People just realizing they've been pronouncing five state names wrong... how to say them correctly
A recent study showed the top five US states that even Americans can't seem to get right.
Preply reported that Americans are just realizing that they don't quite have all 50 nifty memorized, especially when it comes to articulation.
They rounded up the top state name pronunciations that Americans search for and the results are a little embarrassing.
From east to west and north to south, there are five that no one can seem to get right.
Coming in at number five is the sixth state of the 13 original colonies, Massachusetts.
Despite being the home of many of America's most prominent historical events, many people are still lost when it comes to just how to say it.
The first part of the word is simple, but phonetically speaking the ending should read 'SETTS.'
The Chicago River houses one of Illinois's most famous skylines
To properly pronounce the state's name the last five letters should be read as 'SITS,' instead.
The proper pronunciation is mass-uh-choo-SITS.
Fourth on the list was the logic defying state of Illinois.
Americans tend to get tripped up around the silent letters at the end of the word.
Illinois is a French word for the illini Native American tribes, making its pronunciation frustratingly French as well.
While in English, one might want to say il-ee-NOISE, the correct pronunciation is 'il-uh-NOY.
One of the US's western-most states comes in at number three. Oregon is apparently a tricky tongue twister for many Americans.
In English, the tendency is to pronounce the last three letters like the word 'gone'.
But to say the word correctly, the ending should sound like the word 'gun'.
The Beaver State can either be said as ORE-uh-gun or ORY-gun, but locals blend the word together and say ORE-uh-g'n.
The home of Vegas, deserts, and silver rings in at number two.
Nevada's hotly debated pronunciation is often defended by locals, apparently leading to thousands of Google searches from their out of state friends.
The mistake non-Nevadans make is pronouncing the middle 'a' as a soft 'VAH'.
Unfortunately for those that say otherwise, the true pronunciation for the silver state is nuh-VA-duh.
And in first place is the phonetically nightmarish state of Arkansas.
With Kansas just a few states over it seems that the obvious pronunciation would be 'are-Kansas'. But frustratingly, that's not even close.
Arkansas, like Illinois, derived from a French word and is pronounced as such.
The French love to leave out consonant sounds, especially at the end of a word. That makes the true pronunciation AR-kuhn-saw.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Pope Leo declares his first miracle after divine intervention in Rhode Island
Pope Leo XIV has officially declared his first miracle as pontiff, crediting the 2007 recovery of a dying newborn in Rhode Island to divine intervention following a physician's desperate prayer. The Vatican announced this week that the ailing child, Tyquan Hall, who was born prematurely via emergency cesarean section and left with no detectable pulse, made a full recovery after a doctor invoked the name of a long-forgotten 19th-century Spanish priest. The declaration elevates not just a miraculous story of life snatched from the jaws of death but also the potential sainthood of the humble cleric whose name was called in a moment of need. 'We are thrilled that this recognition will move the cause of beatification and canonization forward for Venerable Servant of God Salvador Valera Parra,' said Rev. Timothy Reilly of the Diocese of Providence, calling the papal pronouncement a blessing for Rhode Island and beyond. The miracle marks the first to be authenticated under Pope Leo XIV, the newly elected American pontiff, and it may set in motion the canonization of Father Valera Parra, a priest who died in Spain in 1889 and had no known miracles to his name, until now. According to the Diocese of Almeria, Dr. Juan Sanchez, a Spanish-born physician working in a Rhode Island hospital in 2007, found himself verging on despair. Baby Tyquan had been born in critical condition - pale, turning blue and without a heartbeat, suffering from oxygen deprivation so severe that death, or permanent brain damage, seemed all but certain. With no medical options left, Sanchez offered a prayer, not to a modern saint or well-known figure, but to Valera Parra, the patron of his hometown of Huércal-Overa in southeastern Spain. What happened next, according to hospital staff and the Vatican, was immediate and inexplicable. 'A few minutes after the faithful prayer, the child's heart began to beat normally without medical intervention,' reported WJAR-TV. Doctors braced for the child to have severe neurological damage, but Tyquan defied every expectation. He spoke at 18 months, walked at two years, and today, shows no sign of impairment - a living testament, the Vatican says, to the power of faith. The miracle is especially striking because Valera Parra had never visited the United States, let alone New England. 'The cool thing is, the more you think about the miracle itself, Father Valera lived in the 19th century. He never came to the U.S. Never came to Rhode Island,' Rev. Reilly noted. 'And yet… the doctor called out and called upon his name… he decided to intervene.' Born in 1816 and known as a simple diocesan priest, Valera Parra died in 1889 without fame, controversy, or claims of supernatural gifts. But the miracle attributed to his name now places him squarely on the path to sainthood, requiring only one more confirmed miracle for canonization. The miracle declaration also makes history for Pope Leo XIV, the first American and first Peruvian citizen to lead the global Church. Born Robert Prevost in Chicago, Leo, 69, was elected pope on May 8, following the death of Pope Francis. A former missionary in Peru, he later oversaw the Vatican's powerful office of bishops before ascending to the papacy. Pope Leo, seen center, is as comfortable quoting Scripture as he is solving Wordle puzzles with his brothers, Louise, left, and John, right, back in Illinois Known for his calm intellect, deep spirituality, and surprising relatability, Leo is as comfortable quoting Scripture as he is solving Wordle puzzles with his brother back in Illinois. He's also a White Sox fan and has also said he's not giving up playing tennis anytime soon. This week's announcement also signals Leo XIV's broader vision for sainthood in the modern era. Alongside Valera Parra's miracle, the Vatican is advancing the cause of Carlos Acutis, a British-born Millennial teen who died of leukemia in 2007 and whose body remains incorrupt in a glass tomb in Assisi, Italy. Carlos, known for creating a website cataloging Eucharistic miracles, is on track to become the first Millennial saint.
