Results: Most Difficult-to-Pronounce Town in Every State (Part Seven)
Published on 03/01/2021
The English language is tricky enough without all those U.S. town and city names that aren't even derived from English. Before you butcher another pronunciation, this handy guide will show you how to say the trickiest town names just like a local.
QUESTIONS
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Comments
1.
1.
New Mexico: Abiquiú - The correct pronunciation is AB-ick-you, which you might know if you were a fan of television's Breaking Bad. Abiquiú was also mentioned in Willa Cather's 1927 novel, Death Comes for the Archbishop. It is also the actual location for the opening shot of the film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Other notable films shot in Abiquiú include City Slickers and Wyatt Earp. Have you ever visited this town?
Yes
5%
109 votes
No
95%
2191 votes
2.
2.
New York: Schenectady - The name "Schenectady" is derived from the Mohawk word skahnéhtati, meaning "beyond the pines". Schenectady was founded on the south side of the Mohawk River by Dutch colonists in the 17th century, many of whom were from the Albany area. The Dutch transferred the name "Skahnéhtati" which is in reality the Mohawk name for Albany, New York. These Dutch were prohibited from the fur trade by the Albany monopoly, which kept its control after the English takeover in 1664. Residents of the new village developed farms on strip plots along the river. By the way, Schenectady is pronounced Skin-ECK-tah-DEE. Have you ever visited this town?
Yes
15%
344 votes
No
85%
1956 votes
3.
3.
North Carolina: Schley - Trying to be Sly, are we, Schley, North Carolina? Or is that just the way you're pronounced? In fact, it's the latter. Have you ever visited this town?
Yes
5%
111 votes
No
95%
2189 votes
4.
4.
North Dakota: Palermo - Chalk another one up to the foreign cities that don't translate. Palermo, North Dakota, is not pronounced like its Italian counterpart (Pah-LAIR-Mo), but rather, as PAL-er-mo. Have you ever visited this town?
Yes
4%
98 votes
No
96%
2202 votes
5.
5.
Ohio: Gnadehutten - The village of Gnadehutten, Ohio is in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, and is Ohio's oldest existing settlement, having been founded in October 1772 by German-Americans. And that goes a long way toward explaining the name and its pronunciation: It's derived directly from the German word, gnadenhütten, which means "huts of grace," and it's basically unspellable in the English language, although we give those founders an A for effort. The closest I can get you is ji-NAY-dun-huh-tehn. Have you ever visited this town?
Yes
4%
100 votes
No
96%
2200 votes
COMMENTS