Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for February 08, 2024

It’s SPŌ•KAN

In a Three Stooges short, Moe and Larry argue about how to pronounce “secretary”; they ask Curly how he says it, and he answers, “Stenographer.”

If he thinks that’s tough, he should try pronouncing Puyallup.

Or a place!

The third option is the only way I’ve ever heard it pronounced.

Both can be equally right. On the other hand, “Worcester sauce” is a phonetic land mine.

Puyallup! Tukwilla! Humptulips! Ohmy!

The correct pronunciation of “Willamette Valley” trips up a lot of people.

Gonzaga? Try ZAGS.

Rat, you pronounce Gonzaga like it looks. Spanish is a phonetic language, and Gonzaga is a Spanish surname. All As are pronounced “ah.” GonZAga. Easy.

I used to live in Idaho, ask him how to pronounce “Owyhee”!

There was a couple who were driving through Florida, and stopped in Kissimmee to get a bite to eat. The man asked the waitress “How do you pronounce the name of this place?” The waitress answered “Bur-ger-King”.

Google/YouTube: “bob rivers spokane” – It’s SO worth it!!!

Who’s has the authority to say how it’s pronounced? So say it anyway you want.

According to Google, it’s spo-CANE. Rhymes with Jane.

Spokane (/spoʊˈkæn/ spoh-KAN)

In Norfolk in the UK we have a village named ‘Happisburgh’. It’s pronounced ‘Haze-bruh’

Spokane English is tough.

Eh me is never heards of that word, so me has no spokane about it even.

Amateurs. Try Schuylkill on for size.

Shibboleth….

That wise donkey will never get everyone to agree how to say PECAN!

Chi cah go, Chi caw go…

I live in Michigan. Try pronouncing “Mackinac” correctly. (It’s not what you think for the last 3 letters.)

Easy, you pronounce it my way. Next.

When in doubt just spell it out.

The greatest mystery is, how can Pig stand on that hill

Norfolk, VA? Do NOT say NOR-fork! Makes you look like an idiot!

Having watched TV stations from there, the answer is spo-CAN.

Why all the interest in Washington State?

Ask some true southerners how they say Massachusetts…..or maybe just ax them.

Do you pronounce the capital of Kentucky lewisville or lewyville? Neither, It is Frankfort.

Now ask the wise one why some people pronounce Washington as War-shington. Or Illinois as Illi-noise.

I have trouble with Ashkenazi. So I just say hi.

In a couple of hours, lots of people from that area will be reading this and letting us know what the correct way is. I always bugs me when I hear people mispronounce Chattanooga, they say it like the second a is silent. It’s 4 syllables, not 3.

They could make a video, like Bangor Maine: https://www.youtube.Com/watch?v=K_q9hAAIS-c

According to Jimmy Kimmel, Gonzaga doesn’t exist! You only hear about it during the NCAA basketball tournament! :-)

Pecan

“Houston.” At least in New York.

Worchester

I pronounce it “spoKANE” because that’s how it’s spelled.

In Ohio we have Berlin pronounced BURRlin and Dalton pronounced DOWLtin.

Just identify the letters and sound them out. And when in doubt, check out the Electric Company and Between the Lions.

Per MTG, “indictable” is pronounced “in-dick-table.”

No one has problems with those names.

Ashtabula, Ohio.

And for today’s bonus round, try, “Oaxaca”.

Lots of great pronunciation puzzles on the West Coast Snoqualmie, Siskiyou, Siuslaw, Issaquah…….and of course my favorite from the East Coast : Schuylkill.

don’t forget the easy ones. gyro or tzatziki.

On the other side of the country, try Poughkeepsie.

Washington state is full of them

caramel.

I have trouble with ŕƧňƣ$.

remember it’s @ before # except after $

I think the city in Washington is Spo – can. However, in the Missouri Ozarks, we have Spo – cane. We also have Ne – vay – da and other strange pronunciations.

Then there’s Calais, ME (“callous”), Du Bois, PA (“de boyz”), and Presque Isle, ME (“press Kyle”)

In Wyoming we have, Togwotee Pass! Pronounced Toe Get Tee! Go figure lol.

Even though it wasn’t actually made here, Frasier got it right when they titled an episode “Frasier Has Spokane” (pun on “Frasier has spoken”).