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Parents left scrambling after Iowa church evicts daycare for ridiculous reason
More than 70 parents have been left scrambling to find child care after an Iowa church evicted a daycare from its premises for being too noisy. St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Iowa City first told Loving Arms Kids Care that it had to be out by New Year's, KCRG reported. The letter from the church accused the daycare of failing to address loud noise and not keeping a 'clean and orderly space'. The church also mentioned a dispute about keys to the building that subjected 'the church to risk of theft and other potential losses'. After repeated extensions past the original New Year's deadline, the church eventually forced the daycare out on June 30. Kayla Kuepker, the director of Loving Arms Kids Care, said about 70 kids were being served by her organization. One parent, Mick Dickinson, said his children have been attending this daycare for years and now has no idea what he's going to do. 'That immediately opens up so many questions. What are we going to do? How's this going to work? Do I have to take time off?' he said. Kuepker claims she tried offering several solutions to the church so the daycare could continue operating there, but found that nothing was quite enough. Daily Mail approached the church's pastor, Alberta Ervin, for comment on the eviction. 'I am thinking about the 70 kids who we serve, the kids who, some of them use state assistance,' she said. 'I'm thinking about their single mothers who won't be able to have a job. 'I'm thinking about my staff, them losing their health insurance.' Loving Arms moved into a new, temporary location a few weeks ago. But the uncertainty surrounding the move has made some parents reconsider their childcare needs. Kuepker said they lost almost a third of their enrollment. Parents who used Loving Arms spent months in limbo, not knowing if the daycare would survive. 'I am the second person I know being interviewed about short-term child care just being cut off,' Dickinson said. 'Even with all that help in a county like Johnson County, it's that difficult. I can't imagine in our more rural communities what's happening there.' St. Mark's United Methodist Church is overseen by Pastor Alberta Ervin who is yet to comment on the eviction.
.webp%3Ftrim%3D39%2C0%2C40%2C0%26width%3D1200%26height%3D800%26crop%3D1200%3A800&w=3840&q=100)
The Independent
14 hours ago
- The Independent
Man lucks into double $1 million Powerball win... by accident
A Massachusetts man scored big after buying not one, but two, winning Powerball tickets. Paul Corcoran of Fitchburg, about 50 miles northwest of Boston, accidentally bought two tickets for the Powerball draw on July 9. As a result, he won two $1 million prizes on the same night, according to a Powerball news release. He claimed his winnings on July 11. Corcoran told Powerball he's feeling good but doesn't have any plans for the cash yet. Corcoran said he initially bought a ticket for seven Powerball drawings earlier this year, and mistakenly believed the final drawing on the ticket had already happened. As a result, he bought another multi-drawing ticket for July 9. What Corcoran didn't realize is that the original ticket was also included in the July 9 drawing. That night, both of Corcoran's tickets matched all five white balls — 5, 9, 25, 28, 69 — and the red Powerball. The next Powerball drawing is set for this Saturday, when another lucky person could win the $288 million jackpot, which has a cash value of $128.8 million. There was no reported jackpot winner for the last draw on July 16. Powerball tickets are offered in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The lottery takes place three times a week, and the tickets are $2. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are one in 292.2 million. Corcoran wasn't the only one winning big this month. . He almost didn't get the cash, though, after losing the ticket behind a bed in his home. 'We lost the ticket at home. It went behind a headboard, and we didn't think too much of it… we didn't really check the numbers,' Ruff told Powerball. The ticket wasn't discovered until Ruff's cat got stuck behind the bed, prompting him and his sons to move it. They found both the cat and the lucky ticket. Ruff scanned the ticket after they found it and discovered he had struck gold. 'It was a miracle,' he said.
