🇬🇧BRIT Reacts To USA PLACE NAMES THAT I’VE BEEN SAYING WRONG!

[@tomhalla426]

I use plethora as a substitute for shitload when I am being polite

[@cliftonmcnalley8469]

Kids from my generation knew how to pronounce Yosemite because of a cartoon character, Yosemite Sam, an adversary of Bugs Bunny. So I've never given it a second thought.

[@joeday4293]

The late great Mississippi comedian and storyteller Jerry Clower once mentioned Yosemite National Park on one of his albums. He said, "Yosie-might! Boy, that's a beautiful place. If I remember correctly, it ain't too far from the Mo-Jave Desert." Pronounced with a hard J and a long A. LOL

[@staceylowman1962]

And just a note about Grand Teton..... In his british accent, Lawrence clipped the second syllable saying [tee']-[ton]... Should be [tee']-[tawn] with almost the same emphasis on both

[@debbiejohnson7368]

Glad to see this comment. I live in this area and had to get on to correct that pronunciation. You have explained it perfectly!

[@teenystudioflicks1635]

Cambridge Dictionary online pronounces it tiː.tɑːn or as you said [tee']-[tawn]. Go there to hear it pronounced with both the UK and the US.

[@mariannaschechter4267]

Cringed when Lawrence pronounced Teton. My mom was born in Victor, Idaho ... just across the pass from Jackson Hole. Another cringeworthy mispronunciation is Zion National Park. People say Zi-on. Nope just Zion ... Zi isn't on anything!

[@wfly81]

"Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is an excellent movie starring British actor, Bob Hoskins. And his accent is so good that most Americans think he's American. It also has the distinction of starring both Disney and Warner Bros cartoon characters...something that's never been done before or since.

[@DelGuy03]

I hope someone does a historical analysis sometime of exactly WHEN British actors acquired the ability to do flawless American accents. For decades in movies, either everybody spoke a cultivated sort of high-class neutral accent (what used to be called "mid-Atlantic"), or people just used their own native accents and nobody cared (Gertrude Lawrence never tried to "sound American"). Or some stars just created "their own way" of speaking, and used it everywhere because it just sounded like them (Cary Grant for instance). But somewhere in the 1990s it changed. I first noticed it with Kenneth Branagh in Dead Again (1991); after half an hour I thought "he hasn't made a single mistake," and after that I stopped thinking about it. Roger Rabbit is right around that time too. And since then there's been a flood. Half our TV series star British actors who never make a false step with their American speech, whether Hugh Laurie (House), Jonny Lee Miller (Eli Stone), Idris Elba (The Wire), or many more. It's been a remarkable development.

[@TB-tr3cm]

99.9% of Americans pronounce Duluth correctly. (Da-LOOTH) Maybe even 100%. I've never heard it pronounced any other way -- and certainly not how Kabir seems to think he's heard it. Possibly he's thinking of Dulles Airport-- pronounced -- DULL-ess.

[@christypriest30]

I was thinking the same thing when he said it

[@cliftonmcnalley8469]

It's to be expected that Kabir has most likely heard it mispronounced by another Brit.

[@CamoJan]

Being from Minnesota & knowing how to pronounce it correctly, I sometimes like to give it a Scandinavian sound, Da-LUTE, just because. 😁

[@pegatheetoo1437]

As a Minnesotan, we always pronounced it Duh-luth. In fact, we made it a joke that it used to just be called Luth but they asked someone who wasn't too bright, what the name of that city was & he replied; Duh, Luth and it was called Duluth ever since! 😁

[@pwizandtheween3652]

As a Minnesotan, I laughed my butt off when he confidently said dull-eth

[@WIGeek72]

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is DEFINITELY worth watching. Even though it is older, the effects are still great. It mixes live action and animation extremely well and is a very entertaining movie.

[@TheRealdal]

Sometimes as Americans, we don’t know how to pronounce names unless we are from that area. I probably would have pronounced the town Wilkes- bar myself.

