How do locals pronounce your city's name?

[SignalHillHiker]

The discussion regarding Toronto's pronunciation in the Rod Ford thread made me curious. How do locals pronounce your city's name?

Within the St. John's CMA there are a handful of different accents, and several in the city proper. They're all quite similar, but there are still a number of audibly different ways locals pronounce the city's name.

It's basically a sliding scale of emphasis:

Sint Jawnz (Majority)
Sin'Jawnz (Long-settled West End families)
Sin'Jaaawnz (Long-settled East End families)

Outside of the city proper, Saint tends to be pronounced just as quickly but much more fully:

Saint Jawnz.

[Rico Rommheim]

In English, if you're a local, you say Montreal like you say Monday....Muntreal.

[Chadillaccc]

Calgree.

[esquire]

Francophones and Brits tend to say Winny-Peg, but generally everyone pronounces it more or less the same way.

I get a kick out of hearing Americans say Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, though. I remember riding the train through there with plenty of Americans on board, and I swear you could have eaten lunch in the time it took some people to enunciate all of the syllables.

[esquire]

Calgree.

I'm not even from Calgary and I occasionally want to punch Canadians who say Cal. (long pause) Gary.

[SignalHillHiker]

I say both wrong. I pronounce Montreal like the stereotypical Jamaican "mon" for "man".

And I almost say Calgree but there's still a subtle but very clear a-sound between the g and r.

[Coldrsx]

Awesometon

[FrAnKs]

Locals : Québec (Kay-Beck)
Anglos : Kwobeck Seelee :P

[someone123]

I'm not even from Calgary and I occasionally want to punch Canadians who say Cal. (long pause) Gary.

My personal experiences may not be that conclusive but I've only ever heard Albertans from other parts of the province say Cal-gary. Not what I would have expected.

[SignalHillHiker]

Locals : Québec (Kay-Beck)
Anglos : Kwobeck Seelee :P

Here it's Kuh-Beck in most of the province, and Kwee-beck in certain families/regions.

[MTLskyline]

I say both wrong. I pronounce Montreal like the stereotypical Jamaican "mon" for "man".


That's how Americans say it. :cool:

--

The pronunciation of Longueuil is a bit weird.

Francophone: Kind of pronounced like Longue-oeil
Anglophone: If they are older they will pronounce it "Long-gail". Younger people tend to pronounce it "Long-gay".

Locals : Québec (Kay-Beck)
Anglos : Kwobeck Seelee :P
Are you talking about Quebec City anglos or Quebec anglos in general? Almost all anglos I know of say Kuh-beck Sit-ee. A good sign that someone is not from Quebec is when they say Kwah-beck, Kwee-beck or Cue-beck.

[Devon]

Vegina. Saskatoon. I hear Saskatoon pronounced by some locals with some emphasis on toon. I sometimes hear it said with emphasis on the first half from some people who aren't super familiar with the city.

[Chadillaccc]

Locals : Québec (Kay-Beck)
Anglos : Kwobeck Seelee :P

I always pronounce Quebec City and the province of Quebec "Kebec"... I always hate hearing other Anglos say "Kwebec" or "Kwabec". One of the first grammatical things we are taught in school is that Qu = K.

[SignalHillHiker]

There was a fantastic comedian here from Toronto who made fun of how we pronounce "Ontario".

"You know, it's not polite to talk with your mouth full. Go on, finish chewing, and swallow, I'll wait."

He was awesome, but I can't remember his name. He was brutal, made so much fun of us, but it was genuinely hilarious and not condescending.

I loved his bit about kids here. "You guys seem pretty relaxed... but what is up with the fucking kids here? They all look like they're in their 40s. You have eight-year-olds walking around the Avalon Mall with facial expressions like they're carrying two mortgages."

And how our 30-minute time zone makes absolutely no sense. "It's like getting four cents back in change."

And his story about how the waitress at Boston Pizza asked him if he wanted a menu, utensils, etc., after showing him to his seat.

