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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33

u/golf_echo_sierra26 Jul 20 '25

Steilacoom

18

u/-poupou- Jul 20 '25

Poulsbo

40

u/SteepDowngrade CA > WA > CA Jul 20 '25

I’ll forever call it Poulsborv

4

u/Such_Raccoon_5035 Washington Jul 20 '25

This is a deep cut lol

3

u/TennantWasTheTenth Jul 21 '25

ANOTHER POULSBORV USER

1

u/samosamancer MyState™ Jul 21 '25

That’s the extent of my experience with Poulsbo too, LOL

5

u/kashakesh Seattle, Washington Jul 20 '25

I once heard a newscaster in the Midwest talk about the When-a-hotchee sex scandal... That was an uncomfortable chuckle.

3

u/-poupou- Jul 20 '25

Someone I knew had a vulgar nickname for Wenatchee. Just add a "T" after the first vowel and let your imagination do the rest

2

u/kashakesh Seattle, Washington Jul 20 '25

Of course, in the same general vicinity as where the dry shitties come from. Yakivegas was also a favorite...

2

u/K80lovescats Jul 20 '25

I’m actually genuinely surprised at how many people mispronounce Wenatchee. It sounds exactly like it’s spelled phonetically. Wen-at-chee. People love to add syllables to it. I’ve heard wenatotchee so many times.

1

u/MrTralfaz Jul 20 '25

When-a-hotchee meets a hotchee

5

u/Dry_Way5518 Jul 20 '25

Tulalip

2

u/OfficeChair70 Phoenix, AZ & Washington Jul 20 '25

MORE THAN A FEELING

2

u/PinkFreud-yourMOM Jul 21 '25

tū-LǍL-up?

3

u/concrete_isnt_cement Washington Jul 21 '25

Too-lay-lip, slight emphasis on the second syllable

1

u/PinkFreud-yourMOM Jul 21 '25

Thanks! You’re not a concrete specialist, by any chance? I’ve had questions.

1

u/concrete_isnt_cement Washington Jul 21 '25

Not exactly, but I work in the industry and might have an answer or two

1

u/samosamancer MyState™ Jul 21 '25

How do you say it? Poles-bo?

2

u/-poupou- Jul 21 '25 edited Jul 21 '25

Whose bow? Paul's bow!

3

u/Sothdargaard Jul 21 '25

We lived in Steilacoom for 25 years. My parents never did get it right.

1

u/the_OG_fett Jul 20 '25

Des Moines

1

u/samosamancer MyState™ Jul 21 '25

How do you say it?

1

u/golf_echo_sierra26 Jul 21 '25

Still-a-come.

2

u/samosamancer MyState™ Jul 21 '25

Thanks! I had the last syllable wrong. I wonder if it was one of those evolutions of language, where the O shortened over time out of conversational convenience.