[@garycamara9955]

My grandmother pronounced it dee moynes

[@garycamara9955]

Ah poh mat ix

[@virginiarobbins7539]

My hub from there does say Wilks Bar but it sounds like he's saying bear.

[@ryanswaynow]

Fun Fact: Appomattox courthouse is actually the name of the town, not simply Appomattox. And Robert E Lee did not surrender in the towns literal courthouse. People just think that because they never hear about this town unless they’re reading about the end of the Civil War so when people read “Robert E Lee surrendered at Appomattox courthouse” they mistakenly believe he did it at an actual courthouse. He actually surrendered in the living room of a regular house owned by the McLean family that union officers had essentially commandeered.

[@christophercox9311]

The poor McLean family. The first battle near Manassas was literally on their farm. After the second battle of Bull Run took place on his farm, he had enough. Packed up his family, sold his farm near Manassas, and moved to Appomattox Courthouse. Thought he was being safe. Instead, the war came to his new house a couple of years later. Literally the war began in his front yard and ended in his livingroom.

[@jefferygreen2846]

@@christophercox9311 both were taught in highschool and still are in the US. Most people just dont pay attention or dont care enough to remember. Just like people who dont know states or other things that everyone should know about the country

[@barbaro4evr135]

Yes. My aunt and I are history buffs and visited Appomattox. We actually were inside that very house, during a recreation of the surrender.

[@toodlescae]

I use plethora fairly often but then I was one of those kids who read the dictionary and encyclopedias for fun. I was a nerd from the day I could read at age 3. Thank you Grandma and Great-Grandparents Burgess. Both my grandma (mom's family) and grandma Burgess (her mother) were school teachers when they were younger. They taught me how to read and write by the time I was 3 while Grandpa Burgess taught me all of the animals using National Geographic, other wildlife magazines and hunting magazines. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is a very funny movie and a technical marvel.

[@wowzer336]

I was born and raised in Duluth. It's d'looth. Beautiful city on the western tip of Lake Superior. If either of you ever visits I'd love to show you around!

[@Billis75]

We do have weird city names, but you have Wales. I think some of those towns would destroy these names.

[@jimmiegiboney2473]

Mark 0:58. Howdy! 🤠 Hmm. Because of sports rivalries, I have heard "Illinois" pronounced as "Ill-noise"! I'm glad that wasn't my first impression when I was a toddler! 😁

[@TSquared2001]

Yes plethora is used

[@karlsmith2570]

8:00 In answer to that question, Kabir: "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" is totally worth watching, it's hilarious AF

[@alboyer6]

A good example of Anglo and French versions of indigenous words is mackinac island and mackinaw city. Pronounced the same way.

[@jimgreen5788]

Kabir, he did a good job on the list until he got to Grand Teton, where it got pronounced TEA-tun. It's actually TEA-tahn. Many people around the country jokingly pronounce Des Moines as dez moe-NAY. When he spoke of General E. Lee, he left out his first name, which was Robert. As was already alluded to at the start of this video, we have a lot of unexpected pronunciations here (and Canada has some amazing ones as well). In fact, over the past few years, I've accumulated a list of places like this which is just over 2300, and comes from a number of different sources, as evidenced by this: There are names that come from Basque, British English, Dutch, Flemish, French, German, Greek, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Norwegian, Old Norse, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Scottish Gaelic, Spanish, Swedish, Welsh, plus at least 70 tribal languages, some Anglicized, some not.

[@mandycat8]

I laughed so hard when you mispronounced Duluth. I couldn’t imagine how someone could say it wrong then I heard it. ❤

[@garycamara9955]

The only people that pronounce it dull uth aren't from the US.

[@mandycat8]

Wait till they see Wayzata and Edina

[@palaguin]

You definitely want to watch Roger Rabbit, if only to see Mickey with Bugs and Donald with Daffy, Plus, Jessica Rabbit.