"The hills... my shoulders hurt from walking around this city."

[Xelebes]

Either:

Em-ton

or

Emma-ton

[Innsertnamehere]

for me, I say tarono, but with a light "A" sound, sort of a cross between "A" and "O"

[FrAnKs]

I always hate hearing other Anglos say "Kwebec" or "Kwabec". One of the first grammatical things we are taught in school is that Qu = K.

yes indeed. You should tell 'em.:D

[Chadillaccc]

Ohhhh, I do. :whip:

[Beedok]

Hamilton is um. . . Hamilton? Not Ham-ilton, or Ha-milton, maybe Hamil-ton?

[Calgarian]

Cal-gree or Cal-ga-ree is how locals say it, as soon as I hear Cal-gary I ask that person where they're from lol.

[kwoldtimer]

I always pronounce Quebec City and the province of Quebec "Kebec"... I always hate hearing other Anglos say "Kwebec" or "Kwabec". One of the first grammatical things we are taught in school is that Qu = K.

Uhhh - queer, question, quantum, quiet, quota ....

I say KweBEC (maybe closer to kwuhBEC).

When Claire Martin says it on the CBC weather, I always hear "KyuhBEC", which is kind of cool.

[manny_santos]

I've noticed people in Eastern Ontario pronounce Toronto with a lot of emphasis on the second 't' (Toron-TOE), especially in the Ottawa Valley. In the Southwest, it's pretty much pronounced the same as locals in Toronto say it.

[Beedok]

Good ol' Torana.

[MonkeyRonin]

Tronno. Toronno if I'm being formal.


The way I pronounce some of those other cities:

Cal-guh-ree
Montreal (with a short o, the rest coming quickly. None of that dreadful Moooon-tRe-alll crap)
Winnuhpeg
Kuhbeck
...Saint John's

[Boris2k7]

Calgree
Emmntn
Van
Vitoria
Tronno
Muntreeall
Halfax
Mungtun
Hammeltun

Als: Kuhbek

[Black Star]

I heard it pronounced.


Ed....min....tin....

[Antigonish]

"Annigunishhh"

[Dado]

Oughta-waa

(the 't' is barely pronounced; it verges on a glottal stop)

... and definitely not "odda-waa"

[kwoldtimer]

Oughta-waa

(the 't' is barely pronounced; it verges on a glottal stop)

... and definitely not "odda-waa"

Everybody in Odduhwah swears that they don't say Odduhwah but they totally do.

[rousseau]

Oughta-waa

(the 't' is barely pronounced; it verges on a glottal stop)

... and definitely not "odda-waa"
Really? A glottal stop? Like a Cockney?

I find this hard to believe. Got any Youtube links with people saying it this way?

[Aylmer]

(inglish / frehntch)

Elmer / ElmER

Gat(stop)no / Gah-tsi-NO

Awdawa / Uh-tah-WUH

[king10]

I always pronounce Quebec City and the province of Quebec "Kebec"... I always hate hearing other Anglos say "Kwebec" or "Kwabec". One of the first grammatical things we are taught in school is that Qu = K.

huh? so "quack" is pronounced "kack"??

[Blitz]

I've noticed people in Eastern Ontario pronounce Toronto with a lot of emphasis on the second 't' (Toron-TOE), especially in the Ottawa Valley. In the Southwest, it's pretty much pronounced the same as locals in Toronto say it.

In London they seem to pronounce it the same way as locals but I've noticed in Windsor there's more emphasis on the second T as well. I guess the farther away from its orbit you get the more that second T is pronounced.

[kirjtc2]

"FRED-ric-tun".
If you're being lazy, "Fred-irk-tun".
If you're being really lazy, "Fred-ick-tun".

The part of town where I grew up (Marysville) is often pronounced more like "maris-ville" or even "mares-vul".

[ScreamingViking]

Hamilton is um. . . Hamilton? Not Ham-ilton, or Ha-milton, maybe Hamil-ton?