Just say “that school in Spokane.”

As a Washingtonian, this is kid stuff. Pronounce “Sequim.”

But can he pronounce Tchoupitoulas?

The city of Versailles, in Kentucky is – (yes) – pronounced as ’ Ver-SAILS ’ .

Pronouncing the city name in the original French form as – [ˌvərˈsī] will draw a LOT of quizzical looks from the local residents. … Truly though, it’s a really nice little city with good people!

With that, I say to you, Bonjour !! … :)

First time visiting Budapest, I wondered how the poor kids learned to spell and pronounce streets like Szentmihályi or Hűvösvölgyi if they lived on them. Same in Czech Republic and all the East European countries.

Spo-CAN is easy. Pierre, SD on the other hand is a trap, and a way to instantly distinguish non-locals.

However the locals pronounce it is fine by me.

Versailles: In France, they say (vayr-SIGH), while in Missouri, they say (ver-SALES). Go with the flow, man!

That reminds me that I have to call my friends in Bawlmer, Merilin, to see how they’re doing.

Gonzaga University is in Spokane, Washington.

Wanda’s former friend asks, what was the middle one again?

Kamehahmeha – Ka-me-ha-me-ha or Kame-hame-ha?

How about Svalbarðsstrandarhreppur (Iceland), or Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronuku- pokaiwhenuakitanatahu (New Zeland)

I’m going to go to Walla Walla.

Don’t even get him started on Louisville or Ohio…

What about Worcestershire sauce?

Hey,if the basketball team wins who cares how you pronounce it?

Gorgonzola with an erasure or two

Chickasha, Oklahoma.

Gazongas…..huh, huh.

The city of Mebane, NC is pronounced “mebbin”.

What is the capital of South Dakota? Almost no one outside of South Dakota gets it right.

The Spanish pronunciation va-yay-ho would also be correct, but yeah, we all say va-lay-o

Charlotte, VT

Gonzaga is easy, ask him how to say Sequim.

OK, how about Walla Walla?

But seriously: Sequim. Snowqualmie. Yakima. And as mentioned, Puyallup.

. Spokane, WashingtonPronounced Spo-CAN, not Spo-CANE. Spokane is a Salish tribe word meaning “children of the sun.”

as a Northwest native, I can assure you, it’s “spo CAN”

Pastis needs to have a chat with Scott “Basic Instructions” Meyer about Washingtonian pronunciation…Pastis could use an application of Meyer’s two-by-four of enlightenment…

She don’t lie She don’t lie She don’t lie Spokane.

It’s the last. And how do people not know how to pronouce that? I had no idea it was a thing. Now Willamette, Clackamette, Chehalis, & Champoeg, to name a few, are difficult for outsiders of the Great PNW.

The wise A$$ on the hill only confused the issue -MORE!

Da-mned the English language! @#$%§\

Try Louisville.

No sympathy from Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

But how do you pronounce the river in Philadelphia – the Schuylkill?

In California there are many ‘fun’ names. Atascadero becomes "ata-scata-roo”. ;-)

Instead of giving their town in Colorado the obvious correct Spanish pronunciation, the locals of Buena Vista insist on calling it “Bewna” Vista. It grates on my nerves every time I hear it. I suppose they can call it anything they want, but it is still ignorant.

This isn’t quite the same, but in DE, we have the town of “Houston”, which is pronounced “House-ton”, not “Hu-ston”, as it is in TX; and “Newark”, which is pronounced “New-ark”, not “Nerk”, as it is in NJ.

“Oxa Moxa” to my fellow DeadHeads!

or Yachats Oregon

It’s been said the JFK lost Washington to Nixon in 1960 because the former mispronounced Spokane on a campaign stop.

we made the funnies !!!!!!! Yeah !!!!!!!

Memphremagog, VT… Mooselookmeguntic ME… Both are beautiful areas

Try pronouncing Sequim.

Search Youtube for Bob Rivers “Spokane” for helpful pronunciation hints. (warning: satire ahead)

That is the English’s own fault: Why did it break into so many others language’s homes and burglarized them?

“Losers” :)

Since it appears to be a tribal language name, why not ask a member of the tribe that created it how the word should be pronounced?