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Binkie The Clown

(7,911 posts)

151. Glance at a map of regional dialects of American English.

Tue Feb 23, 2016, 02:56 AM

Feb 2016

It's not said that way to sound smart or (god forbid!) British. It's said that way because we grew up hearing it pronounced that way by everyone around us. It's call a dialect. There are many in the United States.

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If I hear one more person on the radio or TV say "NevAHda", I shall scream. [View all] mwb970 Feb 2016 OP

Lol, lighten up. Many states have that issue, like missouri. No big deal. Nt Logical Feb 2016 #1

I guess I'm just a weird guy. mwb970 Feb 2016 #4

Most of the US can't pronouce the name of one of our Mountain ranges correctly NutmegYankee Feb 2016 #16

Thank you NutmegYankee! R. P. McMurphy Feb 2016 #32

I grew up in eastern Pennsylvania, squarely in the foothills of the Appalachians Orrex Feb 2016 #36

I was born in West Virginia and went to college in Western Virginia. NutmegYankee Feb 2016 #46

I work in commercial customer service, and... Orrex Feb 2016 #70

Where are they located? NutmegYankee Feb 2016 #72

They're in western Pennsylvania Orrex Feb 2016 #83

Yawn. Then keep saying it incorrectly. NutmegYankee Feb 2016 #100

That's just asinine and intellectually dishonest Orrex Feb 2016 #126

You called me a hipster - now that's funny. NutmegYankee Feb 2016 #129

If it postures like a hipster and is smug like a hipster, it's a hipster Orrex Feb 2016 #136

You never did read the Wikipedia did you? NutmegYankee Feb 2016 #137

I graduated from Appalachian State University. cwydro Feb 2016 #159

Yes, both pronunciations are accepted Orrex Feb 2016 #160

And as a grad, then you also know ms liberty Feb 2016 #207

Lol. cwydro Feb 2016 #213

To be fair, the only person from Appalachia I ever knew pronounced every other word incorrectly GummyBearz Feb 2016 #190

Spent my first 32 years of life in VA and never heard it either. n/t arcane1 Feb 2016 #78

Where in Virginia? NutmegYankee Feb 2016 #105

Richmond, which can kind of go either way depending on who you talk to. arcane1 Feb 2016 #113

When I lived in the Shenandoah Valley in the late 1950s 1939 Feb 2016 #165

not in Maine royable Feb 2016 #68

Yeah, that bugs me the way out-of-staters say Bangor too. Zing Zing Zingbah Feb 2016 #102

It must be a southern vs northern thing. NutmegYankee Feb 2016 #104

And yeah, everyone in Maine says apple-ae-shun. Zing Zing Zingbah Feb 2016 #115

The mountain range extends far. AHEM: WinkyDink Feb 2016 #145

It is also ColorRAdo not Drahthaardogs Feb 2016 #162

Maybe it's people in NevADDah who don't know how to pronounce it. pangaia Feb 2016 #130

It's Missour"uh", right? 11 Bravo Feb 2016 #31

No, no, no TuxedoKat Feb 2016 #90

I was chatting once with someone from Missouri and asked him which was correct. Tanuki Feb 2016 #183

Yes TuxedoKat Feb 2016 #187

It's actually pronounced NobodyHere Feb 2016 #121

mih sur ree ChairmanAgnostic Feb 2016 #188

Yes. We here in OR-UH-GUN get awful tired of OR-EE-GAWN. [n/t] Maedhros Feb 2016 #37

Yeah but that's an I on the end, not an Uh. Volaris Feb 2016 #108

Warshington, DC, or Warshington state? kwassa Feb 2016 #138

No, Missouri. Volaris Feb 2016 #140

it is Missery, not Missouri snooper2 Feb 2016 #174

Wait until they get to Arkansas. edbermac Feb 2016 #2

Ar Can Saw not Ar Kansas LiberalArkie Feb 2016 #76

Oh, who cares? People mispronounce Chicago all the time..... Peregrine Took Feb 2016 #3

Apparently the reaction is going to be "who cares?" mwb970 Feb 2016 #6

There is such a thing as regional dialects and accents. cemaphonic Feb 2016 #22

Language also declines when one does not allow for the colloquial LanternWaste Feb 2016 #27

Language dies when it does not evolve Orrex Feb 2016 #38

Sic verum est TheUndecider Feb 2016 #211

Since you bring it up, being obsessed with one 'correct' pronunciation is far more right wing muriel_volestrangler Feb 2016 #48

I love this one! mwb970 Feb 2016 #198

That's the problem - you think you're a "smart one" muriel_volestrangler Feb 2016 #206

So most of our schooling is needlesly "authoritarian", right? mwb970 Feb 2016 #208