[@Bill_pierre]

A lot of places around the U.S. has local native names as well, that sound quite different from region to region. In the PNW we have town/city/river/etc names like: - Snoqualmie - Issaquah - Puyallup - Kooskooskie - Skagit - Snohomish - Ilwaco - Kahlotus - Chewelah - Inchelium - Okanogan - Sequim - Skomokawa - Wahkiakum - Steilacoom - Tshletshy - Tulalip - Washougal - Suquamish - Oso (Oso strong! 🫂🪦) - Sauk - Use - Tukwila - Wauconda - Washtucna - Wenatchee - Nisqually - Nespelem The list goes on and on..

[@janfitzgerald3615]

Yup…we have a large number of difficult to pronounce names. People even mispronounce something that looks simple, pronouncing it Spo-cane, instead of Spo-can.

[@deborahdanhauer8525]

I always mispronounce British place names. Somehow, the spellings make no sense to me.🤗❤️🐝

[@davidterry6155]

Who framed Roger Rabbit was a break through in technology for the time. Real people with cartoons. Not to mention most young boys coming into adolescence had an infatuation with Jessica Rabbit

[@binxbolling]

Real people with cartoons was much, much older than Roger Rabbit. A new way of shading the cartoon characters was the breakthrough.

[@chrishoffman4635]

You mean you could have gotten out of those cuffs at any time?!

[@jamesalexander5623]

It Stars the great Bob Hoskins for god's sake!

[@jimwilcox2964]

I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way

[@zedgathegreat9122]

Born early 80's, saw this on VHS when that became available, and have had a thing for redheads ever since. I'm pretty sure that when they show her singing was the exact moment I hit puberty.

[@MagnoliaMS70]

Wait until you hear our local southern towns. Example: Natchitoches Pronounced Nak-ah-dush Or Bogue Chita Pronounced bow-guh. chit-uh

[@bridgetteparsons1984]

I grew up in Philly, and we could tell where people were from by the way they pronounced "Wilkes-Barre." Unfortunately, I had to move away from the area, so I don't remember exactly how it went, but people from one side of the the city (Wilkes-Barre, not Philly) would say "Wilkes-Berry", and the other side would say "Wilkes-Burr."

[@ChristaFree]

The places that have native American names are the most difficult to pronounce to me. Hard to know where to put the emphasis. We use plethora.

[@oneslikeme]

Illinois is a Native American word, but the French are the ones who first wrote it down, so you're technically right lol I've always pronounced it Ho-BO-ken, based on Hollywood films. I've never heard of it outside of that, and this is how it's always pronounced Kabir, your knowledge of American history is impressive! I think there are many Americans who probably don't know who General Lee is, except for maybe the statue controversy a few years ago

[@jamesalexander5623]

Frank Sinatra is from Hoboken and you pronounce just that way .... because who's going to correct Frank?

[@karlsmith2570]

6:49 That one would actually make quite a lot of sense, considering the New York was originally called "New Amsterdam" when it was initially settled by The Dutch

[@jamesalexander5623]

If there's two things I Hate, it's People who are intolerant of other Peoples Cultures .... and the Dutch! Nigel Powers

[@anndeecosita3586]

New Netherlands was the colony and New Amsterdam was the city as far as New York.

[@greendiamondglow]

I'd love to see what he makes of "Mamaroneck". I thought the pronunciation was pretty straight forward, but then I heard how my BIL says it, and...apparently it's not as straight forward as I thought.

[@IronTeddyBear]

Some fun examples from Texas: Gruene, TX: "green" Boerne, TX: "Bur-nie" Refugio, TX: "reh-Fyoor-ee-oh" Humble, TX: "umble" Pedernales County, TX: "Per-de-Nall-ess" Bexar County: "bear" And you should watch "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", it's historic and hilarious.

[@tomhalla426]

Also Manor, pronounced Maynor, and Tow, pronounced Tao, both also in Texas.

[@IronTeddyBear]

I lived in Boerne, TX for 10 years and it was fun listening to people pronouncing it wrong.

[@davidterry6155]

See even people from Texas pronounce the same names differently. IronTeddyBear pronounces Boerne as Bur-nie and I pronounce it as Bur-ney. Just being silly. There are a lot of towns and places in the San Antonio region that are difficult to say. Knippa, Helotes and Buda are a few people struggle with. Since Bear is a common dog name we spell it Bexar because we live there

[@rockyroad7345]

​@@IronTeddyBearI live 20 minutes from Boerne...small world.