I find it's either Hamil-TON or Hamildun with less emphasis on the "T"

[harls]

(inglish / frehntch)

Elmer / ElmER

Gat(stop)no / Gah-tsi-NO

Awdawa / Uh-tah-WUH

I say Elmer too, but I think it's supposed to be "Ail-mur". .that's how Lucy van whatsherface on CBC says it.

Slightly on topic, that other guy who does the late night CBC news here pronounces the word "dollars" with a long o sound... "Doe-lers". That just sounds extremely weird...

[GMasterAres]

Vancouver = Vangcoover. I don't know many locals that say VANcoover.

Surrey = Sir-ee. I've never heard anyone from here pronounce it the British way of "Suhree" though as more people move here the second pronunciation is starting to happen more and more.

[Kibb]

Aw*awa (i don't even know how to describe the *, it's not a consonant, it's not a t or d it's something else some sound almost like you start to make a d sound but only the start of it.. the throat part but not the part that involves the mouth)

edit: au-uh-wuh

au like auto

anyways... the TT became a D and is now turning into something even less. Aw'uh-wuh ... ok i gotta stop i've been editting this post for 30 minutes or more trying to explain myself better

[leftimage]

Uhhh - queer, question, quantum, quiet, quota ....

I say KweBEC (maybe closer to kwuhBEC).

When Claire Martin says it on the CBC weather, I always hear "KyuhBEC", which is kind of cool.

Don't feel bad, I know many longtime Montrealers (3rd, 4th, 5th generation) that say Kwebec. I also know francos who say Kwebec when speaking english.

Kwebec is just as accepted and frequent as Kebec among locals anglos.

As for the province's largest city... it is almost certainly butchered by out-of-towners - and they stick to it too ! And the more effort they put into making it sound french, the more awful it comes out:

Mawn-tray-al :yuck:
Mawn-tree-al :yuck:
Mawn-ree-al :yuck:
Moe-ray-al :yuck:
Moe-ree-al :yuck:
Munn-tree-all :cheers::cheers:

[kool maudit]

Prishtinë (PRISH-te-na)

[kool maudit]

Really? A glottal stop? Like a Cockney?

I find this hard to believe. Got any Youtube links with people saying it this way?



i never heard this when i lived there. i have never heard a glottal stop in a canadian accent.

[Nashe]

Munk-tun mostly.
Mun-tun (the mayor, I kid you not).

Shed-yak. (most francophones)
Shed-ee-ak. (some anglophones)
Shid-yak.
Shid-ee-ak. (Older folks)

[AllBlack]

i never heard this when i lived there. i have never heard a glottal stop in a canadian accent.

Travel to outport Newfoundland and you'll hear it... quite an exaggerated glottal stop in many of our dialects, and in many more words than you'd imagine. Get us into a conversation about bottles or batteries, or to describe something as brutal or a particularly muggy day as sultry... Hell, even 'glottal' wouldn't be pronounced with a true 't'.

And I would say the most common pronunciation of Montreal in rural Newfoundland contains a pretty huge glottal stop... even comical to hear in its most extreme versions. Hard to describe in writing, SignalHillHiker might be able to do a better job of describing it.

On a side note, in the other thread SignalHillHiker mentioned our strange local pronunciation of Chi-CAR-go. I have no idea where it came from or if it's unique to Newfoundland. Funny thing, my wife did her DDS at Northwestern and she can't stand it when she hears Chi-CAR-go (so of course I've adopted it..!) She also hates DEE-troit and EYE-talian, so I use those too. :D

[Beedok]

i never heard this when i lived there. i have never heard a glottal stop in a canadian accent.

I could have sworn I heard in my one linguistics class that Canadians were some of the most common users of glottal stops outside of certain groups in England.:shrug:

[Acajack]

Uhhh - queer, question, quantum, quiet, quota ....

I say KweBEC (maybe closer to kwuhBEC).

When Claire Martin says it on the CBC weather, I always hear "KyuhBEC", which is kind of cool.