Pronouncing Nevada with a short A is not intellectual muriel_volestrangler Feb 2016 #214

Oh boy! Dorian Gray Feb 2016 #163

Wow, i thought grammar nazis were uptight. Nt Logical Feb 2016 #179

There's a difference between "ah" and "aw"? NutmegYankee Feb 2016 #11

"AH" is what you say at the doctor's office. "AW" is what you say ... 11 Bravo Feb 2016 #33

I think 'aw' is a uniquely local pronunciation but plenty of us go with 'ah' or a very subtle 'aw' Gidney N Cloyd Feb 2016 #41

Ah and aw? OnionPatch Feb 2016 #98

To me aw is a long sound, ah is a short sound. n/t Zing Zing Zingbah Feb 2016 #118

AH and AW is the difference between a midwestern accent and a non-midwestern accent! Skittles Feb 2016 #116

The opposite, actually harrisbierhoff Feb 2016 #5

Thank you, Kelvin Mace Feb 2016 #8

Ha! harrisbierhoff Feb 2016 #20

Local Version Here, Kelvin ProfessorGAC Feb 2016 #45

And Beauforte, SC Kelvin Mace Feb 2016 #53

The funniest one is (and you'd know this if you're from Detroit) Wednesdays Feb 2016 #67

Not Grass shit... Grashit... k8conant Feb 2016 #153

to distinguish it from Beaufort (BOW-fuht) in NC :-) zazen Feb 2016 #210

Yes, here in Virginia, we have: phylny Feb 2016 #96

Grew up down the road from Kelvin Mace Feb 2016 #131

Our daughter lives in Waynesboro now :) phylny Feb 2016 #164

Yes, the town had some serious environmental problems given the factories that used to be there Kelvin Mace Feb 2016 #181

Born in Farmville 1939 Feb 2016 #169

Buena Vista city in Virginia 1939 Feb 2016 #168

I know, Kelvin Mace Feb 2016 #180

We had an old southern lady on the staff in college 1939 Feb 2016 #182

And I am sure he would have used the Italian pronunciation Kelvin Mace Feb 2016 #185

4th generation after him migrated to Virginia NT 1939 Feb 2016 #194

Have you talked to anyone from Nevada about this? mwb970 Feb 2016 #10

I have 2 sets of relatives who live in Vegas harrisbierhoff Feb 2016 #15

Ummm, no, they did not "create" the state. kiva Feb 2016 #56

Man if the irony in this post isn't thick enough to cut with a knife... cherokeeprogressive Feb 2016 #128

Splitting hairs aren't we? harrisbierhoff Feb 2016 #193

That was meant to be tongue in cheek. cherokeeprogressive Feb 2016 #195

Just want to support your sentiment on this. graegoyle Feb 2016 #25

Thanks! harrisbierhoff Feb 2016 #35

Texas: It's "TAYhahs" IDemo Feb 2016 #49

Verdad harrisbierhoff Feb 2016 #52

Actually, the Spanish pronunciation would be closer to "Nev-AH-tha" . . . markpkessinger Feb 2016 #103

There's on D in it... scscholar Feb 2016 #7

If I hear one more person say, "I shall scream" instead of, "I will scream..." ScreamingMeemie Feb 2016 #9

Meh. None of you out of staters pronounce Oregon correctly either. HuckleB Feb 2016 #12

I love the way they say Yachats, one of my favorite places. Shrike47 Feb 2016 #77

+1,000,000 ... 000 HuckleB Feb 2016 #79

They make that part of their tourism ads! KamaAina Feb 2016 #13

Can't Pronounce Nevada Correctly? You're Not Alone HuckleB Feb 2016 #14

"Tahoe is a mispronunciation of the Washoe word for “the lake” (Da ow). Donkees Feb 2016 #17

Is the mispronounced Lake Tahoe in the Sierra or Sierras? Brother Buzz Feb 2016 #23

Sierra Donkees Feb 2016 #39

Do they commonly mispronounce Spanish words in Great Britain? IDemo Feb 2016 #18

Heck, they mispronounce English words theah. MineralMan Feb 2016 #24

I asked a Brit co-worker one day on the elevator IDemo Feb 2016 #26

What colour was her hauh? MineralMan Feb 2016 #28

Sterling IDemo Feb 2016 #43

And that would be different from 'elevator' how? (nt) muriel_volestrangler Feb 2016 #50

True that IDemo Feb 2016 #51

Have you ever heard a BBC reporter say "Barrack"? kiva Feb 2016 #57

Or "ALuMINium"? Qutzupalotl Feb 2016 #107

Or sometimes "alooMINyoom." Codeine Feb 2016 #125

My ears have a hard time listening to British auto racing phylny Feb 2016 #216

I've been watching a lot more British kiva Feb 2016 #217

Can't think of any Spanish-derived UK place names offhand, Denzil_DC Feb 2016 #75

