13 American Places We've All Been Saying Wrong | ALASKA EDITION

In which I continue looking at the hard-to-pronounce towns and cities of each state in America. Moving alphabetically, let's tackle Alaska.
Subscribe to my channel: / @lostinthepond
- Support me on Patreon: / lostinthepond
- Follow me on Twitter: / lostinthepondus
- Follow me on Instagram: / laurence.m.brown
- Follow me on Facebook: / lostinthepond
- Visit my website: www.LostinthePo...

[@LostinthePond]

To the Lost in the Pond fan I sort of bumped into on the Lakeshore Trail this evening: Hello! I wanted to say that here since it seemed like there was some confusion. And wind. Lots of wind. Anyway, glad you like the channel!

[@jamus1340]

I got about the same score as you and I'm use to native words. Alaskan words...no just native words.

[@adaml2932]

How do you pronounce bottle of water?

[@SGalli-ff6nf]

@@adaml2932 bah-tl-a-wa-tr

[@ParallaxRS]

@@adaml2932 like an American: bahddle of warder

[@franklinhammack949]

Perhaps you could tell us Americans what is the difference in British cities or town with “upon” or “on” in their name. Thanks

[@beng7206]

Having been to some of these towns after living here in Alaska for 20+ yrs, we locals don't always agree on how to pronounce them either.

[@fbksfrank4]

Well, I think they changed the name of Barrow back to its original name just to screw with the outsiders. And I’ll always call it Barrow.

[@shademedic9340]

True

[@joeenquist2449]

you have to remember that AK has 8 officially recognized languages, 7 native + english

[@richardsigman3776]

Really! 8 official recognized languages? No wonder these words are unpronounceable for the average person!

[@jennipatzke3011]

Many more languages than 8 and most have multiple dialects. Most of these place names have multiple pronunciations. One for at home with other local language speakers and one adjusted for use with English speakers.

[@janetplanet8746]

Just TWO states in, & i'm already rolling on the floor laughing! What a project! Love it!

[@loosilu]

Seriously, this is one of the best bits Laurence has done!

[@JPMadden]

As English speakers, we are accustomed to consonants being silent or pronounced in multiple ways. Indigenous languages lacking an alphabet, which is most of them, are spelled phonetically. We might have confusion about how to pronounce the vowels or which syllable to emphasize.

[@jimgreen5788]

JPMadden, actually nowadays, these languages do have an alphabet, but still have come up with bizarre pronunciations and spellings.

[@JPMadden]

@@jimgreen5788 I've seen written indigenous words that seem impossible to pronounce, instead of being spelled phonetically. Many of the letters have extra bits, like accents or umlauts. I think they are "diacritical marks," so language experts know which vowel sound to use (long "A," short "A," schwa "A," etc.).

[@MuriKakari]

You also have to navigate the bias of the original transcriber. Knowing which languages the person writing these down was familiar with helps, but then names change over time too.

[@mortshare7037]

As a long-time Alaskan here’s a hint for pronunciation of Alaskan place names from northern Alaska: pretend your lips are numb (from cold) so pronounce more from the back of the mouth and throat.

[@jeannine1739]

I spent the first 32 years of my life in Alaska and missed a good third of those, tho I must say Ms. Google speaks in it's own dialect on some of them. You did very well! :)

[@christibritton4542]

Oregon - Willamette, Dallas, The Dalles, Yachats, La Grande, Blachly, Chiloquin, Imnaha, Langlois, Tualatin, Wallowa

[@lindah6954]

Alaska uses the high scoring Scrabble pieces. lol

[@danielm5535]

Utquiagvik used to be Barrow, the northernmost city in Alaska- where it is illegal to lock your car doors so people being chased by polar bears have a chance to seek refuge.

[@deathybrs]

Wait, people in Utqiagvik have cars now? Man, that's a big improvement from when I lived there.

[@danielm5535]

@@deathybrs Not too many- since none of the roads that point out of town connect to other roads, which I’m sure you know well…

[@deathybrs]

@@danielm5535 heh. Yeah. I'm used to all the vehicles in town belonging to the city, the state, or BUECI.

[@strawman6085]

Let’s change the name of Barrow to something unpronounceable in the interest of showing the stupidity of political correctness.

[@deathybrs]

@@strawman6085 Your name is apropos.