I think Quebec in English probably has more commonly used variations than any other place name in Canada.

I've heard all of these frequently in English:

Kuh-beck
Cue-beck
Kwee-beck
Kwuh-beck
Kay-beck (this last one from the same type of people who say "par-ee" for Paris in English)

[Acajack]

(inglish / frehntch)

Elmer / ElmER

Gat(stop)no / Gah-tsi-NO

Awdawa / Uh-tah-WUH

In French, Aylmer is often pronounced almost with an "eux" ending, but with a slight r sound tacked onto it.

[Acajack]

I say Elmer too, but I think it's supposed to be "Ail-mur". .that's how Lucy van whatsherface on CBC says it.

Slightly on topic, that other guy who does the late night CBC news here pronounces the word "dollars" with a long o sound... "Doe-lers". That just sounds extremely weird...

Elmer would be closer to the way Aylmer is pronounced in Commonwealth countries. "Ail-mer" is more of an Americanism.

[Acajack]

Here are some of the ways Canadian cities outside Quebec are proncounced by francophones:

Vancouver - totally sounded in French, and sounds like "vent couvert" or "vaw(n)-coo-vair"

Victoria - sounded out in French

Edmonton - essentially the same as in English but accents on different syllables

Calgary - cal-gah-ray

Regina - sounded out in French

Saskatoon - same as in English but accents on different syllables

Winnipeg - winn-ee-peg

Windsor - ween-dzawr

London - same as in English but accents on different syllables, never referred to as Londres like the city in England is, hence it is easy to differentiate the two in French

Waterloo - worth mentioning as it is said in English, but there is a small town in Quebec which is pronounced the French like the original town in Belgium

Hamilton - as in English but the H is often silent

Toronto - sounded out in French

Niagara Falls - Niagara is said in French, Falls in said in English

Fredericton - frédéric in French, and tuhn in English, though you also hear "fred-ick-ton" the English way

Saint John - "Saint-Jean" within New Brunswick, and "Saint-Jean Nouveau-Brunswick" outside the province

Moncton - the "mon" rhymes with "on" in maison, followed by "tuhn".

Halifax - ally-fax, sometime hally-fax

St. John's - Saint-Jean Terre-Neuve

[Xelebes]

i never heard this when i lived there. i have never heard a glottal stop in a canadian accent.

The glottal stop most recognisably appears in the Western Canadian dialect with the intermedial double-t's. A bit more subtle than in Newfoundland.

Button => Bu'on
Mitten => Mi'en
Gluttony => Glu'ony
Fitting => Fi'ing
Glottal = Glo'al


Place names:

Stettler => Ste'ler

Ottawa locally here (Edmonton) retains the double-t as voiced but there is some elision and while not a glottal stop, it does get approximated on the palate (Oyawa more than O'awa.)

[esquire]

The glottal stop most recognisably appears in the Western Canadian dialect with the intermedial double-t's. A bit more subtle than in Newfoundland.

Button => Bu'on
Mitten => Mi'en
Gluttony => Glu'ony
Fitting => Fi'ing
Glottal = Glo'al

Very true. I remember how odd it sounded when I heard another born-and-raised Winnipegger clearly pronounce the double-t's in "button". Only then did I appreciate that we generally have the quirky habit of pronouncing it as something like bah - nnnnn

[SignalHillHiker]

Elmer would be closer to the way Aylmer is pronounced in Commonwealth countries. "Ail-mer" is more of an Americanism.

We have a few surnames here with that sound - Aylward probably being the most common. You pronounce it "L Werd".

[harls]

Elmer would be closer to the way Aylmer is pronounced in Commonwealth countries. "Ail-mer" is more of an Americanism.

You'll probably find this interesting - My Quebecois wife told me I was not pronouncing the name of my" secteur" correctly.

But I'm from the "west" and I've got some leeway. My poor kids. Raised by a woman from Quebec City, mangled with some Canadian prairie crap.