Mentioned because the OP said "NevAHda does not make one sound smart and British." IDemo Feb 2016 #117

Because English is frikkin weird. n/t Denzil_DC Feb 2016 #119

More than that, why does the UK have the River Thames, River Tay, River Avon etc. muriel_volestrangler Feb 2016 #161

can we say it like d_r Feb 2016 #19

Better not listen to any Spanish speakers, then. MineralMan Feb 2016 #21

Muchisimas gracias, Señor. harrisbierhoff Feb 2016 #30

De nada, mi amigo. MineralMan Feb 2016 #34

If Spanish.. KatyMan Feb 2016 #87

It cuts both ways, of course Warpy Feb 2016 #60

Sympathies from out here in "Ore-GONE." (*grrr*) Lizzie Poppet Feb 2016 #29

Nu Yawk Donkees Feb 2016 #40

Nueva York n/t IDemo Feb 2016 #42

MyYAMma, even for Floridians upstate. Eleanors38 Feb 2016 #44

like louisville ky - or duquesne saturnsring Feb 2016 #47

Well, I know about "Loo-uh-ville, But Duquesne? Who doesn't know that one? WinkyDink Feb 2016 #146

me that was new to me saturnsring Feb 2016 #184

"You Oughta NOT Say Ne vaw da!" Hissyspit Feb 2016 #54

It goes both ways Matrosov Feb 2016 #55

Na-Va-Da is how I say it bigwillq Feb 2016 #58

This seems to be a strange attitude. mwb970 Feb 2016 #199

The Na-Vaa-Da school of words (nt) bigwillq Feb 2016 #215

This message was self-deleted by its author stopbush Feb 2016 #59

Do they say "Lass Veegass"? Or might they use the, you know, original Spanish? WinkyDink Feb 2016 #147

Yup, gets on the nerves of most Nevadans. kiva Feb 2016 #61

and what exactly is wrong with "not being from around there" Skittles Feb 2016 #132

What they are actually saying is "Who cares?" There is a LOT wrong with that. /nt mwb970 Feb 2016 #200

I guess I should be outraged when people say ILLINOISE Skittles Feb 2016 #219

Come down here to TX and see how Manchaca, Guadaloupe, and Refugio are pronounced hobbit709 Feb 2016 #62

We used to float the Gwa-da-loo-pay River a lot back Seeking Serenity Feb 2016 #69

Or San Jacinto and Mexia kentauros Feb 2016 #82

In Austin TX Guadaloupe St Quantess Feb 2016 #158

Or Bexar County JustABozoOnThisBus Feb 2016 #167

I only know 'cause I used to live in Austin Seeking Serenity Feb 2016 #172

along with Mexia, Bexar County, or San Jacinto Zen Democrat Feb 2016 #191

I lived there a couple of years and mispronounced it the whole time Blasphemer Feb 2016 #63

Nevada is one of our fifty states. mwb970 Feb 2016 #201

I call it "Nev-AHH-da." I'm a New England Liberal heathen. chrisa Feb 2016 #64

remember the people on the Mayflower thought olddots Feb 2016 #65

We here in AR-kan-SAW (Arkansas) get tickled Seeking Serenity Feb 2016 #66

My husband went to Lafayette College (PA), and hereabouts we use the original French. Of course, the WinkyDink Feb 2016 #148

People say things different ways in different parts of the country melman Feb 2016 #71

Not the names of states. mwb970 Feb 2016 #202

Same with ColorADDo. Blue_In_AK Feb 2016 #73

Ha! The citizens of Louisiana disagree over how to pronounce Louisiana TexasMommaWithAHat Feb 2016 #74

Data point: I'm British, and I've always assumed it was NevAHda. Donald Ian Rankin Feb 2016 #80

Americans wishing to appear smart often adopt inappropriate British pronunciations. mwb970 Feb 2016 #203

Then let me make you scream. kentauros Feb 2016 #81

People mispronounce Illinois, but you don't see people in Illinois getting bent out of shape B Calm Feb 2016 #84

