Pronunciation poll

[prohl84]

How do you say willamette?

 

[Fishin-Jay]

wil-LAM-it, which is also how the people who live in the Willamette Valley say it.

 

[prohl84]

I know I know I have been saying it wrong forever.... why change now?

EDIT: ^ Now I see by your location that this thread was for you!

 

[Billy-Klubb]

I pronounce it gimmee-nother-beer-BE-for-eye-snap-GRAH-muh. but I didn't see that as an option, so I didn't vote.

 

[Yooper]

wil-LAM-it, which is also how the people who live in the Willamette Valley say it.

It's Wil-LAM-it, dammit!

(willamette sounds like dammit).

 

[Mongrel]

Half the country can't even pronounce Oregon correctly. We should start with that before moving on to Willamette.

 

[boydster]

Half the country can't even pronounce Oregon correctly. We should start with that before moving on to Willamette.

That figure sounds conservative.

And +1 on wil-LAM-it

 

[FatDragon]

While I am fully aware the PNW pronunciation puts the stress on the second syllable and sharpens the 'a' considerably, I put the stress on the last syllable because it comes off the tongue more easily and sounds better to my ear.

 

[drainbamage]

I've always said will-ah-MET, which is apparently wrong. Meh.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

mayhaps they oughta spelled it like it sounds, and not completely different.

 

[bzwyatt]

I had a friend from there, she taught me the right way to say it.

A newer friend heard me say it the right way, and called me luddite because of it.

Isn't Willamette with the last syllable emphasized, a french-derived word? I'm sticking with saying it the way local hop farmers say it.

*edit - Willamette reminds me of Lafayette, which is why I figured it might be a french word. According to some wikipedia searchin', it is a Native American word, or orginated from one.

 

[drainbamage]

Half the country can't even pronounce Oregon correctly. We should start with that before moving on to Willamette.

So, now I can't help but wonder, how do you pronounce Oregon?

 

[Brewskii]

My Mom is from the PNW and I have to stop and think before I say this word because she gets pissed! Wouldn't be an issue except I worked for 18yrs around people who relentlessly mis-pronounced it "will-im-ET".

"will-AM-it" is correct -as I was taught by many people who lived in the region for many,many,years.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

a crap ton of people pronounce beer bud-LIGHT. doesn't make it right. people pronounce things they way they are spelled. does one smoke a cigarette or a cig-a-RIT?

 

[bzwyatt]

People don't always pronounce things the way they are spelled, especially in English. In England they say 'alumin-ee-um' when they are talking about the metal soda cans are made from. Is that wrong? ... it could be argued all day, but you'll never change the way it is said in England.

Language is cool like that, kind of like syles of beer are cool. People do it a certain way, lots of people start to like it, and then that is the 'right' way, no matter what the 'rules' or style guidelines say is 'right'.

 

[jakenbacon]

It's Wil-LAM-it, dammit!

(willamette sounds like dammit).

haha about to post this also. I kept pronouncing it wrong and everytime I had to think WIL-LAM-IT DAMMIT!

 

[brandonhagen1]

Half the country can't even pronounce Oregon correctly. We should start with that before moving on to Willamette.

agreed on this fully and its pronounced OR I GIN

 

[signpost]

I say will- ah- MET, because the other way sounds stupid. I don't care if that's how the people there say it. I'm a classically trained singer and have studied diction in 6 languages. I'm not going to pronounce it in a way that sounds stupid.

 

[jakenbacon]

I say will- ah- MET, because the other way sounds stupid. I don't care if that's how the people there say it. I'm a classically trained singer and have studied diction in 6 languages. I'm not going to pronounce it in a way that sounds stupid.

Haha, lamest thing I have heard all day. "it doesn't sound good so I am going to continue to mispronounce it." LMFAO

 

[Billy-Klubb]

Haha, lamest thing I have heard all day. "it doesn't sound good so I am going to continue to mispronounce it." LMFAO

you need to swing by my work if that's the lamest thing you heard all day.

 

[Channel66]

It's Wil-LAM-it, dammit!

(willamette sounds like dammit).

That's the trick we've always used too.

 

[drainbamage]

People don't always pronounce things the way they are spelled, especially in English. In England they say 'alumin-ee-um' when they are talking about the metal soda cans are made from. Is that wrong? ... it could be argued all day, but you'll never change the way it is said in England.

See, the thing about that is, although English has silent letters, "al-u-min-ee-um" pronounces letters that aren't there. I don't care if they invented the language, the Brits are wrong on that one

 

[Leadgolem]

wil-LAM-it, which is also how the people who live in the Willamette Valley say it.

Yup, I used to live in the Willamette valley.

I had a friend from there, she taught me the right way to say it.

A newer friend heard me say it the right way, and called me luddite because of it.

Isn't Willamette with the last syllable emphasized, a french-derived word? I'm sticking with saying it the way local hop farmers say it.

*edit - Willamette reminds me of Lafayette, which is why I figured it might be a french word. According to some wikipedia searchin', it is a Native American word, or orginated from one.

Exactly.

I say will- ah- MET, because the other way sounds stupid. I don't care if that's how the people there say it. I'm a classically trained singer and have studied diction in 6 languages. I'm not going to pronounce it in a way that sounds stupid.

That's a bit like pronouncing montrachet mount ratchet because you don't like how it sounds. It's a proper place name from another language. The pronunciation from that language is, therefore, correct. Would you call Los Angeles "The Angels"?

 

[nukebrewer]

I say will- ah- MET, because the other way sounds stupid. I don't care if that's how the people there say it. I'm a classically trained singer and have studied diction in 6 languages. I'm not going to pronounce it in a way that sounds stupid.

Haha, lamest thing I have heard all day. "it doesn't sound good so I am going to continue to mispronounce it." LMFAO

I pronounce it the same way signpost does and I will continue to do so until the occasion comes when I am in the Willamette Valley and need to pronounce it "properly" because I think the "proper" way sounds wrong. Eloquent speech should flow off the tongue smoothly and wil-AM-et doesn't do that.

Same thing with Worcester, Mass. How the hell do you get Woostah from Worcester!? I will always pronounce it as spelled even if I find myself there one day.

 

[Totes]

agreed on this fully and its pronounced OR I GIN

ORY GUN.
OR GUN works, especially if you have a chainsaw in the cab of your truck, live off a county road, or have a dip n lip.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

That's a bit like pronouncing montrachet mount ratchet because you don't like how it sounds. It's a proper place name from another language. The pronunciation from that language is, therefore, correct. Would you call Los Angeles "The Angels"?

My sister spent more of her life in the vicinity of Versailles, MO than she really cared to.

When she first went there, asking a local how to get to "Ver-SIGH", all she got was a blank stare. It took a while before she realized to ask for "Ver-SAILS"...

 

[bzwyatt]

Worcester is another word from England and I love it too! The characters on the paper don't matter, it is the sound/thing/place/meaning they represent. Worster is how it sounds in England. Turned to 'wooster' by the time they got to America, though it is named after the same place the sauce comes from. Both are right!

And in MO it is versails!

 

[blizzard]

See, the thing about that is, although English has silent letters, "al-u-min-ee-um" pronounces letters that aren't there. I don't care if they invented the language, the Brits are wrong on that one

Originally (and still in Britain) the extra letter was in there. We just stopped saying it for some reason, so we dropped it.

 

[DrunkleJon]

You pronounce things? I pronounce it by pointing and grunting. Learned the language in home improvement stores.

 

[Melana]

I'm from Massachusetts and can't pronounce anything the right way.