[@rieskimo]

I am ethnically half Alaskan native(Tlingit), and I know nothing about that heritage except that (at least the Tlingits) use mouth sounds that are foreign to the english tongue(a lot of throat and "sh" type sounds).

[@jnorth3341]

Utqiagvik is pronounce by locals, even most of the ones living there, as "Barrow".

[@BirchLeafPhotography]

This is awesome! I've followed you for a long time and you know I've commented on here about being from Alaska. I can't wait to share this! Everyone will get a kick out of it. Honestly a lot of us struggle with some of these because we have Alaska Native, Russian, and English place names up here. You did great!

[@annesmith7548]

Alaskan here. Whenever we get a news anchor or weather person from Outside, it's always humorous to listen to their pronunciations. I have to disagree with your pronunciation bot though, the first syllable of Koyukuk is not pronounced Kie, it's Koi, like the fish. 58 years living here and I've never before heard anybody pronounce it "Kie ya kuk".

[@jonanderson5137]

It's definitely koyakuk and not kieakuk.

[@robinchesterfield42]

I KNEW Alaska was gonna be interesting before we even started--and I wasn't wrong. XD Love this whole series idea!

[@mnm4ever7591]

Oregon: Willamette, Champoeg, Yachats, Deschutes, Tigard, Multnomah, Umatilla, Coquille, Aloha, Ochoco, Heceta, Siuslaw,

[@marygifford9379]

I suggest : Toiyabe national forest, Winnemucca, Tahoe, Washoe county, Paiute. All in Nevada.

[@lacyLor]

Good timing, the Iditarod is wrapping up this week in Alaska and there are mushers racing through Unalakleet right now. You could do a video just like this with just Iditarod checkpoints.

[@moretoxic7up]

I remember the first year I followed the Iditarod I had the hardest time trying to pronounce Skwentna and Yentna. We'll probably see a winner tonight!

[@lacyLor]

@@moretoxic7up I’ve been following it for years and I still don’t know how some of them are pronounced lol. Yes, exciting. I was rooting for Brent Sass 👏

[@charlespeterwatson9051]

If you think Utqiatgvik is hard to say, it's worse living there. It's the northernmost city in the United States with the highest prices due to air delivery being its primary mode of importing.

[@lindaanderson704]

I live along the Knik River. Born in Kanakanak, AK, and lived in village called Chignik Lagoon, AK. This was a fun video. Come visit!

[@beverlyjohnson8801]

You and the show just keep getting better and better and your facial expressions put me in stitches. Love it.

[@lauriemartin490]

I'm an Arizonan and I love hearing people try to pronounce Tohono O'Odham, Mogollan Rim, Fort Huachuca, Tlaquepaque, Ahwatukee, and Canyon de Chelly. Two other town names that look easy are Prescott and Tempe, but often mispronounce them.

[@eTraxx]

I have Huachuca down pat .. was stationed there in the Army

[@hilavilla9182]

Ajo. Chiricahua. Tanque Verde. I can come up with more. Fyi if you are asking a computer they don't pronounce them right either

[@MuriKakari]

I wanted to ask the SW if you had a lot of Tl and Coa and Hua starting place names.

[@lindah6954]

Most of Alaska was already named before it became a state in January 3, 1959.

[@Pappy_1775]

Arizona has a lot of Native American and Spanish words. Here are some words and place names from the Great State of Arizona: Hualapai Tohono O'odham Pascua Yaqui Mogollon Cibecue Gila Huachuca Saguaro

[@thanksfernuthin]

A good list. I'd actually add Tucson if it weren't in a Beatles song.

[@jamessuper7855]

How about Ajo.

[@jonc4403]

One of the more effective ways of annoying people in the Phoenix area is to pronounce Hohokam as if it was in New Jersey.

[@Pappy_1775]

@@jamessuper7855 I thought about Ajo but I thought he would probably figure it out with the other Spanish words since it only has three letters.

[@hcolleen534]

Oh, my goodness...AZian here, too...it just grates in my ears when people pronounce saguaro wrong...same with Guadalupe. I mean...they're not English words.

