As Edwards did.

There are likely several regional variations.

Unlike "nuclear", which W pronounces "nucular".

thanks - i thot he must be right as he's from Carolina.

do other mid-west folk like me say Appa-lay-chen? Or have i missed the boat for decades?

Well, everybody I know here in North Carolina says "Appa-latchin' " I'm a native Carolinian. Slight variation on how you say Edwards said it ... Other Tar Heels, chime in!

well that's probably what Edwards said - i didn't get it straight but not like i say it at all - i changing to Edwards and Carolina pronunciation

Poor John Edwards. First it's $400 haircuts and now it's how he pronounces "Appalachian."

The word is correctly pronounced as four syllables or five syllables and with a long "a" or short "a" in the third syllable.

But, like PalenO, I prefer to pronounce a place name the way locals do.

Well, I went to Appalachian State and we pronounce it like Edwards does.

I live near the Appalachian trail in Virginia and the question of pronunciation comes up every now and again in the newspaper. Generally, south of the Mason-Dixon people pronounce it like Edwards: Appa-lah-chun. North (and I suppose West) pronounce it Appa-lay-chen. Regional differences, neither is right or wrong.

I've always pronounced it apple-lat'-chun. Accent on the 'lat' and the a in lat is pronounced as in cat. Lived in TN & GA all my life.

Growing up in WV it was pronounced Appa-lah-chun as well.

DebInTN, I think we're talking about the same pronunciation. Some of my family is from TN! Some people I know say "latch-in" some say "latch-un" ... not that different. Just no "lay" in there, and you're okay.

Webster's Ninth goes for the long A, but regional usage doesn't always follow the book.

To throw in another variation, in the midwest, we used to not only use the long a for the second a but also say the "ch" as an "sh" so it was "Ap - a - lay -she - un."

The region was Ap a lay she a.

After I moved to the south, my pronounciation changed to Edwards, I gather, or "ap-a- la- tchun" (la as in latch). The region became Ap a la cha.

Lost a syllable, different "a" and different ch.

So is it Tchi-caga or Shih-caga?

In New England, it's App-uh-LAY-chin.

It's a VERY long mountain chain...

The Second Civil War broke out this morning as members of a travel forum disagreed over the pronunciation of "Appalachian"

This just in, the southern contingent is pulling out front but as on poster admitted, "It is a VERY long mountain chain."

News at 11

Ok, New England it's Wor-cess-ter, Mass right?

Is is kuh-rib-bee-en or care-uh-bee-en?

PalenQ, there is North Carolina or South Carolina or you can be from the Carolinas but no such place as Carolina.

Ap-EL-atchian is how I pronounce Appalachian.

Accent on the second syllable? That's one I've never heard.

"Worcester" is "Wustah," as everyone in Newingland knows.

"Caribbean" is harder -- by custom, the "i" before two consonants (the double "b") should be short, so it would be Cah-RIB-be-an. But it's named for, more or less, the Caribes, and so you'd expect the "i" to be pronounced "ee" -- leaving you to choose which syllable on which to put the emphasis.

Seems to me it's worth trying to pronounce a place name the way the inhabitants do -- so up north you can refer to the Green and White Mts. as part of the "Appullay-chen" chain, and further south you can say "Appul-atchen." What you ought NOT to do is correct locals on their pronunciation of their own place names.

Don't we have a resident expert to determine who is instantly stupid?

NC born and bred. I say it how Edwards appears to have said it (and how elsiemoo says it).

In NC, the people who say the third syllable as "AY" are usually from parts elsewhere.

In Kentucky, it is also "appa-latch-un", at least on the end of the state that is actually part of the Appalachians!

Apple Latch Chin if you live here. The other if yer going to be snooty about it.

Betsy, in central, rural, KY, in the dark ages, we learned in grade school to say Appel-a-shun. Of course, we also learned to say I-o-way and Ill-i-noise.

Some of us now know better.

Worcester native here confirming it's "Wusta".

But if you live 10 miles outside of Wusta then its Woos-ter.

Lancaster, South Carolina is pronounced 'Langster'.

Leicester North Carolina is pronounced 'Lester'.

There is an 'all benny' Georgia and an 'alb'ny' NY; there is a 'kay-ro' GA and a 'Kie-ro' Egypt; there is a Vi-enna, GA and a Vee-enna Italy. Always pronounce it the way the locals do.

The first syllable begins like "would" not like "woo-woo."

Leicester, MA is also pronounced
"Lester".

Leominster, MA is pronounced "Lemon-ster".

What about Beaufort, SC? Isn't it pronounced Bew-fert?

.. of Worcester, that is.

Anyone want to try "Billerica"? "Leominster"?

Beat me to it, Hubster!

How about Calais, ME. In France it's
Cal-ay... in ME its Cal-us.

I always thought it was Wis-tah.

How about some tough ones:
Schuylkill, Beaufort, NC vs Beaufort, SC.

Bow-fert, North Carolina

Bew-fert, South Carolina

Elsiemoo is absolutely correct about Appalachian and Beaufort.
(I hate to admit that John Edwards is correct about anything!)

Bill-RICK-uh = Billerica
LEM-in-stuh = Leominster

Skoo-kul.

In the Philadelphia and South Jersey area, "Schuylkill" is pronounced "Sure-kill". I oughta know....I spent several years of my life parked behind massive car wrecks on that #X@*!!@# expressway, and had plenty of time to think about it.

