Pronunciation

[BabylonSister]

I'm a lifelong Wisconsinite, and I don't understand what you mean by a "honk". But I say it more as "Wis CON sin" than "Wuh SCON sin".

As long as it's not "Wes SCAN son", though, I think it's all right. 

Michigan is "Mish i gen" - no "t" in it.

If you say it nasally, you get a little honk.  Hard to explain.

Like the French "on"?

[Thipu1]

Yes, here in NYC we pronounce the city in Texas as 'HUE- sten' with a slight emphasis on the 'H'. 

However, the street in NYC that is spelled the same way is pronounced 'House-ten' .

Go figure.

[Slartibartfast]

I'm a lifelong Wisconsinite, and I don't understand what you mean by a "honk". But I say it more as "Wis CON sin" than "Wuh SCON sin".

As long as it's not "Wes SCAN son", though, I think it's all right. 

Michigan is "Mish i gen" - no "t" in it.

If you say it nasally, you get a little honk.  Hard to explain.

Like the French "on"?

Very much like the French "on," except you're saying "ah" instead of "oh" when you do it.

[Sharnita]

It is regional, although Mish-i-gin is what the residents use   Kind of like O-re-gon versus Or-gin.

(I used to get teased a lot about how I said my home state - "Wisconsin" has a honk in it, if you're a native.  "wuh-SCON-sin," but the "scon" is very nasal.  I didn't realize that's how I said it until I went off to college in North Carolina!)

This is correct.  Unless you are Bon Ufer.

[Shea]

It is regional, although Mish-i-gin is what the residents use   Kind of like O-re-gon versus Or-gin.

(I used to get teased a lot about how I said my home state - "Wisconsin" has a honk in it, if you're a native.  "wuh-SCON-sin," but the "scon" is very nasal.  I didn't realize that's how I said it until I went off to college in North Carolina!)

I find that a lot of people who aren't from the west coast pronounce it Orry-gone. Drives me batty.

[iridaceae]

I'm a lifelong Wisconsinite, and I don't understand what you mean by a "honk". But I say it more as "Wis CON sin" than "Wuh SCON sin".

As long as it's not "Wes SCAN son", though, I think it's all right. 

Michigan is "Mish i gen" - no "t" in it.

If you say it nasally, you get a little honk.  Hard to explain.

Like the French "on"?

Very much like the French "on," except you're saying "ah" instead of "oh" when you do it.

Another Wisconsinite here and it's always been Wih-scon-sin to me.  I'm not sure about the honk either.

I do know people here in Arizona have mocked my pronunciation, making it sound much the way Phil Hartman's chaacter on Newsradio always said it but I don't say it that way

[KenveeB]

Yes, here in NYC we pronounce the city in Texas as 'HUE- sten' with a slight emphasis on the 'H'. 

However, the street in NYC that is spelled the same way is pronounced 'House-ten' .

Go figure.

Hey, it's Roe-DAY-oh Drive in Beverly Hills, but we all go to the RO-dee-oh.

[Thipu1]

We could have a great deal of fun with this sort of thing. 

It's KEYE- ro Egypt but KAY-ro Illinois. 

On the side, we had a French lady working with us for a while.  She insisted on pronouncing the state containing Chicago as 'EEL-nyo-wah'.

[baglady]

And Cairo, N.Y., is pronounced "Karo, like the syrup."

New York has a lot of towns/cities that share names with foreign places. But most of them are pronounced very differently. Madrid, for instance, rhymes with "bad kid" (emphasis on first syllable). Salamanca is Sal-ah-MANK-ah.

I'm a native of Boston, and there are little pronuncation goofs in TV shows and movies set in Boston that scream "Writers/actors didn't do their homework." Pronouncing Quincy "Quin-see," for instance. It's Quin-zee. Or Worcester any way but "Woostah." (Or in some neighborhoods, "Wistah").

[Corvid]

The fun part for us locals is whether we are Michiganians or Michiganders. 

I'd like to throw in a vote for Michiganese, which sounds mysterious and exotic.    It's a big no from me on Michiganite, though.