[@karenhernandez8696]

Don't feel bad, I lived in Anchorage for 19 years and if I hadn't heard them pronounced I would not have any idea how to pronounce them. Great job! 👏

[@LittleManFlying]

As we said in Bethel, the really cool thing about Anchorage is how close it is to Alaska. Of course, folks in Anchorage say that the cool thing about Bethel is... nothing, because they (who've never been there) have all been told -- and have somehow agreed -- that it's the "armpit of the universe."

[@takpaanboskofsky]

i enjoy watching ur vids! i was not expecting to see the first one in this list to be my hometown, Utqiagvik!! this video had me hooked and rolling from the get go!!

[@mailickmiller1825]

I believe that this video has the pronunciation of Chuathbaluk incorrect. I’ve had conversations with people who have lived and worked there, and I’ve always heard the last syllable pronounced the same as the word ‘luck’.

[@Alverant]

Iowa has some hard ones too. The capital is "Des Moines" with the first word being correctly pronounced "de", no "s" sound. But in Chicagoland there's "Des Plaines". Both are French, but in the latter, the "s" is not silent. So we have "From the Monks" and "From the Plains".

[@NancyAllred]

Arizona city names: Ahwatukee, Tusayan, Sahuarita, Huachuca City

[@ElizabethNicoleSchwartz]

I knew Gustavus well despite being from Minnesota because there's a Gustavus-Adolphus College near me. It's in St. Peter.

[@Cammi_Rosalie]

When you get to Pennsylvania, I have a few suggestions: Langeloth. Shickshinny. Punxsutawney. Conshohocken. Bala Cynwyd.

[@janmcclure6239]

Schoenersville

[@janmcclure6239]

How could I forget Kishacoquillas

[@nixhixx]

PA has the best place names!

[@ZipplyZane]

"That's assuming that the stress is on the middle syllable, and it's not. It's on me." That was the best. I normally don't ever do the quote thing, but I had to here.

[@JennyMack]

sauk village, illinois

[@glennchartrand5411]

Nunathloogagamiubingoi That moment when you realize that the Eskimo's are just screwing with you.

[@lindafurman6288]

Love your videos Lawrence! 😊 For Arizona: 1) Canyon de Chelly 2) Prescott (Seems easy, but we can always tell AZ natives on this one!) (Just looked down the comments and saw that you have most of the other AZ places listed.) Good luck!

[@dennisswaney644]

I live in Prescott.

[@lindafurman6288]

Then you know what I’m talking about, right? 😉

[@richardsigman3776]

I will definitely give you an “A” for great effort and tenacity! I would have left after word #3.

[@nellgwenn]

Arizona here. Canyon de Chelly, Arcosanti, Tuzigoot, Wikieup.

[@CJBurgandy]

Lived in Alaska for 40 years. I am impressed how many you got correct. You did a better job than Nick Cage did in the movie "Frozen Ground." (And he had easy ones like Eklutna) I love how I can tell when I'm talking to someone out of state at work when they verify the address I'm talking to them about and they say Nick instead of Knik on the road name. No one every gets that one right.

[@engletinaknickerbocker5380]

It's a slight chuckle when folks mispronounce Kasilof and Valdez. When I first encountered people from outside referring to the pipeline terminal in Valdez, I had to think if they meant the pipeline went all the way to California.

[@terimcclaren4516]

@@engletinaknickerbocker5380 Or some say Kun Eye with a short vowel instead of Keen-Eye for Kenai. Drives me nuts.

[@engletinaknickerbocker5380]

@@terimcclaren4516 🙂

[@LambentLark]

There's a place called Knik Knack Mud Shack and a street called Kinnickinnic. We like getting people drunk and teaching them native words. Winters are long. Boredom must be battled.

[@J3scribe]

I lived in Nevada and Arizona for awhile. Here's some interesting place names for you. Wikieup, Hualapai, Kykotsmovi Village, Cibecue and Kinlichee.

[@jdinhuntsvilleal4514]

He's doing these alphabetically, so these are coming up.

[@J3scribe]

@@jdinhuntsvilleal4514 No shit. He asked for suggestions at the end, or did you miss that part?

[@daphnepearce9411]

I briefly lived in Bethel AZ on the Kuskokwin river. Took me awhile to pronounce that one correctly. I'm in Arizona now and got one for you Lawrence, next time your in Sedona stop by the Tlaquepaque shopping mall! Cool place. :-)

[@glennduke5853]

Keep trying cousin. Hang in there you are doing pretty well! Sometimes I just remain silent with many place names even in Britain. Polish just makes me give up!

