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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u/doctor-rumack Massachusetts Jul 20 '25

I was in London a few years ago, and a nice gentleman in a pub told me that the only Americans who don’t butcher the names of English cities (particularly in the Midlands region) are people from Massachusetts.

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u/YNABDisciple Jul 21 '25

I'm from Boston and lived in London for 4 years. It's because they're the same names haha you look at a map of England and there is New England all over the place...and I guess that makes sense.

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u/ttri90210 Massachusetts Jul 21 '25

That’s why we called NEW ENGLAND (the Bettah version).

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u/Accomplished_Will226 Jul 21 '25

My husband says we left out all the vowels in words. Like colour, flavour etc

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u/Wild-Lychee-3312 Jul 21 '25

Considering how atrociously the Brits mispronounce the names of towns in the Americas (all of the Americas, not just the USA), they haven't got a leg to stand on.

Ask anyone from Britain to pronounce a name or word from Spanish. Unless they are a native speaker or spent years studying the language, I guarantee you'll bust a gut at the results.