Mispronounced places in California. (Los Angeles, San Francisco: school, location, weather)

[rodentraiser]

Originally Posted by sacreole

It's interesting how some of these Spanish place names have become anglicized. Take for example San Pedro in the Los Angeles area. It's pronounced locally as San PEE-dro instead of San PEY-dro.

Then there's Los Gatos. People who live in northern California pronounce it Loss GA-tus, saying the GA to rhyme with mack. In Spanish, it would Los GAH-tos with a long o.

For that matter, just look at Los Angeles. Los AHN-geh-lehs should be how we pronounce it, with a long o and a hard g. Not Loss ANN-je-less.

[saibot]

Originally Posted by rodentraiser

For that matter, just look at Los Angeles. Los AHN-geh-lehs should be how we pronounce it, with a long o and a hard g. Not Loss ANN-je-less.

In Spanish? Los AHN-heh-les. No hard g.

At least we don't say "loss anjeleeze" like some English people do.

[Fleet]

Originally Posted by SeaOfGrass

How about Zzyzx, CA?

Zye-zex, right?

[jvalens]

The street in Los Angeles called Wilshire. It's pronounced [Will-sher], but some people from out of town call it [Will-shy-er].

[malcorub16]

Originally Posted by saibot

In Spanish? Los AHN-heh-les. No hard g.

At least we don't say "loss anjeleeze" like some English people do.

In this video from 1953, notice how the narrator refers to LA 4 times within the first 1.5 minutes of the video with the hard ANG... I guess in the 50's people were still trying to figure out a consensus on how to anglisize Los Angeles. I've also heard Los Angel Eeeeez in these old videos.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-l13UMBlkM

[Cloudy Dayz]

Way before I ever lived in California, when I was a kid, I remember mentioning Yosemite National Park to a friend of mine. It was about something I had read about in a book. I butchered the name to something like Yose-mite. I think that was the last time I ever a got a WTF look from anyone when I pronounce the name of a place. So I guess over time I got a lot better at pronouncing Native American, Spanish, and French place names. By the time I moved to California I could at least pronounce Spanish names / words well enough to be understood. I think working with Spanish speaking people for 15 years in California, my pronunciations probably moved closer to the true Spanish pronunciations.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by Fleet

Zye-zex, right?

Your guess is as good as anyone's. Since it's not a real word, but rather just a random combination of letters from the end of the English alphabet. Supposedly chosen to make it the last word in the English language. Which it is not even.

[Kings Gambit]

Originally Posted by CALGUY

Mispronounced places in California.

What other strange names do we have for towns and cities here in California that people mispronounce?

Sepulveda - WE actually pronounce it incorrectly. Wasnt until I heard a Mexican tell me that its actually Se-pull-vee-da.

Chesebro - The exit off the 101 in Agoura. Often mispronounced as cheese-bro.

Mulholland Drive - I've heard people from out of town say Mulholland like the region Holland and the Netherlands. Its actually Mul-hull-and.

[CalWorth]

Originally Posted by Martin Jones

I though it was Zee-zex.

I grew up out in the desert, & everyone I knew said ZIZZ-zex, ZIZZ pronounced like “is”, but it isn’t really a word, so who knows?

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by rodentraiser

... just look at Los Angeles. Los AHN-geh-lehs should be how we pronounce it, with a long o and a hard g. Not Loss ANN-je-less.

True; there's no short "O" in Spanish. Although I rarely hear anyone pronounce the "Los" part of Los Angleles the correct way.

And "Los Robles" is usually pronounced Las-ROBE-els instead of Lohs-ROBE-lays.