We Dare You to Say These 11 West Virginia Places Correctly on Your First Try (Spoiler: You Can’t)

Here are 11 West Virginia places that most people can’t pronounce correctly on their first try:

1. Hurricane — Locally pronounced like “hurr-uh-kin,” unlike the storm’s name.
2. Fayetteville — Pronounced with two syllables, “FAY-ett-ville,” instead of three.
3. Cairo — Said as “KAY-ro” rather than the Egyptian city “KY-ro.”
4. Tu-Endie-Wei — This long place name is pronounced as it looks, but few outsiders attempt it.
5. Cacapon — Pronounced “KAY-kuh-pun,” with some syllables dropped.
6. Philippi — Locals say “FILL-uh-pee,” not the classical pronunciation.
7. Pruntytown — Has a silent or lightly pronounced “Prun,” sounding like “Runtytown.”
8. Blennerhassett — A tricky name locals say as “BLEN-er-hass-it.”
9. Kanawha — Pronounced “Kuh-NAW” rather than how it looks.
10. McDowell — Pronounced “Mak-Dow-uhl,” with emphasis on the first syllable.
11. Putnam — Locals say “PUHT-men,” dropping syllables compared to usual pronunciation.

These names showcase West Virginia’s unique local pronunciations and the challenge outsiders face getting them right on the first try.

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)
[5](https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/la/article/download/22468/26125/34020)