Only True Western New Yorkers Can Pronounce These Words Correctly

You might love the Bills.  Maybe you are an expert on wings.  But the true test of any Western New Yorker comes with this test.

Every area has words that are pretty tough to pronounce.  That's how most people can tell if you're "not from around here."  Here in Western New York, we have a lot of words that most people won't even attempt to pronounce correctly.

Why does New York have so many towns that are hard to pronounce?

While it's not the case in every word, one of the biggest reasons that people struggle to pronounce some of our streets and towns here in Western New York come from their Native American origin.

Here are just a few that people struggle with.  See if your out-of-town friends can do it.

Scajaquada

• How Western New Yorkers pronounce it: skuh-JACK-wed-uh
• How some people pronounce it: Sacajewea, skaj-ACK-weed-ee-uh

Cheektowaga

• How Western New Yorkers pronounce it: cheek-tuh-WAH-guh
• How some people pronounce it: cheek-to-wuh-GUH

Blasdell

• How Western New Yorkers pronounce it: BLAZE-dell
• How some people pronounce it: BLAHS-dell

Machias

• How Western New Yorkers pronounce it:  muh-CHI-us
• How some people pronounce it: muh-KEE-as, MATCH-ee-us

Gowanda

• How Western New Yorkers pronounce it: guh-WAN-duh
• How some people pronounce it: GOW-and-uh

Chautauqua

• How Western New Yorkers pronounce it: shu-TAW-kwa
• How some people pronounce it: chat-aw-kwa

Tonawanda

• How Western New Yorkers pronounce it: ton-uh-WAN-duh
• How some people pronounce it: ton-duh-WAN-duh, tuh-NAH-wan-duh

Hamburg

• How Western New Yorkers pronounce it: HAM-berg
• How some people pronounce it: HAHM-berg

Lackawanna

• How Western New Yorkers pronounce it: lock-uh-WAN-uh
• How some people pronounce it: LACK-uh-wan-uh

Sardinia

• How Western New Yorkers pronounce it: sar-DIN-yuh
• How some people pronounce it: sar-DIN-ee-uh