I, too, am a Michigander (or would I be a Michigoose?) and I will confirm that there is no "mitch" in the pronunciation of the state name.  I remember the first time I heard it pronounced "Mitchigan" was on an episode of Red Dwarf.

I recently read that the first use of "Michigander" was by Abraham Lincoln in reference to a political rival and it was actually meant as a subtle insult.  How could I prefer "Michiganian" over a Lincoln insult?

[Dindrane]

Another state pronunciation that I think sometimes gets kind of funny is Colorado.

Personally, I'm originally from Texas, and when I'm not thinking about it, I sometimes say "Cal-o-RAD-a."  Which, I'm pretty positive, would annoy the stuffing out of any native of that state (particularly since they don't seem to be fond of Texans as a rule).  But even when I'm not adding in extra "a"s all over the place, I still default to pronouncing it "Call-o-RAD-o" rather than "Call-o-RAHD-o."  I'm not sure which is actually correct.

I've also realized I do the same thing with Nevada.  I think I say it "Ne-VA-da," but other people also say it "Ne-VAH-da."

I have also noticed, living in Oregon, that the natives here are both very picky about pronunciations, and seemingly very amused (at least to a point) by the outsiders who get them wrong.  I pronounced the Willamette "will-a-MEET" the first time I actually said it out loud, and almost got laughed out of the room.  It's supposed to be "will-AM-et," because it's origins are Native American.  My boss poked fun at me for a week the first time I actually said "Tualatin" in her presence (it's "TWAL-atin" and the best guess I could make was "tu-ah-LAH-tin").

The only one that really seems to annoy them is the way some people, particularly those from the midwest and northeast, pronounce the name of the state.  I, apparently, managed to get at least that much right.

Oh, and another state with two common pronunciations: Louisiana.  I think most of the country says "Lou-ESE-ee-anna," but I most commonly hear "Louz-ee-anna."  I actually suspect that what I'm familiar with (being from Texas and all) is actually closer to what the residents of the state call it. Particularly since they're the same group of people that call New Orleans "NAH-lins."  Why have 4 syllables when you can knock it down to 3, after all?

[Shea]

I have also noticed, living in Oregon, that the natives here are both very picky about pronunciations, and seemingly very amused (at least to a point) by the outsiders who get them wrong.  I pronounced the Willamette "will-a-MEET" the first time I actually said it out loud, and almost got laughed out of the room.  It's supposed to be "will-AM-et," because it's origins are Native American.  My boss poked fun at me for a week the first time I actually said "Tualatin" in her presence (it's "TWAL-atin" and the best guess I could make was "tu-ah-LAH-tin").

Don't forget Tillamook, Terwilliger and The Dalles!

I must say, I never heard anyone pronounce Willamette the way you did. Mostly people will say "Willa-MET-ee". Yours makes sense too, though...

[drebay]

I have also noticed, living in Oregon, that the natives here are both very picky about pronunciations, and seemingly very amused (at least to a point) by the outsiders who get them wrong.  I pronounced the Willamette "will-a-MEET" the first time I actually said it out loud, and almost got laughed out of the room.  It's supposed to be "will-AM-et," because it's origins are Native American.  My boss poked fun at me for a week the first time I actually said "Tualatin" in her presence (it's "TWAL-atin" and the best guess I could make was "tu-ah-LAH-tin").

Don't forget Tillamook, Terwilliger and The Dalles!

I must say, I never heard anyone pronounce Willamette the way you did. Mostly people will say "Willa-MET-ee". Yours makes sense too, though...

I live in Tigard.  It is pronounced TIEgard.  Everyone says it like Tigger the Tiger.    How about Couch Street? (It's KOOCH)

[Thipu1]

A classic pronunciation conundrum is a place in New York State called Skanateles. 

How it it pronounced?

Exactly like a thin book of maps -- 'Skinny Atlas'.

[KenveeB]

Mexia, Texas.  Pronounced mu-HAY-uh

Also, Bexar County, Texas, pronounced "bear".