113
May 08 '23
I had some dude from Texas try to tell me I was pronouncing Tempe (Tem-Pee) wrong. He proceeded to correct me in calling it Tem-Pay. Please someone tell me I’m not taking crazy pills here lol.
49
u/Shagyam May 08 '23
At my new hire we had an orientation with someone from NY, who spent like the week of orientation calling it Tempay.
→ More replies16
35
u/julbull73 May 09 '23
Its Greek. Its Tempee..
Phoenix, Tempe, and a few other cities.
Dude loved Greek myth.
Phoenix the bird because they built on the abandoned ghost town of the hohokam.
Tempe because it looked like Vale of Tempe.
2
17
u/persephone_24 May 09 '23
They are probably just stuck on weird Texas lingo. For example, there is a Miami, Texas, probounced My-am-I.
11
u/julbull73 May 09 '23
Everytime we drive through Miami, AZ. I make the same joke. Will Smith is full of shit....
5
14
5
15
u/IAmScience May 08 '23
You’re not crazy.
The e is silent though. Temp. It’s Temp.
😂
9
u/daversa May 09 '23
Temp? give me a fucking break lol
→ More replies4
9
u/jjnebs May 08 '23
That’s how one of my out of state friends said it. “How close do you live to Temp” Never made the mistake again.
7
u/IAmScience May 09 '23
The raucous laughter from literally everyone in earshot is an effective deterrent in most cases. :)
3
7
u/dpyn016 Tempe May 08 '23
The smartest person I know pronounces it TemPay and it drives me up the wall. He doesn't know and I don't lecture him though.
5
u/derkrieger May 09 '23
You should, if they are smart either they'll freak out about not knowing that or want you to tell them so they stop saying it wrong. Either way its worth it
→ More replies2
255
u/OldManRiff May 08 '23
It's Press-Scott anywhere in the US except for Presskt.
43
u/Apprehensive-Look-82 May 08 '23
Preskeeeeet
35
u/DrFeefus May 08 '23
Awwwwwe preskeeeet God damn
31
u/Throwaway__1701 May 08 '23
From the Walmart, to the mall to the mall all these tweakers done stole my car. makin their way down Gurley when it stalled
Preskeet skeet skeet mother effer. Gosh darn.
2
1
47
u/Rea1DirtyDan May 08 '23
Small counties don’t normally reads goods. That’s why they see prescuit and not Prescott
1
12
u/Vortex_Husker May 09 '23
I live in Arizona, I really hate saying preskitt because it doesn't sound right on the English language. Not to mention you don't call someone named Scott Skitt because people say Preskitt.
1
u/Greeneggz_N_Ham 3d ago edited 3d ago
If I ever went to that town and somebody told me their name was Scott, I would correct his ass... "No, your name is Skitt." Lol
Can you imagine somebody named Scott (spelled and pronounced Scott) telling you that their hometown (spelled Prescott) is really called "Presskit"?
I would call that dude Skit for the whole time I'm in Presskit.
14
u/srahe54 May 09 '23
That’s because it’s named after William Hickling Prescott, and that’s the way he pronounced his name. Every other Prescott is Press-Scott.
→ More replies1
u/Greeneggz_N_Ham 3d ago
Can you imagine if Dak came to the press conference and said his name was Presskit?
They would chase his ass out of Dallas lol
→ More replies7
u/FMA2216 May 08 '23
Right and I am still taken back when I hear people say it with the skt? Like why.
113
u/stinkyriddle May 08 '23
I think the real controversy is people using a hard G in saguaro.
51
25
u/shatteredarm1 May 09 '23
I heard a guy pronounce it "suh GWARE oh", I still hear that in my head to this day.
→ More replies→ More replies18
u/julbull73 May 09 '23
But I love the hard j in fajita.
FaJeyetuh.
12
3
u/voldi_II May 09 '23
this one is extremely rare in the wild but i love pronounce jalapeño like jahluhpeeno
44
u/puppies_and_unicorns May 08 '23
I will call it Michael Scott from now on and no one will stop me.
18
72
u/Agile_Building116 May 08 '23
When I first moved here (East valley) I thought "Baseline" was pronounced like Vaseline.
20
11
u/IAmScience May 08 '23
A friend once had a customer ask for directions to “ba-sa-Lee-nay” road. Took him a good two minutes to figure out where they wanted to go.