My youngest has already picked up the outaouais "super" (soop-air). He'll be damned by anyone from Montreal now

[SignalHillHiker]

My youngest has already picked up the outaouais "super" (soop-air). He'll be damned by anyone from Montreal now (Zu-pere)

I still suspect Outaouais was named by a Newfoundlander and just converted into French over time.

"Where are ya to b'y?"
"Not in town, sure. Out a ways."

[Acajack]

You'll probably find this interesting - My Quebecois wife told me I was not pronouncing the name of my" secteur" correctly.

But I'm from the "west" and I've got some leeway. My poor kids. Raised by a woman from Quebec City, mangled with some Canadian prairie crap.

My youngest has already picked up the outaouais "super" (soop-air). He'll be damned by anyone from Montreal now

How does she think you should say Aylmer?

[harls]

Winnipeg - winn-ee-peg


You've just ousted yourself as a Frenchie.

[Acajack]

I still suspect Outaouais was named by a Newfoundlander and just converted into French over time.

"Where are ya to b'y?"
"Not in town, sure. Out a ways."

A friend of mine from abroad once pointed out to me that Outaouais had five vowels in a row. There probably aren't that many words like this.

I had never noticed, having seen the word for much of my life.

[harls]

How does she think you should say Aylmer?


She says Ail (like in dying) -mer.

But- she also adds the letter H to the word "eggs".

[Drybrain]

Calgary's no longer my hometown, but ditto to the poster earlier who said "Cal-Gary" like two guys' names as an especially irritating non-local pronunciation. I hear Ontarians say it a lot.

[The_Architect]

Definitely sounds like "Tur-onno". Many Torontonians end it with an 'a', but I've always kept the 'o'.

Other cities:
Wadder-loo
Munn-tree-all
Kebeck City
Win-zer
Odda-wa
Winnipeg (or Winterpeg)
Regina
Saskatoon (the previous 3 I always say as spelled)
Cal-gree
Ed-min-tin
Vin-couver
Victoor-ya

[SignalHillHiker]

She says Ail (like in dying) -mer.

But- she also adds the letter H to the word "eggs".

Certain regions of NL pronounce eggs as hags.

[Acajack]

She says Ail (like in dying) -mer.

But- she also adds the letter H to the word "eggs".


Yeah, I have had too much exposure to English in my life to do it, but most francophones will add an H where there is none, and omit the ones that are there.

You don't hunnerstand dat dis is a 'ospital.

[esquire]

You don't hunnerstand dat dis is a 'ospital.

Sounds a bit like Jean Chretien!

[harls]

I grew up in Manitoba, and I've always said "Cal-ga-ree".

Now waiting for esquire's face punch. ;)

[Acajack]

Sounds a bit like Jean Chretien!

Sounds a lot like many people I know!

[Bishop2047]

In the Maritimes one of my favorites is the town on Truro NS. Often pronounced Chur-ro, or Ta-ro-row.

[harls]

Yeah, I have had too much exposure to English in my life to do it, but most francophones will add an H where there is none, and omit the ones that are there.

You don't hunnerstand dat dis is a 'ospital.


That's right. Fall in line, Hegg cooker! ;)


(I love you, don't report me :D)

[Xelebes]

And how I pronounce the various cities:

VAN-coofer
Vic-TOR-ia
CAM-loops
Clone-uh
Re' Deer
COWL-'ree
Sas-ka-TOON
Re-JEYE-na
WIN-i-peg
Thund-er BAY
SOO Sain' Mu-REE
Tur-RAWN-o
AW-da-wa
Wa'er-LOO
KITCH-ner
WINS-or
AWSH-a-wa
SUD-bury
Mun-TREE-'el (diaeresis on the a)
Kwi-BECK Cit-EE
Mungk-tin
Sain JAWN
HAL-FAX
Frej-ick-tin
Sain JAWNS
CORN-er-brook
Yell-o-NEYEF
WEYET-horse
Iq-a-lew-it (q is pronounced as a deep k)

[kwoldtimer]

Wa'er-LOO??? What are you, Cockney?

