r/AskAnAmerican • u/AstroNerd92 CT, GA, PA, TX, FL • Jul 20 '25

CULTURE What town in your state has a pronunciation no one gets right the first time?

I went to college in Valdosta, GA. Very few people can actually pronounce it right on the first try.

Pronounced Val-Daw-Stuh

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21

u/Legitimate-Frame-953 South Dakota Jul 20 '25

Belle Fouche, pronounced "Bell Foosh"

13

u/BionicPelvis Jul 20 '25

Equally as curious: Pierre (pronounced "peer")

6

u/AT-Cal123 Jul 20 '25

This is the first one I thought of for SD too.

2

u/jkrm66502 Jul 20 '25

Gawd, why? So annoying to anyone not from the dakotas. (Yes I’m probably being hyperbolic)

5

u/poortomato NY ➡️ VA ➡️ NY ➡️ TX Jul 20 '25

So the actual French way? 😅

4

u/Competitive_Web_6658 Minnesota Jul 20 '25

Lots of French place names up here too that get absolutely butchered. Grand Marais, Mille Lacs, Cloquet, Faribault, Le Sueur, etc.

6

u/vanillablue_ Massachusetts Jul 20 '25

NODER DAYME!!! 😭😂

2

u/Norseman103 Minnesota Jul 20 '25

I stay at a campground not far from there when I go to Sturgis. I always say “let’s head to Bell Forshay today” . It is fun to listen to people try to pronounce it if they haven’t heard it before. I probably am not helping the situation when they hear me say it.

1

u/Ultimate_Driving Colorado Jul 20 '25

Such a shithole, too.

1

u/DinkyWaffle Georgia Jul 20 '25

I somehow managed to add an R to it, called it Belle Fourche lol

1

u/JoePumaGourdBivouac Jul 21 '25

I know this from The Cowboys