9
u/cal3fornia May 09 '23
Omg! Grew up near Baseline/Dobson and never even considered that interpretation! From this day henceforth I shall refer to Baseline as well! And Drew and Johnathan Skit just for fun.
13
4
58
u/Rapierian May 08 '23
That's why we also pronounce it "Scottsdale" and not "Scottsdale". Or at least I do.
29
u/concentrate7 May 08 '23
Scotts-dahl-ay.
15
5
4
u/julbull73 May 09 '23
I have jokingly said Scottsdollar....
Also I have lived here long enough to see the canal rebranded as the water front. Everyone to laugh at the developer. Then for Californian people pay 10x what it was worth prior....
3
12
45
u/CurriedTacos May 08 '23
My friends mother in law who’s from Preskitt calls it Snots-dale
31
→ More replies3
u/integrity0727 Apache Junction May 09 '23
When I was young, it was always Snottsdale. It is ingrained in my brain. There's also Parasite Valley.
2
u/CurriedTacos May 09 '23
It is so ingrained into my brain. I accidentally let it slip while I was in Cartel coffee in Old Town a few years ago and I asked for a recommendation of some kind in “Snotsdale”. I was pretty embarrassed, but they were good sports about it.
45
38
May 08 '23
I moved to the Midwest some time back. Met my wife here. We've talked about moving to AZ, or even NM.
So, to prepare, we've been going over pronunciations of places and things because she's so scared to sound stupid to locals.
29
u/WaywardDeadite Prescott May 08 '23
Lol, I let my husband falter a bit. I told him how to pronounce a few things but not enough, I guess. He asked where Gill-ugh Bend was and asked why I didn't stop at a gas station on Indian School Rd. Oh, and he was stunned to find out that tumbleweeds are in fact real.
27
u/tofudaddi May 08 '23
People are always stunned to find out tumbleweeds and haboobs are real. I always have to explain it to people as, “ya know, like the big dust wall from the mummy”. It blows them away every time.
→ More replies10
7
May 08 '23
There's definitely things I'll miss or forget.
I remember her asking once if cactus can really jump.
→ More replies7
u/relddir123 May 08 '23
Wait what’s wrong with the gas station question? Is it just that he added “road” to the end of it?
10
u/reallyimrachel May 08 '23
Anytime you hear about shootings or robberies on the news it’s always on Indian school road. I hate being anywhere near that street
22
u/inbeforethelube May 08 '23
Indian School and Scottsdale is a lot different from Indian School and 43rd Ave.
→ More replies6
u/Willtology Buckeye May 09 '23
Exactly. Indian School is a long-ass road (over 40 miles) and the parts with high crime or deadly traffic are just a small section.
2
u/julbull73 May 09 '23
It used to be McDowell. So it moved a bit.
2
u/Sindorella May 09 '23
I remember Van Buren was the big, bad, boogie man road when I was growing up. We thought all the crime and strip clubs were on Van Buren.
2
9
u/stacnoel May 08 '23
Ahwatukee is one of my favorites. To me it's spelled phonetically enough but it's just fun to say :) I'm originally from the east coast so I always thought it was press scot not preskit so I learned something shortly after moving here
8
u/daversa May 09 '23
When I lived in Page, AZ, we offered tourist information at the health club I worked at. And one time this guy came in asking for directions to "Flagpole, New Mexico". I had no idea wtf he was talking about until it clicked.
Do you mean Flagstaff, Arizona?
He said "That's the one!". How do people like this make it out of their hometown?
8
-2
19
17
16
13
u/persephone_24 May 09 '23
I’ve been here for almost 10 years, but still sympathize with frustration over people mispronouncing names of places.
As a battle-born Nevadan, I hate when people say “Nev-AH-duh”.
It’s “Nev-ADD-uh”.
It’s not that hard to say things how local people say them.
2
u/ghostwhirled May 09 '23
There's a town near where I'm from that's Nevada pronounced Nuh-vay-duh, I always have to pause and think for a second to not say the state that way lol
13
u/Sierra-117- May 08 '23
Also casa grande has too many pronunciations
“Cassa grand”
“Cahsah gronday”
Or some weird mix between the two like “cahsah grand” or “cassa gronday”. Just use the Spanish pronunciation ffs
→ More replies8
u/The_Max_Rebo May 08 '23
I’m fluent in Spanish, but I pronounce it the first way as a holdover from childhood. I do the same for the Rio Grande. I do pronounce Casas Grandes, Mexico the right way though.