[@deedee67888]

Connecticut has some interesting pronunciations - Coventry, Norfolk, Wolcott, Southington, Quinnipiac, Hebron come to mind. And throw in the Thames River.

[@debbiesims138]

Washington state has some interesting names. Still can't pronounce the town my sister lives in.

[@scottinphilly]

Ahwatukee, Arizona needs a shoutout, Laurence.

[@denaolson1719]

Going to Arizona should visit tuzigoot

[@mythosthebear]

Wow. First one, right on - formerly Barrow. I lived there when the vote for the name change went through. Oot-key-ahg (with throat noise)-vick

[@jonanderson5137]

It's still Barrow and McKinley is still Denali. In other news Ptarmigan is still Chicken, we still can't legally subsistence hunt or fish and our cities are still plagued with drugs, alcohol and outsiders. Rename what you want, but the real problems are getting worse.

[@spoosieoopsie1616]

Be sure to put Pierre and Lead in your South Dakota list.

[@susanapplegate9758]

Life long Alaskan and worked up here at the statewide phone company many years…lots of fun little villages, towns, rivers, mountains, dunes, lakes, seas to work with. .I think you did great Lawrence!

[@TheHopefulchild]

When you get around to Utah, one of our hardest places to figure out how to pronounce by looking at how it’s spelled is Tooele

[@justalittlebitmo]

And Duschesne

[@dorismidge8762]

That was fun! I paused the video after a few to practice before Laurence gave us the correct pronunciation. My family thought I was practicing a second language. When I informed them they were places in America, they were visible perplexed. 😂

[@SGalli-ff6nf]

Hello Lawrence, Whenever you compare pronunciations I have always been amazed that my family says things in the British way. I can't figure out how these pronunciations have made it through the many generations since my ancestors came to America. Has anyone else made this connection?

[@harvbegal6868]

The Canadian town of Tuktoyaktuk.

[@turquoisewitch.wild-owl]

We, in MA, have Leicester and know how to say it properly. There is a Warwick in RI, but we say, "War-wick" pronouncing the second W. A lot of MA and RI residents sometimes pronounce it "Wau-wick" since some of us still don't pronounce all of our Rs.

[@MFCOOL83]

It's gonna be quite awhile before we get to the "W" states. 🤣🤣 living in Washington, I can't wait though, keep it up👍. I was very interested to see how Alaska would do and you did way better than I did. Lol

[@Bashobozo]

No joke. Some of the Lushootseed words are really hard to pronounce.

[@MisterBeauJanGels]

When he does get to Alaska, I hope he includes Humptulips.

[@auntiex5343]

I’d like to see you tackle these Minnesota names: Wayzata, Edina, New Prague, Shakopee, Ely…

[@bethhentges]

Mahtomedi, Wabasso, Bde Mka Ska

[@TheFlowerGirl13]

Mankato

[@elisam.r.9960]

Gustavus is also a college in Minnesota (specifically in St. Peter). I've wandered around Gustavus before, although it's been almost, uh, 18 years since I did so. So I would have at least gotten that one.

[@dawnmichelle4403]

When you get to California, try saying Lodi. I can always tell when it's an out-of-town telemarketer.

[@christibritton4542]

Low die ?

[@dawnmichelle4403]

@@christibritton4542 you got it! Most of the time I hear low-dee.

[@rebeccadoty-evans4499]

Suggestions for Illinois: Loogootee, Shobonier, Vienna, Cairo, Teheran, and Teutoplis (extra points if you can guess it's local nickname).

[@adriennegormley9358]

Hitting you with both native and Americanized Russian place names is gonna give you fits I can tell.

[@revtoyota]

Even the pronunciation service you used didn't get Koyukuk correct.

[@cjthompson420]

“These are winter clothes!” Me in front of the ac in Texas: oh ok? 🥵

[@TheInkPitOx]

There's a town in Alaska named Chicken that was originally supposed to be named Ptarmigan but no one could spell it.

[@heatherangers5876]

Yesterday, for the first time, I watched your podcast-binged watched in fact. Good job; between the laughs and smiles, you carried me away from war, gloom, and trumpets of doom. Hmmm, those red glasses? They make you look quite joyous- 🙂 In the words of my youth which seem so more appropriate today--keep on truckin'. I appreciate the smiles. Thank you. Really, thank you.