[@roaminwithreggiebear9092]

Who framed Roger Rabit is a great film in my opinion. Although, some of the jokes might be lost on the younger generations. I grew up in household that loved to watch old films and older animations (think 1930s-1960s). I would also recommend the 1930s movies: The Thin Man Series and The Women. Those are some of my favorites.

[@joshuasilvius7854]

All of the young reactors who I've seen watch it so far did get most all of the jokes. And yes it's a great movie to watch.

[@SilverAlaunt]

The Thin Man series is my absolute favorite from the black and white film era. Asta is the best dog ever in cinema. ❤️

[@user-mg5mv2tn8q]

Yes, I would enjoy seeing your reaction to Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

[@JPMadden]

One of the lesser-known Monty Python sketches features Graham Chapman wrestling himself!

[@jackiearcher7738]

Yes we use that word

[@TheLwaller09]

You and LB need to check out the many many Native American influenced place names in Ohio. Ashtabula Cuyahoga Coshocton Tuscarawas Gnadenhutten Utica Geauga Catawba Wapakoneta Pataskala Nimishillen Walhonding Maumee Pymatuning Olentangy Shenango Kinnikinnick Wauseon Mississinawa Scioto Chillicothe Auglaize There are load more. Those are just more common ones.

[@laurawendt8471]

Ok Plethora is definitely used here 😂 for tv shows you may be watching the wrong shows, look up smart comedies like Schitt’s creek, Parks & Rec, Blackish, Fraiser. We use fancy words to make a point and that works well to add humor. Indubitably 😂

[@jimgreen5788]

Kabir, just seconds after I posted, I realized I forgot something: Who'd ever guess how these 2 words are pronounced? In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, there's a city on the Canadian border with a twin city of the same name across the line: Sault Ste. Marie, and in S. Dakota, there's a city named Sioux Falls. Both are pronounced 'sue', the first being French for St. Mary Falls, and the second being the name of a local tribe, which has nowadays been divided into 3 smaller groups: Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota.

[@prischm5462]

I use the word plethora, although often in an ironic way. There's a joke in the movie "The Three Amigos" about it.

[@lesliedaubert1411]

I live in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We pronounce it LANC-is-ter. But other areas of the country they pronounce it other ways. I've never been to any of the locations he spoke about in the video. But growing up in America I knew how to pronounce them. My last name is " Daubert ". It's French and was D'Aubert. Pronounced Doe-BEAR. But a lot of people think it's German and pronounce it DOW-bertt. Things get missed pronounced all over the world.

[@linseypollack2309]

Who Framed Roger Rabbit was not only a great movie it was the end of an era in regards to how animation was done and in the weekend cartoons becoming serialized and having plots that extend beyond a single episode. I'd recommend not just watching it but also looking for the KZbin videos about the making of it.

[@Miesque1973]

I lived near Wilkes-Barre and it was always 'Berry' (not 'Barry'). :) I grew up near Houston, which many people from outside the US call 'How-stun'. Yet in NYC, there's a Houston street that IS pronounced How-stun.

[@halah34]

Haha, i used to live in Appomattox. Kinda surprised to see it here. Fun fact, the actual town moved after the war. Parts of the original town are still there, but is a park.

[@fermisparadox01]

General Robert E Lee was the top General in the US and when his state joined the Confederacy he fought with them. His family owned where Arlington cemetery is now.

[@glenbmc3734]

Yes, we do use the word plethora. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a good movie mixing real life & animation together. Unique. We also have a city Duluth here in GA and pronounce it the same as Duluth MN.

[@xenialafleur]

Even we Americans get city names wrong. Pierre, SD is pronounced like the word peer.

[@bruhbutwhytho]

Also most areas in in Mass, like leominster or Worcester

[@Bill_pierre]

Didn't know that. 🤔

[@hifijohn]

yes and its red-ing not read-ing and lime-a not lee ma

[@owlivdejong5086]

In Colorado locals get upset at Buena Vista. They say Bewna Vista.

