The Most Mispronounced Place in Idaho is…
If you live here you most likely don't have to think twice about how you are pronouncing things because you have heard the names and places enough to know how to say them properly. Think about a time you were visiting somewhere else and mispronounced a street name or town name because you just didn't know better. You very well may have said it wrong to a local and they were too nice to correct you. Or they just waited until you went on your way and then laughed at the ignorance.
Take a guess at Idaho's top mispronounced place. We think people get Boise wrong a lot. Saying Boy-Z instead of Boy-see. Simple yet very irritating mistake. Think about Idaho words that are way harder than Boise.
When I asked locals on facebook what they thought, here were the responses.
Bill M. - kuna
Ayricah N.Z. - Kuna
Alicia P. - Kuna
Siaha M.P. - Coeur D’Alene
Donna G. - Coeur d’Alene - Tough to spell too.
Mary M. - Kuna is pronounced “Q naw”
Travis S. - Cascade Lake!...Lake Cascade is the yuppie version
Teresa G. - Chinden. Or kootenai
Kristine F.D. - Kuna
Janel B. - Kuna
Stacy S. - Kuna
Jessica S. - Kuna
Karen L. - Boise
Lindsay P. - Kooskia
Tammy G. - Boise, and Kuna
Kristi K. - Buhl
Sabyr B. - Moscow
Robin B.B. - Kamiah
Well, the far and away leader in our little local's poll is clearly Kuna. While it is certainly mispronounced A LOT according to Best Life it doesn't even come close to one of our northern towns.
They recently created the most mispronounced town names in the U.S. and our own Coeur d'Alene got number five. According to the site, "This lakeside oasis, pronounced "Core Duhlane," is the name that French traders called the Native American tribe that lived in the area. The tribe's actual title was Schitsu'umsh."
Here are a few other Idaho town names that are often mispronounced.
Weiser- You think you pronounce it "Wiser" but really it is pronounced "weezer"
Acequia - this very small town is pronounced ah-SEE-kwa
Now just for fun, some Idaho town names worth a chuckle:
Dickshooter - Sure you can pronounce it but this is an unfortunate name, both for the town and the man it was named after.
Slickpoo - For reals.
Smelterville - Where is that stink coming from?
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