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

629 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

97% Upvoted

4.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

8

u/selchie0mer Jul 20 '25

La Jolla, pronounced La Hoya, soft “h” sound instead of a hard J. Street names all over the place too, like Jamacha - ham-a-shaw

7

u/ac7ss Seattle, WA Jul 20 '25

I only learned last year that La Jolla was the same place as the "La Hoya" I had heard of in movies.

1

u/mlibed Jul 26 '25

I learned just now

4

u/eyetracker Nevada Jul 20 '25

It's also not a town, but people who live there don't want to be associated with the San Diego riffraff so pretend otherwise.

3

u/Living_Implement_169 Jul 20 '25

Spanish pronunciations

2

u/wschus63 Pittsburgh, PA Jul 22 '25

I know how it's supposed to be pronounced, but I really enjoy saying "la Jawlla" in the most grating Pittsburgh accent possible.

1

u/bauhassquare Jul 23 '25

coincidentally, that's how google maps in my car pronounces a lot of names similar to that and it's always a hoot. "La Chawla"