I agree with you, and I'm not even from there Populist_Prole Feb 2016 #85

Alabama is pronounced AlaDamnBama according to an Alabama truck driver I met long ago. B Calm Feb 2016 #86

potayto potahto, tomayto tomahto ;) mgmaggiemg Feb 2016 #88

I feel the same way about OldHippieChick Feb 2016 #89

Just don't say "Cali". Throd Feb 2016 #91

hey shanti Feb 2016 #92

This 8th generation Californian says you may not be one... Throd Feb 2016 #95

oh really... shanti Feb 2016 #97

You really say "Cali"? Codeine Feb 2016 #127

Yes I occasionally say cali shanti Feb 2016 #141

i had a bf once who said ne-vah-da shanti Feb 2016 #93

I don't live there and never been there. Zing Zing Zingbah Feb 2016 #94

I agree with you - I lived there for awhile nadine_mn Feb 2016 #99

I grew up saying "NevAHda" . . . markpkessinger Feb 2016 #101

Seems like a strange thing to obsess about . . . markpkessinger Feb 2016 #106

A simple fix: Qutzupalotl Feb 2016 #109

We have a few towns here in Washington that we use as a test... Wounded Bear Feb 2016 #110

Hahaha, we were stationed at Lewis & lived in Puyallup. giftedgirl77 Feb 2016 #120

Spo can shanti Feb 2016 #122

Awww (not ahhh) you gave it away... Wounded Bear Feb 2016 #123

Hee! shanti Feb 2016 #142

Didn't Michelle Obama teach us that when she was actually booed LiberalElite Feb 2016 #111

sorry, you are incorrect Skittles Feb 2016 #112

NevAHda 👹 abelenkpe Feb 2016 #114

It's -not- Neh-vay-der? Whut? Do that mean Iowa aynt prunownst O-hi-A????????? HereSince1628 Feb 2016 #124

It's a Spanish word, so NevAHda is closer to the correct pronunciation. roody Feb 2016 #133

Not according to the residents. /nt mwb970 Feb 2016 #205

Thanks for bringing a Lounge thread into GD. Well played, my friend!! madinmaryland Feb 2016 #134

My first day doing radio news in southern Illinois I didn't pronounce Cairo "kay-roh" Gidney N Cloyd Feb 2016 #135

Not the same. Illinois wasn't founded by Egyptians. WinkyDink Feb 2016 #144

Well, I suspect neither is the Egyptian pronunciation. Gidney N Cloyd Feb 2016 #171

You should come to Colorado sometime. backscatter712 Feb 2016 #139

But it IS "Ne-VAH-da." Es verdad! "Majority rules" doesn't make it "Nevadda'! WinkyDink Feb 2016 #143

The whole thread made me think of this scene from The Simpsons. CBGLuthier Feb 2016 #149

Yeah! It is also Or`e'gon not Or A Gone Sam_Fields Feb 2016 #150

Here in Oregon the sound of "Oregon" is indistinguishable from the sound of "organ". Binkie The Clown Feb 2016 #152

Glance at a map of regional dialects of American English. Binkie The Clown Feb 2016 #151

If I ever move to Nevada, I'll learn to pronounce it like a native. Until then, leave me alone NT Ex Lurker Feb 2016 #154

Is it Or-e-gun? Or-e-gone? or O-ree-gone? Algernon Moncrieff Feb 2016 #155

I saw a bumper sticker on my dog walk yesterday: "Orygun" IDemo Feb 2016 #218

I've had a lot of people "correct" me about how to spell my surname, merrily Feb 2016 #156

And don't get me started on how to pronounce "pronunciation" yellowcanine Feb 2016 #220

Everyone has equal rights to take a stab at pronouncing "pronunciation," merrily Feb 2016 #222

Customer service telephone operators learn quickly how places are pronounced. Quantess Feb 2016 #157

Prescriptive grammar. Deadshot Feb 2016 #166

This drives me crazy as well, my friends and family here say "Ten-uh-SEE" reflection Feb 2016 #170

Just to add one from my corner of the land IDemo Feb 2016 #173

Yes there is, it is Lil Boozie! snooper2 Feb 2016 #175

I can't go there IDemo Feb 2016 #176

so so many place names in the US lapfog_1 Feb 2016 #177

You should hear what foreigners (outside of the city) call Louisville, Ky rock Feb 2016 #178

NevAH knew that underpants Feb 2016 #186

I've had Nevadans correct me when I said "Nev-add-a" and say, "NO-- it's Nev-ahh-da". Marr Feb 2016 #189

Take corrections in stride, just like people take your perceived errors in stride when they Quantess Feb 2016 #196

They were wrong. /nt mwb970 Feb 2016 #221

Don't fuck up San Rafael! WhaTHellsgoingonhere Feb 2016 #192

LOL! I don't know when we started adding an H in there but we did! Rex Feb 2016 #197

Nevaduh! n/t Lodestar Feb 2016 #204

Oregon TheUndecider Feb 2016 #209

read up on "Great Northern Cities Vowel Shift" that flattens vowels zazen Feb 2016 #212