[@katiesargent8512]

Not a town, but Piestewa Mountain is right near Phoenix, AZ and I mispronounced its name for the first two years I lived here

[@dianna3157]

That was one I was going to put on my list but I lived here back when it was "Squaw Peak", so I had the advantage of hearing the name for years from when it was proposed to replace the offensive name, to honoring the first Native American woman killed in combat, and the first woman to be killed in the Iraq war, Lori Piestewa.

[@katiesargent8512]

@@dianna3157 That's really cool! I had no idea of the history of the name. Thank you!

[@ShainThomas]

A few Alaska place names sound Welsh. There is an almost Klingon vibe to some places.

[@diggity1039]

I was born in Anchorage! I'm happy the Alaska video came out today. 2 down 48 to go!

[@poweredbyhs]

Third generation Arizonan here sending some towns for you to pronounce. Good luck with some of these. :) Today's Alaska video was hilarious! Kayenta Lukachuka Nazlini Oljati-Monument Valley Kinlichee Chinle Maricopa Cibecue Huachuca City Sahuarita Arcosanti Tempe Seligman Tusayan Picacho Ocotillo Ahwatukee

[@nixhixx]

After the 2020 election, I think we can all pronounce Maricopa.

[@islandgypsy1096]

Huachuca city, and Lake Havasu City Arizona. No hints from me.

[@WizardToby]

Lots of Alaska towns are named in the local Inuit (and other native american) languages

[@jasonbailey9139]

And throw in a Russian or mispronounced Spanish name just to keep you on your toes.

[@WizardToby]

@@jasonbailey9139 Yup... Valdez becomes Valdees in Alaska XD.

[@jasonbailey9139]

@@WizardToby Cordova becomes core-DOVE-uh (dove as in dive). Then there's that area north of Kenai that doesn't know if it wants to go indigenous Nikishka or Russian Nikiski. Chugach and Chugiak have that same dilemma.

[@TikTok_refugees1977]

OK, I am from Arizona try the words: saguaro cactus, or the Cholla, Yavapai, or the native american reservation of Tohono O'odham, Canyon de Chelly (Not at all like it looks), Ahwatukee, Pico de gallo, Mogollon rim

[@rhoetusochten4211]

A .308 average (4/13) is quite good in baseball. Back in the game, indeed.

[@jonanderson5137]

.308 is a good rifle round too.

[@pierreabbat6157]

Fun fact: Alaska has an extinct official language. (AFAIK it's the only US state which does, but I haven't checked them all.) One of its official languages is Eyak, which died in 2008. There are some second-language speakers.

[@xbubblehead]

If Arizona is up next, I would point out that the two largest cities, Phoenix and Tucson, are not spelled as they are pronounced, and good luck with Canyon de Chelly.

[@airguy5024]

UTQIAGVIK looks like it came off an eye chart.

[@bwcbiz]

Alaskan place names: They're like Wales but with more vowels.

[@jonanderson5137]

And thankfully mostly without the Welsh!

[@davidterry6155]

Evening Laurence

[@daricetaylor737]

Native American names tend to emphasize the second syllable in names whilst Native Alaskan names tend to emphasize the first syllable Laurence......just for your reference.

[@LindaC616]

Hahaha, "get out of town!" Chicago is wearing off on you!

[@michaelwillever3522]

Tumcacori, AZ.

[@dacchic1]

Arizona places names: Arcosanti, Cibecue, Ehrenberg, Huachuca City, Nogales, Sacaton, Sahuarita, Seligman, Sonoita, Tubac, Tusayan.

[@tiffanyjack6095]

I was right there with you. But then, I have a hard time with about half of the Michigan cities and I've been here almost 30 years now.

[@tiffanypatton9293]

I was born and grew up in Michigan. When in doubt think how it would be pronounced in French. Many place names, especially along Lake Huron where names by the French who where the first European settlers and names the places.

[@azrich2463]

Here are some common Arizona place names often mispronounced. Some are easy, some are not. All of them however are well known to most Arizonans. Tubac , Quitobaquito, Nogales, Tucson, Hassayampa, Sacaton, Gila, Papago, Ajo, Cibecue, Cascabel, Sahuarita, Picacho, Tumacacori, Comobabi, Morenci, Chinle, Chilchinlbito

[@kellyfazekas7831]

What have I learned from this video? I cannot ever move to Alaska!!