[@FLmickey90]

I think we were taught it as peer, but I keep wanting to say it the the incorrect way, like a name.

[@jimmiegiboney2473]

Mark 11:51. Haha! He left out "Robert"! Yes, he was the CSA General. However, I was recently reminded of how easy his name is to pun. 😁 Announcer: "Ladies and gentlemen, today our guest speaker is General Lee!" Audience Member: "Somebody will be generally speaking to us? Who?" 😅

[@douglascampbell9809]

Wisconsin and Minnesota are riddled with towns derived from French and Native American languages. It seems Lawrence finally is pronouncing Duluth correctly. You can still find city and place names with it written down as per French grammar like La Crosse, Eau Claire, Lake Butte des Morts. The French side of my family moved into Wisconsin in 1786 by way of Canada.

[@IanFitzgerald]

My favorite French place name in Wisconsin has always been Prairie du Chien. It seems like there must be a good story there.

[@williamshanks8959]

@@IanFitzgerald prairie du chien means the dog’s prairie

[@be-art-iful1215]

​@@IanFitzgerald and SO many people mispronounce Prairie Du Chien. Even locals. 😅

[@ESUSAMEX]

Grand Teton is pronounced Grand TEA Ton and the ON is pronounced like the word on.

[@themourningstar338]

It cracks me up that Laurence still got it wrong anyway 😅

[@pammorgan721]

There is a small town right up the road from me named Eton , pronounced the same way minus the T in front, out of towners always pronounces it wrong ..lol

[@tammytudor4491]

I was born in a town called Puyallup, Washington. Pronounced pew-al-up. I believe it is Native American in origin.

[@impresarioe6824]

Native Virginian here!! In the southeastern part, we say our state name like: vu-GIN-ya (due to the tidewater accent). Virginia has a lot of hard to pronounce town names with Native American origin like Appomattox. Try pronouncing these: Nassawadox, Passapatanzy, and Wachapreague. New York also has many, but this one I can never remember how to pronounce: Skaneateles

[@christophercox9311]

Front Royal always perplexed me. Rumor has it that the Confederate Army told recruits to meet in front of the oak if they wanted to join. The Appalachian accent was so thick that the phrase became Front Royal. Still doesn't make sense.

[@Summermute7]

A couple of my favorite VA places are Onancock and Assateague. 😂

[@hisownfool1]

It's pronounced "skinny atlas."

[@johnalden5821]

@@Summermute7 Near Assateague you will find the body of water known as Assawoman Bay.

[@Summermute7]

@@johnalden5821 , yep. I live close. 😊

[@isoldam]

Of course we use plethora, but mostly in formal writing or speech. It's not a casual conversation kind of word.

[@tabithahanson9678]

I'm originally from near Duluth (Da-looth). As far as I know everyone pronounces it that way...and with an exaggerating "O" because we're Minnesotan.

[@cynthiahaun9269]

And here in southern AZ heading out towards 3 points there is a small town called Why..l and if traveling in the right direction you will come across the small town of Why Not

[@jimmiegiboney2473]

Mark 9:44. "Teat" is French?! Hmm. I thought it was a writer's way of identifying that he or she is referring to other mammals that aren't people, so that when you see "tit" you know that it is about human females. 😉 However, horseshoes have teats too, and "tit" is a birdwatchers' abbreviation for "titmouse"! So, there you go. 😀

[@AgnesC1111]

I think they asked the natives what they called them and translated to French.

[@jimmiegiboney2473]

@@AgnesC1111 , oh? Hmm. Thanks! ☺️

[@brianschlaf7007]

Yes Americas say plethora but not super often

[@geoffreyfreebern9037]

Aww I missed one - NewArk DE got me. I live in FL but am from NY and drive back and forth yearly. Prior to satellite radio, I'd listen to local radio at times while driving through places and hear how the announcer/ DJ etc. would pronounce the names of places. For instance, in Lancaster, PA - a place known for the Amish (Ah-mish not A-mish) community there - it is pronounced Lanc-a-ster not Lan-caster. Kabir - please tell me / us how to pronounce that tasty sauce I love to put on my steak..."worcestershire".....that one has stumped me for years!!