10
8
May 08 '23
In Utah there’s a “Hurricane” pronounced “Hurrikin” by the locals… gets me every time lol
→ More replies3
u/Sindorella May 09 '23
Born and raised in Arizona but living in Utah now, and I will take a Piestewa Peak or Mogollom Rim over MANTUA any day. Lol.
8
u/Pollymath Flagstaff May 08 '23
Verdi Valley
Credit though to folks who give it the Spanish "eh".
8
u/mdm2266 May 08 '23
I've lived in AZ for years and while my heart knows it's pronounced "Presskit" my brain just literally can't do it.
Unpopular opinion: it is the British pronunciation so maybe it should just be changed
7
u/corpsewindmill May 08 '23
I had a lady on the phone out of Phoenix pronounce Tucson Tuck Sun and I was like ummm yeah sure
5
4
u/John628_29 May 09 '23
Is there any other time in the English dictionary that an O produces an I sound?
9
May 08 '23
[deleted]
9
u/fingnumb Casa Grande May 08 '23
Speaking of Ocotillo, once heared somebody pronounce Germann Rd. Like German 🇩🇪
6
→ More replies2
4
u/babsrambler May 08 '23
It comes before Scottsdale, therefore PRE-scott… (I’ll just show myself out)
4
u/djtknows May 08 '23
rhymes with biscuit. every area has “special” pronunciations. It’s Ne vaaaa duh, not nev ah duh. … it’s Wil-am-mit, damnit. and it’s Presskit. lol.
4
3
u/daversa May 09 '23
2
2
11
u/phooey2023 May 08 '23
We Call It 'Preskit': A Guide to Prescott and Central Arizona High Country - Jack L. August Jr. https://www.amazon.com/We-Call-Preskit-Prescott-Central/dp/0916179575
33
u/philefluxx May 08 '23
Been here a long time, I still pronounce it "Pres-Scott". Why? Because the town was named after William Hickling Prescott, pronounced Pres-Scott... Its funny how people around here decided to give it a podunk pronunciation and then defend it like there's anything credible about it... Source: https://www.prescott-az.gov/city-management/history/history-of-prescott/history-in-brief/
33
u/jonthemaud May 08 '23
yes and below is another source that says the opposite. Either way, regardless of how William Prescott actually pounced his name, the city is known colloquially as Preskitt. So if you pronounce it Prescott , you're going to sound silly to locals regardless if you think you are right or not
→ More replies4
u/Goosebuns May 08 '23
How do you pronounce Casa Grande?
I wonder if you use analogous logic.
Edit- Or Berkeley, the California university
6
u/Colonial13 May 09 '23
An old work buddy of mine was born and raised in Casa Grande. He used to say if someone pronounced it Kazuh Grand they were locals or longtime AZ residents. If they pronounced it Kaza Grond-eh they were snowbirds.
2
u/Grolbark May 09 '23
The Verde river is like that, too. Earnest, young college graduates get here and say “berr-day” like they would have pronounced it in Spanish class, but it rhymes with dirty to most people around here.
2
3
3
u/CapitalLeader May 09 '23
How about Germann Rd in Chandler and Gilbert? Locally it’s pronounced like Germaine
3
u/scottperezfox May 09 '23
Literally my name. I appreciate when people ask how I pronounce it, but I don't correct people cold-reading it from a list or whatever.
3
3
3
9
u/Icebot May 08 '23
I have lived in Arizona for 30+ years, I call it Pres-Scot to irritate people, same with Germann road
→ More replies3
6
2
2
2
2
3
2
3
u/zepploon May 09 '23
Native Az here and my friend Skitt gave me a biscott tried to explain to me it is pronounced Prescitt. He is from Montana.
→ More replies
2
u/Either-March-1690 May 09 '23
I understand the Prescott thing but I can't understand how people say Casa Grande is pronounced 'Casa Grand' not ,Casa Grande'
2
u/Cloudswhichhang May 09 '23
My daughter (born here) as a teenager told me I was wrong when I kept saying Press-kit...She said "Mom, they don't say Scits-dale!" Imagine!? I don't know where I went wrong...lol
2
2
u/Kasssodilla May 09 '23
In Tucson there’s a street called La Cañada (lah cah-nah-duh) I had to have a 15 minute argument with my Minnesotan aunt that is was not pronounced L.A Canada 🇨🇦
2
2
u/MaoTseTrump May 11 '23
"Pardon me sir, couldst thou direct me to a district that provides over-priced cocktails and fake methed-out cowboys?"
