5 Places in West Texas That Yankees Have a Hard Time Pronouncing
Let's not mistake this for a proper English class. Let's also say that by "areas," I've got cities, a region and even a street in here. What we're talking about here is how Lubbock folk pronounce the names of these places.
I know I'm going to draw heat for no. 1. I've heard it defined a dozen different ways, and when you break it down it doesn't seem right. But I can tell you as a broadcaster that when someone says it some other way, it just doesn't sound correct.
I've had to explain it to our out-of-town voice guys, concert promoters and even artists when they call in. Whenever I have to get someone to say it in a way that doesn't sound weird to you, this is what I tell them. So with that said, have fun picking this list apart.
- 1
Lubbock
Yep, I'm giving Lubbock no. 1 spot. I'm not even happy with the way it's supposed to be pronounced according to Wikipedia.
According to the Wiki page, the "o" in the last syllable is best represented by a schwa. Sorry, not buying that. Then there are those outsiders that pronounce it "Lubb-ick," which tends to be a trending newspaper editorial complaint about every six months.
The common way to say Lubbock is Lub-buck, but you kind of emphasize the first syllable and swallow the second.
- 2
Llano Estacado
It's not Lan-O. It's not pronounced like the name of the Polynesian god of fun "Lono" either.
That double l tends to be a bit tricky for some folks. Just this week I head some doof try to sound knowledgeable by using the term. It's Yawn-o.
- 3
Lamesa
I have to be fair with this one; we bastardized the heck out of it. By all accounts, it should be "Luh May-Suh," but at some point we ditched the 'May' for 'Me.'
So, it's "Luh-mee-suh." Let's give it up for those Golden Tornados!
- 4
Erskine
Erskine is one of those words that doesn't follow traditional English rules.
The road runs east to west, or west to east in the northeast corner of Lubbock. Before the interstate came along it was a nice shortcut across part of Lubbock. The road now houses a bunch of industrial stuff.
It should have a long "I" since it follows a consonant then a vowel, but it doesn't. It's "Urr-skin" to West Texas folks.
- 5
Floydada
I didn't even know this was a problem for folks until recently. I also have the city points off for calling their annual festival Punkin Days. After all, if you can't pronounce 'pumpkin,' who are you to complain when someone gets the name of your city wrong?
So, the most common mispronunciation is Floy-daw-daw. (I can provide you with an audio file of a numbskull saying it this way if you want.) The correct pronunciation is Floy-day-duh.
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