[@engletinaknickerbocker5380]

I'd pronounce Koyukuk as koi yah cook. I'm from Chugiak, Alaska. Chew ghee ak, or from the Athabaskan, 'place of many places'. I'm not sure if the pronunciation bot has ever been there.

[@treering8228]

Oh come off it! These were the easy ones!

[@buddygecko74]

Prescott - Anyone new to AZ pronounces that wrong. People stumble over Gila Bend, Casa Grande, Bowie, and San Simon. They look obvious, but they're not

[@musicjmusic0]

Ooh! I'm already thinking of some places in Missouri that might be difficult to pronounce.

[@daphnepearce9411]

Hmmmm, Gravois blvd, river Des Peres, New Madrid? That will be a fun episode!

[@KevinZ.000]

For AZ: Living in Tucson the Tohono O'odam Nation Reservation is a good one plus I love how people try to pronounce the Saguaro cactus.

[@oxoelfoxo]

It's not sah-gwa-ro?

[@rdhunkins]

Arizona: Wupatki Mogollon Agassiz Lukachukai Teec Nos Pos Dennehotso Homolovi Las Ciengas Sahuarita Tanque Verde Pisinemo Ko Vaya Topawa Gu Oidak Comobabi Anegam Gila Bend Tonopah Tacna Tohono O’odham Chiawuli Tak Yavapai Hualapai Chinle kinlichee Kykotsmovi Shongopovi

[@jimgreen5788]

Bob Hunkins, ya missed a doozie: S-chuchuligk (village on the Tohono O'Odham Res.). I couldn't find the pronunciation anywhere, so finally called the Tribal Council, and talked with a council member: shcoo-COO-lick.

[@MisterBeauJanGels]

Utqiaġvik (most locals continue to call it Barrow regardless) is home to Iḷisaġvik College. The last two syllables are pronounced the same in each case. Some of these were actually pretty easy. Try Nuiqsut or Tuntutuliak.

[@tiffanyjack6095]

Hawaii is another fun one. I was told by a native that every letter is pronounced and that their alphabet is quite small, I can't remember exactly how many letters were in it now, it's been a few years. He said his son spoke the language better than he did. Lol

[@jasonbailey9139]

The movie North made a joke about how the kid would earn straight A's because there are no B,C,D, or F in Hawaiian....and I think that ratio holds pretty close for most of the alphabet. Vowels, H, K, N, L, W, and a couple more letters maybe.

[@kittycatgaminghayley6210]

Hawaiian has 13 letters

[@Markle2k]

The vowels are like Spanish and Japanese, but they have a trick up the sleeve. Initial vowels are *always* preceded by a glottal stop in English, but not necessarily in Hawaiian. The first interstellar asteroid tripped up many as saw the “apostrophe” before ’Oumuamua and were intimidated. The “apostrophe” (it has a name I can’t remember) just indicates that you DO start with a glottal stop, just as in English. “Oh-oo-moo-uh-moo-uh” Some Hawaiian words are spelled “exactly the same” but mean different things depending upon the presence or absence of that glottal stop.

[@michaelevans1193]

When you get to Virginia, you need to include the place name that should never be attempted while drunk - Fauquier County.

[@Cricket2731]

🤣🤣🤣

[@DerekWitt]

Looking forward to Kansas. We got a boatload of seemingly weird place names. :)

[@mystethompson714]

I live not far from Kasilof, in sterling :)

[@GustavusAdolphus2]

But for real I love this channel

[@johndyess791]

Being from Arizona I would like to share for your pleasure: Lake Kinnikinick Mogollon Rim Saguaro Catus Fort Huachuca Tohono O'odham Tempe Tlaquepaque Ahwatukee Canyon de Chelly Mazatzal Aravaipa Tucson Sonoita

[@Joe30101]

Just north of you is a state full of good place names. Like Oostburg Wi, Eau Clarie Wi. on so on.

[@hgman3920]

The last time I was this early, there were still snakes in Ireland

[@jimgreen5788]

Laurence, 2 more possibilities for the Arizona edition--Chinle (village near Canyon de Chelly), and Kohatk (village on Tohono O'Odham Res.)