Western New York Words That Out-Of-Towners Struggle To Pronounce

We've all seen it happen.  Someone comes into town and they're trying to get around, but the map doesn't give them pronunciations and these words get butchered.

They're looking for a specific landmark or a tourist spot but they're obviously not from around here.

In most cases, it's not their fault.  Many of the words have Native American origins and because of that, they're hard to pronounce.  We've had it happen to us in other parts of the country though so we should know what it's like to be in their shoes.  If you've ever been to Terre Haute, IN, Wilkes Barre, PA, or Worcester, MA, you probably stuck out a little to the locals too.

Here's a pretty simple test to see if you're from Western New York.  Try pronouncing these words before you actually check out the pronunciation below 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