringe: Chi-Town for Chicago; Hotlanta for Atlanta; Frisco for San Francisco; Big Apple for New York; and LaLa Land for Los Angeles. 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 around the world.
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-VAD-a, not Ne-VOD-a.”
Missouri, Illinois, and Arkansas
Missouri, Illinois, and Arkansas are three states that are clumped together in the middle of the United States and are not pronounced the way they appear. I have heard mi-ZUR-ruh, ILL-i-NOY, and AR-ken-saw.
Does that mean that people in south Florida live in the city of my-AM-muh?
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.
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.
Forked River
Also in New Jersey is the unincorporated community of Forked River, which is located in Ocean County on the Jersey Shore. Call it FORKT River among the residents there at your peril, as it is actually pronounced FORK-id River.
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 — similar to the aforementioned pronunciation of Illinois — and not se-NOY-a, which might earn a one-way ticket out of town as people who are local to the area might find the pronunciation Senoia-ing.
Roswell and Mansell
Speaking of Georgia, you are definitely from out of town if you pronounce the names of Roswell and Mansell as ROS-well and Man-SELL, as they are actually pronounced ROS-wool and MAN-sull — but please do not tell the residents of Austell, which is indeed pronounced aws-TELL.
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-biddy 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.
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.
Final Boarding Call
This is by no means a comprehensive and exhaustive 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 With Brian Cohen 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 also never understood such abbreviations as WTC, which when pronounced actually uses more syllables than World Trade Center.
I can only imagine how many more locations you can add to this list in the Comments section below…
All photographs ©2017, ©2022, ©2023, and ©2024 by Brian Cohen.