[@robertcartier5088]

A street in New Orleans is one of the oddest examples of distorted American pronunciations from the original word that I have encountered. What makes this one different is that it is an English word, apparently mispronounced by the original francophone settlers. Burgundy, the colour( and the wine) is pronounced "BURR-gun-dee", but the street is pronounced "Burr-GUN-dee" by the locals. Louisiana is a wonderful place for odd pronunciations... there's probably a whole video on that. ;-]

[@jimmiegiboney2473]

Mark 8:05. Yes, it is worth viewing! The setting is a world in which cartoon characters are alive and real, and their species are known as "Toons". Because of Legal Segregation, they are confined to living in "Toon Town" and it isn't just the "WB" characters, but "Walt Disney" and the others as well. The movie was adapted from a popular novel. The movie is quite the shared universe event! ✨️ 😎

[@ryanswaynow]

Lost in the pond could actually do an entire video like this just about places in Virginia. Southern Virginia is famous for having weird town and city pronunciations. In fact, I’m from a Virginia City named “Staunton” and people who are not from there always pronounce it “STON- tun”. But it’s actually pronounced. “STAN-tin”. And there’s another town nearby called Buchanan, pronounced “BUCK-a-NIN”.

[@rockyroad7345]

In Texas we have Lake Buh-CAN-un. Go figure. 😁

[@ryanswaynow]

@@rockyroad7345 must be a southerner thing.

[@WireWeaver]

I am from Buchanan. We pronounce it Buck-cannon. Like the male deer and large artillery. Give the County it's in a shot...it's Botetourt.

[@theblackbear211]

It is helpful to remember that many place names in the western US date from a time when (mostly) unaccompanied men were exploring. Some names were later changed, or "sanitized", and some are "disputed" to this day even when there is evidence of the "unsavory" entomology going back well over 100 years.

[@sylviaconlee7407]

I have used the word "plethora"ever since I've seen the movie "The Three Amigos" starring Steve Martin. A great comedy. If you haven't seen it, you should put it on your reaction list.😂

[@Bill_pierre]

My little buttercup... 🎶🕺🕺🕺🎵

[@msorlean1]

Same! And I always think of the movie when I hear 'plethora'

[@mandingo9999998]

Same here. Would you say I have a plethora of pinatas? "The Three Amigos" - one of true great comedies ever. And family friendly, surprisingly.

[@twenty3enigma]

Robert E. Lee was the Confederates' greatest general, and he surrendered his army to Ulysses S. Grant.

[@jennthabombdiggity]

I’m from Cajun country. It’s always fun to hear people try and pronounce the names of places here in south Louisiana. 😂 most Americans get it wrong. I’d love to hear you try a few. 😂😂 and YES, Who Framed Roger Rabbit is worth watching. Great fun.

[@toodlescae]

Yeah. My mom from Arizona by way of Iowa thought that Atchafalaya was pronounced At-a-chat-a-fly-a until she married my dad who was from Louisiana. 😂

[@lisahenderson3705]

Ok, so I was born in Pascagoula, just south of Escawtapa, east of both Gautier and Biloxi. Good luck, with those!

[@octaviusmorlock]

Slight correction about Appomattox. The town where General Lee surrender is Appomattox Courthouse. It wasn't at a courthouse. It took me way to long to realize that.

[@msjuju-cj3xc]

Kabir, you should definitely do a reaction video to Who Framed Roger Rabbit. It's a fun movie!

[@WhodatLucy]

Say some Louisiana cities haha like Natchitoches, Tangipahoa, Tchoupitoulas, and Boutte just some faves

[@samanthalehner7048]

I live near Wilkes-Barre and pronounce it "wilks-bear" but i hear it pronounced so many different ways even from the people who live there 😂

[@ShebrewQueen]

Yes. We use plethora.

[@samanthagabrilska2703]

My sister and her husband live in Duluth. I have never heard it pronounced any other way. It might be because, as another person commented, Wisconsin and Minnesota have so many French place names that it just becomes natural.

