Virginia has many towns that will trip up even seasoned travelers with spellings that don’t match their local pronunciations. Here are 11 place names that almost no out-of-stater gets right on the first try, along with the correct way to say them.
Norfolk: Pronounced “NAW-fuk.” Make the second syllable short, not “Nor-folk”.
Staunton: Rhymes with “Stanton,” not “Stawn-ton” — it’s “STAN-ton”.
Buena Vista: Locally it’s “BYOO-nuh VIS-tuh” or “BEW-nah VISTA,” not the Spanish-style “BWAY-nah VEE-sta”.
Buchanan: It’s “buh-CAN-un” (almost “buh-cannon”), not like President “BYOO-kan-in”.
Pulaski: Say “pyew-LASS-key” or “pew-LAS-key,” not “pu-LAS-kee”.
Galax: The soft “GAY-lax,” not “Guh-LAX”.
Poquoson: Tricky spelling but it’s “puh-COH-sun,” not “Poe-kwa-son”.
Gloucester: Forget all the letters; just say “GLOSS-ter”.
Wytheville (and Wythe County): It’s “WITH-ville” and “with,” not “Why-th-ville”.
Fauquier: It’s “faw-KEER,” not “Faw-kwire” or “Faw-kway”.
Luray: Pronounced as if split in two: “LOO-ray,” not “Lur-ee”.
Mastering these local quirks is a challenge even for those well-traveled in the South, and Virginians are quick to spot outsiders who stumble over these town names.
SOURCES
(http://cohp.org/va/notes/placenames_pronunciation.html)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUDQQ32bgJk)
(https://dialects.wvu.edu/survey-and-quizzes/place-name-variations)(https://www.reddit.com/r/Virginia/comments/1e36sp3/what_virginia_towns_are_the_most_mispronounced_in/)(https://www.lexvanewcomers.org/proper-pronunciation-of-local-place-names/)
