Here are 11 West Virginia town names that’ll make your GPS have an existential crisis, along with tips on how locals pronounce them:
- Hurricane — Pronounced like “HURR-uh-kin,” dropping the “cane” sound.
- Fayetteville — Locals say it with two syllables: “FAY-ette-ville” with a quick middle.
- Cairo — Pronounced as “Care-oh,” not like the Egyptian city.
- Cacapon — Locally pronounced “KAY-kuh-pun,” with some syllables dropped.
- Philippi — Pronounced “Fill-uh-pee,” with emphasis on the first syllable.
- Pruntytown — Sounds like “Prun-tee-town,” not with a silent P.
- Blennerhassett — The “hassett” part sounds like “ha-sit.”
- Yolyn — Pronounced “YO-leen,” similar to Jolene.
- Delorme — Pronounced “Del-OR-mee,” not like the car brand DeLorean.
- Kanawha — Pronounced “Kuh-NAH-wuh,” locals drop the middle syllable.
- Roanoke — Pronounced “ROH-noke,” with a silent ‘a.’
These pronunciations often puzzle newcomers and GPS systems, reflecting the rich and unique dialects of West Virginia.
SOURCES
[1](http://cohp.org/va/notes/placenames_pronunciation.html)
[2](https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/state-pride/west-virginia/local-pronounce-wv)
[3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaVYEB7-e_U)
[4](https://dialects.wvu.edu/survey-and-quizzes/place-name-variations)