[@JustMe-dc6ks]

Duluth Georgia is pronounced the same way.

[@david-1775]

Robert E. Lee was the general of the Army of Virginia which was the biggest and main Confederate army. His surrender effectively ended the war.

[@wfly81]

I'm impressed you got Appomattox. That surprised me.

[@shayarsata7150]

yeah we say plethora all the time

[@George-ux6zz]

I'm from New Jersey near the Pennsylvania border. We know quite a few people from Wilks-barre. They and we always pronounced it, Wilks, Barre and it's sounds like bear the animal.

[@Sarah-do9jn]

It would be a fun thing if Lawrence try this name. It's a county in Iowa. I believe it is named after Indians. It's Pottawattamie.

[@webbtrekker534]

In northern Idaho is a city and lake named Coeur d'Alene. It is pronounced Cord-a-lane.

[@robwilliams287]

so, in regard to the word "plethora", I instantly thought of a scene from a movie called The Three Amigos. I think you'd like it. As for Place names, especially in and around the Great Lakes, a few years ago Indy car at a race in Wisconsin, did piece where they took all their foreign born drivers and gave them place names from the area to try and pronounce , it was hilarious!

[@MichaelB769]

Wilkes-Barre, PA is named after John Wilkes and Isaac Barre, whose last name was pronounced like 'berry,' so the accurate pronunciation is 'Wilkes-Berry.' He also has two other towns named after him (Barre, Vermont and Barre, Massachusetts), and both are also pronounced 'berry.'

[@larrybell726]

Briefly, Illinois is the French spelling of the native tribe “Illini”, so it’s probably pretty close to the original.

[@theblackbear211]

I use "Plethora"... but I carry my geek credentials with me at all times.

[@wysgyeman]

And its opposite, dearth 🤣🤣

[@battle_p9291]

I have heard people using the word "Plethora," but I think it's rare. I tend to use "Cluster F*&k" instead. Lol. In terms of place names, It all depends. No one has ever schooled me for mis-pronouncing names of places. I've always just followed what I heard from TV/movies or the way other people from the location have pronounced them. I live in Hawai'i, and I hear tourist mispronouncing our place names daily. "Who Framed Roger Rabbit " (1988) is definitely worth a watch.

[@gregghelmberger]

The middle of the country, from Minnesota to (obviously) Louisiana, had a large number of French-origin place names because the French were the first Europeans in the region, with explorers and trappers/traders traveling both north and south on the Mississippi River from both ends and naming things as they went (or having things named after them by later generations). Now, the French is usually somewhat mangled by this point, but that's the origin.

[@johnalden5821]

Case in point: Baton Rouge, LA.

[@gregghelmberger]

@@johnalden5821 Pretty much the whole of Louisiana :D

[@DelGuy03]

I live in Newark (yes, New Ark) Delaware! (That's why I'm DelGuy here.) Wilkes-Barre isn't very far away, and I always hear it said "WILKS-berry." And as Laurence post-corrected himself onscreen, the mountain is said "Tee-Tahn" with almost equal emphasis on both syllables. (I also think you left the V sound off the start of your voicing of the word "voila" -- vwah-lah.)

[@TheRealdal]

We do use the word plethora. When appropriate.

[@TheRealdal]

I was born on the military base Ft Huachuca Az. It’s named after the local mountain range, the Huachuca mountains. The H is pronounced like a W. Not many new people to the area pronounce it the correct way till they learn.

[@BradleyDavid1962]

Funny, if my brother had not been stationed there, I would have not known how to pronounce it either...

[@IronTeddyBear]

In Spanish, the H is always silent. But it's strange that Humble TX is pronounced as "Umble", considering it's not even a Spanish word.

[@TheRealdal]

@@GhostWatcher2024 it sounds like you just described what I just said, only longer.

[@theblackbear211]

"The River of Monks" - Remember that the French (and the Spanish) sent Catholic Monks and Priests into the wilderness to proselytize. Apparently, there was a Trappist "Mission" near the Confluence of the Des Moines and the Mississippi.