At most, the "t" can slide into a "d" but it's always there.

[Xelebes]

Wa'er-LOO??? What are you, Cockney?

At most, the "t" can slide into a "d" but it's always there.

Nope, Western Canadian. You don't stick your tongue out to hammer those t's because it's cold!

[esquire]

I grew up in Manitoba, and I've always said "Cal-ga-ree".

Now waiting for esquire's face punch. ;)

Dammit harls! :hell:

[SignalHillHiker]

This response to stereotypes about the island includes how to pronounce Newfoundland correctly. ;)

JpRXfQNcfqY

[Dado]

Everybody in Odduhwah swears that they don't say Odduhwah but they totally do.

When someone says it with a 'd' sound, it's noticeable (if you've ever watched PBS Watertown during a membership drive and the announcers remark on a donation from someone in "Odd-aw-a"... you'll know what Ottawa pronounced with a 'd' really sounds like). Maybe this is akin to Americans thinking that Canadians say "a-boot" when saying "about": you're not hearing a 't' so you think it's a 'd' but it's not really a 'd' either. It's something else.

Really? A glottal stop? Like a Cockney?

I find this hard to believe. Got any Youtube links with people saying it this way?

Yes, a glottal stop, but no, not like a Cockney.

Here's the second paragraph of the Wikipedia entry on glottal stops (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glottal_stop):

"In English, the glottal stop is represented, for example, by the hyphen in uh-oh!. For most English speakers, a glottal stop is used as an allophone of /t/ between a vowel and a syllabic "n", as in button or mountain, except when talking slowly."

So it's like that. Not some exaggerated full-on Cockney glottal stop, but the same mild, barely perceptible one described above. Or what this other poster was trying to describe below.

Aw*awa (i don't even know how to describe the *, it's not a consonant, it's not a t or d it's something else some sound almost like you start to make a d sound but only the start of it.. the throat part but not the part that involves the mouth)

edit: au-uh-wuh

au like auto

anyways... the TT became a D and is now turning into something even less. Aw'uh-wuh ... ok i gotta stop i've been editting this post for 30 minutes or more trying to explain myself better


It's for this very reason I used the spelling "oughta". Just think of Homer Simpson yelling at Bart: "Why I oughta!"

It's not a 't' and it's certainly not a 'd'.

[rousseau]

"In English, the glottal stop is represented, for example, by the hyphen in uh-oh!. For most English speakers, a glottal stop is used as an allophone of /t/ between a vowel and a syllabic "n", as in button or mountain, except when talking slowly."

So it's like that.
That's a glottal stop, yes.

It's for this very reason I used the spelling "oughta". Just think of Homer Simpson yelling at Bart: "Why I oughta!"

It's not a 't' and it's certainly not a 'd'.
That's not a glottal stop. Sure, the "close to D" sound in "Odduwa" isn't exactly like most D sounds, but it's not the sound you get in "mountain."

What you're describing is most definitely and unequivocally NOT a glottal stop. When you say Homer Simpson's "why I oughta" your tongue touches the roof of your mouth, however faintly. With the glottal stop, your tongue doesn't move at all.

Are you saying that people in Ottawa say the word without their tongues moving at all? If so, that would be a really weird Cockney tick. I've never heard it before. I think the issue here is that you really don't understand what a glottal stop is.

[Denscity]

Kaslgar. Pronounced just like its spelled.

[vid]

Most people here pronounce the name as you'd expect, "Thunder Bay" with the stress on the word "bay". Dental fricatives aren't as well enunciated here so it can sound like we're saying "Tunder Bay" to outsiders. Francophones visiting the city pronounce it "TON-derr bay" with a really hilarious stress on the first syllable of thunder. Aboriginal people often pronounce it "tunder-BAY" with an emphasis on the last syllable that makes it sound like they're questioning it. Stubborn people pronounce Thunder Bay as either "Fort William" or "Port Arthur". ;)

The local demonym is Thunder Bayer but our (UK-born) mayor likes to call us "Thunder Bites". No one has used that as an opportunity to market finger foods. Yet...