LANK-a-ster, Pennsylvania is where many Amish live.
Lan-CAN-ster, Ohio is where my gr-gr-gr-grandfather resided.

BURN-it, Texas was named in honor of Governor Bur-NETT.

Old school Miamians pronounce it My-yeah-ma.

Betsy - In central KY, I've always heard it as appa-lay-shun, but we pronounce many words differently (incorrectly?) than the eastern part of the state.

I promise you that here in Harlan, KY, it is pronounced with the "latch" sound, not a "lay" sound. The Appalachian Regional Hospital (ARH) is one of this area's largest employers and they pronounce their name with the "latch" sound.

<PalenQ, there is North Carolina or South Carolina or you can be from the Carolinas but no such place as Carolina.>

ever heard the song 'Carolina in the mohn-ning"

Carolina Panthers...Carolina Hurricanes...'Carolina In My Mind' by James Taylor

and don't the Tar Heels simply have Carolina on their b-ball shirts - Carolina blue?

The Tarheels don't even consider SC in the equation.

No such thing as Carolina but you can refer to them as THE Carolinas but it is either North Carolina or South Carolina.

Carolina Panthers then should be Carolinas Panthers or North Carolina Panthers.

There indeed does appear to be the use of the world "Carolina" like in Carolina in the morning song

Up north here when we here someone say they from Carolina we think North Carolina and not South Carolina.

Alex Trebek used "appa-lay-chin: on Jeopardy last night...he and Webster agree.

Ver-SAILS (Versailles), KY

CANS-City, Missouri

MISS-Sippi

Dubois PA = Doo-boys

How about Ar-kan-saw?

But neither Alex Trebec or Webster live in Carolina...

Nevada is one name that is usually mispronounced by non Nevadans who say i believe Neh-vah-da and not Neh-va-da

Trebek is from Canada, eh?

Well, not only was I born and bred in North Carolina I attended Appalachian State and still live in these mountains. Elsiemoo is correct. It's pronounced Appa-LATCH-in and some individuals such as myself get a little irritated when you refer to our state as Carolina, there ARE two Carolinas, not that we have anything against South Carolina. People from both states prefer if you distinguish between the two.

Caroline means North Caroline up here and tell the Univ of North Carolina that they should not have "Carolina" on the shirts as I believe they do - they refer to themselves as "Carolina" - live with it. It's not just YOU - referring to non-Carolinians who refer to North Carolina as "Carolina" - pot calling kettle black in this case!

But...the Appalachians stretch from Newfoundland to central Alabama, so it only makes sense that within that vast area, there are going to be different pronunciations. Is one region's pronunciation more correct than another's? For what it's worth, I grew up in the portion of it more commonly known as the Berkshires (western MA) and grew up calling them the Appa LAY chins. I could no more say Appa lah chins, than I could say po TAH toe. . And for people like us who don't have the eastern MA accent (the western part of the state has an entirely different accent than the eastern part), it's Wuhster. Wustah just couldn't come out of my mouth sounding like anything other than someone trying to imitate a "Boston" accent. So although Wustah is the correct pronunciation for someone from that city, Wuster is just as correct for someone from elsewhere, if you catch my drift here!

Is there a reason why this thread from 2007 was renewed?

Lee Ann

I guess someone needed to set us straight about Carolina. I live in Charlotte, probably longer than Dean has been alive, and agree on the Appalatchin pronunciation, but I say, "down heah in Carolina".
As for the Berkshires being the "Appalachians", that a bit of a stretch. What are you gonna do about the Poconos and all. SO you can pronounce it as you wish. And it isn't "lah"--it is the "a" as in "latch" as Dean said--short 'a'.
As for John Edwards, he was born in the Appalatchins.

Is there a reason why this thread from 2007 was renewed?>

why not - it has sparked an interesting debate - I never understand those who carp about old threads coming up and then folks respond new - what difference does it make to you?

And on a recent basketball broadcast I did here Dick Vitale, the mouth, continually refer to North Caroline as "Carolina" and he weren't talking about those Cocks either.

It isn't a stretch at all Gretchen. It's a chain of mountains that runs from Newfoundland to Alabama. Same mountains. The Appalachian trail goes right through the Berkshires. Don't take it from me (as I know you did not. )...Google and embrace the new knowledge.

Well, the Poconos are considered part of that vast Appalachian chain in some geographic circles, depending on your view of the Allegheny Plateau, and the Appalachian Trail certainly runs through PA...where it's pronounced with the "lay" in the middle.
And not that Wikipedia is the be-all/end-all, but they put the "lay" pronunciation first: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/En-us-Appalachian.ogg

Map of the Appalachians: http://geography.howstuffworks.com/united-states/the-appalachians.htm

Well, you are correct about the trail. Forgot about that. But it is obviously pronounced differently in different parts of the country.
I probably do pronounce "Appalachia" with a long "a" but "Appalachian" with a short "a".

Actually, I take that back. I use the short a all the time.

>>why not - it has sparked an interesting debate - I never understand those who carp about old threads coming up and then folks respond new - what difference does it make to you?<<

Not carping, just wondering why someone would register here and make his first post a response to a six year old thread.

Lee Ann

Ellen - you got too much time on your hands! Why worry about what other folks do? If they want to do why rain on their parade?

>>Ellen - you got too much time on your hands!<<

OMG - Talk about the pot calling the kettle . . .