[@patriciaferguson9204]

Please do this same thing with Louisiana place names. You could start with Tchoupitoulas.

[@cocoapeach]

We also have a town in Georgia named Duluth, not far from Atlanta, and it is pronounced exactly the same as the Minnesota city.

[@josephharrison5639]

I knew how to say Duluth because of the Duluth trading company ads lol

[@VorchaKali]

Brits also say TACO incorrectly. Y'all pronounce it TACK-O when it's pronounced TAH-CO.

[@starparodier91]

I’ll never forget the day my dad (who’s been to every province in Canada) was driving me and my best friend (who’s from Vancouver) to school and I was reading something and said, “where’s Nova Scot-ee-ah?”. It was a long and embarrassing 15 min car ride. 😂

[@victorr3554]

Ha! Native Floridian here...we've got a TON of towns with names derived from Native American language that have vexed non-natives: Wauchula, Wimauma, Immokalee, Ichetucknee, Homosassa, Micanopy, Thonotasassa and many more. Been living in Pennsylvania for over a decade now and took me a while to acclimate to pronunciations here (live near Pittsburgh but spent a few years in York PA too). Very counterintuitive to me -- there seems to be a tendency to emphasize the first syllable of multisyllabic names then rush through the remaining syllables at breakneck speed :) --- ie: Lancaster (LINK-ister), Ephrata (EFF-rudda), Hanover (HAN-ivver), Lebanon (LEB-annin). And dont get me started on Schuylkill...(SKOOL-kull)! FWIW, I've heard "Wilks-Berry" the most since living here. And Duluth has always been "da-LOOTH" from everyone I've heard it from.

[@jeffsherk7056]

Yes, we use the word "Plethora." My cats know the word plethora.

[@DontCareShoo]

That is how we say Duluth in Minnesota. D'luth

[@607Delta]

I've never heard it said any other way. I have no idea where he thinks he's heard it pronounced "Dull-uth" unless he's getting it confused with IAD (Dulles) in Virginia.

[@cherylflam3250]

Now if we could get you guys to pronounce the company Nike correctly. Also, taco. I have started to pronounce the company Adidas the right way…now it’s your turn !

[@truckinfool3550]

My ancestors left England and came to America 350 years ago and I’ve been a truck driver all over the country, I still have trouble. Here in Idaho, Dubois is doo-boys, Mackay is mack-ee, and Lava Hot Springs is lavatory without the tory. Teton is tee-tahn…

[@TXKafir]

We are familiar with the word plethora but most people are content with "bunch of."

[@Miizilla]

I use to live in Bemidji, Minnesota and went to college in Duluth. We pronounced it Da-looth.

[@frankisfunny2007]

Ahh, yes.... "Wilkes-Barre".... that's a weird one, even the locals don't have a universal pronunciation. It's not "Wilkes" that's the issue, it's the "Barre" part.... The most common pronunciations locally are either "Bear", or "Berry". I have heard it be pronounced as "Berra", though. "Bar", & "Burr" isn't right, though I live like an hour away from Wilkes-Barre. I alternate the pronounciations from "Wilke-Bear", & "Wilkes-Berry". Depending on how i feel at the time i say it.

[@BostonBobby1961]

Lancaster, Massachusetts and Lancaster, Pennsylvania pronounced differently. The one in Massachusetts is pronounced Lancasta. The PA one is pronounced LancasTER. With the accent on the third syllable.

[@mikegrantham7440]

Another commonly mispronounced city in Texas is Waco. People want to say Wack-o, but it is pronounced Way-co. Then there is Nachodoches Texas which may look like Nacho-doh-chess, but it is pronounced Nacka-doh-chez

[@Ceractucus]

Plethora was used in the movie Three Amigos which is really funny.

[@BostonBobby1961]

A former town in Massachusetts known as Greenwich, Massachusetts. Pronounced Green which, not like the British pronunciation. It was taken by eminent domain and flooded to create the Quabbin Reservoir back in the 1930s to provide drinking water for eastern Massachusetts including Boston.