[Taeolas]

"FRED-ric-tun".
If you're being lazy, "Fred-irk-tun".
If you're being really lazy, "Fred-ick-tun".

The part of town where I grew up (Marysville) is often pronounced more like "maris-ville" or even "mares-vul".

Not sure if I'm matching your pronunciation or not, but I tend to say it "Freh-Drick!-tun". Though I often just shorten it to Freddy or Freddy Beach. :)

Of course the Fredericton area has 2 areas that are sure to trip up pronounciations:

Maugerville ( Major-ville)
Rusagonis (Rush-ah-Gorn-ish)

[ScreamingViking]

Stubborn people pronounce Thunder Bay as either "Fort William" or "Port Arthur". ;)

:haha:

My grandfather was born in Fort William. I don't think I ever heard him refer to the city as Thunder Bay, and his family had migrated to Windsor when he was still quite young.

[Beedok]

most francophones will add an H where there is none, and omit the ones that are there.

It was fun when my one francophone professor was talking about how the main function of hair is to trap air. :D

[SignalHillHiker]

Stubborn people pronounce Thunder Bay as either "Fort William" or "Port Arthur". ;)

:haha:

[Beedok]

Also, I'm not sure about that claim about 'th' not being pronounced right in TBay. I've never noticed it.

[kwoldtimer]

[QUOTE=vid;6341484]Most people here pronounce the name as you'd expect, "Thunder Bay" with the stress on the word "bay". Dental fricatives aren't as well enunciated here so it can sound like we're saying "Tunder Bay" to outsiders. Francophones visiting the city pronounce it "TON-derr bay" with a really hilarious stress on the first syllable of thunder. Aboriginal people often pronounce it "tunder-BAY" with an emphasis on the last syllable that makes it sound like they're questioning it. Stubborn people pronounce Thunder Bay as either "Fort William" or "Port Arthur". ;)

.......QUOTE]

Similar to Cambridge - still pronounced variously as Galt, Preston or Hespeler ("Hespler") by some.

[O-tacular]

I'm not even from Calgary and I occasionally want to punch Canadians who say Cal. (long pause) Gary.

You'd be shocked by even the number of Albertans outside Calgary that say it that way. It's always a dead giveaway whenever someone says that that they're not from here.

[O-tacular]

I say both wrong. I pronounce Montreal like the stereotypical Jamaican "mon" for "man".

And I almost say Calgree but there's still a subtle but very clear a-sound between the g and r.
Cal-ga-ree is still better than Cal-Gary.

[vid]

Also, I'm not sure about that claim about 'th' not being pronounced right in TBay. I've never noticed it.

Talk to someone from Lappe or "EEEN tah lah" (Intola). It's tunner bay fer sher, eh.

[MolsonExport]

Farhi

[freeweed]

I grew up in Manitoba, and I've always said "Cal-ga-ree".

Now waiting for esquire's face punch. ;)

Cal-ga-ree, with 3 syllables, usually emphasis on the first syllable ? No face punch.

Cal-gary is something else. It's Cal, Gary. Like 2 people's names. The emphasis falls on the second syllable. And for some inexplicable reason, there's a pause between "cal" and "gar". Face punch time.

Locals just say "calgree", with an almost indiscernible hint of something between the g and r. Almost a glottal stop, but not quite. Maybe a slight lengthening of the g consonant sound. We had a thread in the Calgary section a while back, and it was several pages dedicated to exactly how to explain the g-r noise. :D

When speaking slowly, ie: announcing the Flames, you'll hear cal-ga-ree. But not often. I'd liken it to "To-ron-to" vs "Toronno".

Speaking of that, some Westerners take "Trawna" even further these days. It's always been a term of derision, but some go almost to the point of "Chrawna". Like the absolute worst American slur you can put into something.

[vid]

I'm not making fun of your city's name, I'm just in one of my drunken stupors.