Washington is packed with towns and places whose names trip up even experienced travelers. Here are 11 famously tricky Washington place names, with their proper pronunciations:
Puyallup — pronounced “pew-ALL-up”
Wahkiakum — pronounced “wuh-KAI-uh-kum”
Skamokawa — pronounced “ska-MOCK-a-way”
Spokane — pronounced “spoh-KAN” (not “spoh-KANE”)
Clallam — pronounced “CLALL-um” (short “A”)
Des Moines — pronounced “deh-MOIN” (not like the Iowa city; the first ‘s’ is silent)
Yakima — pronounced “YAK-uh-mah”
Enumclaw — pronounced “EE-num-claw”
Mazama — pronounced “muh-ZAM-uh”
Humptulips — pronounced “hump-TOO-lips”
Most out-of-staters miss at least a few of these on the first try, thanks to Native American language roots, French influences, and unique regional quirks.
SOURCES
(https://rex.libraries.wsu.edu/esploro/outputs/book/Washington-names-A-pronunciation-guide-of/99900501009201842)
(http://www.cohp.org/wa/notes/placenames_pronunciation.html)
(https://www.scenicwa.com/how-to-speak-washington)
(https://wsab.org/pronunciation-guides)
(https://washingtonourhome.com/say-wa-how-to-pronounce-washingtons-city-names/)