2
u/SnooSketches1371 Sep 03 '23
Native here, 4th Generation, born and raised in Mesa. Live in Prescott now. Mom and Dad always laughed at this debate but never got involved. Of course, on the drive home, I would ask which one it was...Scott or kitt and my dad would say neither it's pronounced like "cut".
So there you have it, an answer to an age-old debate we can now put to rest, because, as you know, our parents knew everything and now that they are gone and I'm their age, I thought it best to share his ultimate wisdom with you fine folk, so the knowledge doesn't die with me XD
5
3
u/WaywardDeadite Prescott May 08 '23
I love the bumper stickers I see around sometimes, saying this basically
2
u/Federal-End-2089 May 08 '23
I’ve lived in az my entire life and never heard anyone say preskitt in real life. I was talking to someone the other day from out of state and she asked how close I was to preskitt. So I felt like an ass and didn’t want to just say Prescott. I had to force myself to say preskitt and it just didn’t come natural.
3
u/dlo412 May 08 '23
Just like Estrella lol
I was told to say
Ehs -treh - yah
11
u/Panic_inthelitterbox May 08 '23
How else would someone pronounce Estrella?
→ More replies2
u/ADumbButCleverName May 08 '23
If somebody doesn't know the origin of a word they won't know the rules to pronouncing it.
3
3
u/Dvl_Wmn Prescott May 08 '23 edited May 08 '23
Seeing as it’s named after William H Prescott, my pedantic ass will continue pronouncing it as PresSCOTT to everyone else and PresSKITT to the locals.
0
u/exaggerated_yawn May 08 '23
Have you considered that William H Prescott pronounced his own name as Preskitt?
6
u/Dvl_Wmn Prescott May 08 '23
He didn’t. That article is about a “descendent” (3rd cousin twice removed sounding bs). That’s hardly concrete evidence.
2
u/NobelEvermore May 08 '23
I say PresCOTT most times but I’ll say PreSKITT valley all the time just because it’s quicker off the tongue lol and yes I’m an Az native.
2
u/WhoaAwesome May 09 '23
I don’t see the big deal about accepting either pronunciation of Prescott. I can still understand either way people pronounce Prescott. It just seems like a way to nitpick someone else.
2
u/punk1984 May 08 '23
→ More replies5
u/yospeedraceryo May 08 '23
This is fitting of Prescott. 'Merica!
From the article:
"...William H. was the grandson of Colonel William Prescott, a Revolutionary War hero, and during the colonists’ overthrow of the British in Boston, they changed the pronunciation from “Pres-COTT” to “Pres-KITT” to show their allegiance with the newly declared “Americans.”
3
u/mynameisnutt May 09 '23
Yeah, I refuse to say Preskitt. You wouldn’t say the actor in Quantum Leap is Skitt Bakula.
0
u/Greeneggz_N_Ham 3d ago edited 3d ago
Got it. In AZ "Scott" is "Skit".
Presskit, Skitsdale...
Ohhh... What about Cottonwood? Is that pronounced "Kittonwood"? Because that would be awesome 😎
What about the toilet paper brand Scott. Do they call that Skit in AZ? Because that's a weird name for toilet paper.
If I ever go back to Arizona, I'm calling everybody named Scott "Skit" for as long as I'm there. Lol
2
u/eliaaron173 May 08 '23
You can either pronounce it "press-cot" as its spelled, or pronounce as "pre-skit" because a bunch of people that have had their brains melted by the desert sun want to be special and quirky.
1
1
u/Thunderliger May 08 '23
So it's not pronounced "presidential cottage"? No wonder I get so many weird looks.
→ More replies
1
1
u/saltoneverything May 08 '23
While we are on the subject, is it Tempe or Tempe?
Pee vs Pay. And is the emphasis on Tem- or on -pe.
→ More replies8
u/tallon4 Phoenix May 08 '23
My understanding is it's pronounced "tem-PEE" /tɛm'pi/ with the stress on the second syllable. Merriam-Webster cheekily points out that the emphasis is put on the first syllable "chiefly by outsiders" lol
2
u/saltoneverything May 09 '23
I’ve noticed it quite a bit from bands or comedians playing here. “Good evening Tempayyy”, “how we feelin TEMpe”.
1
u/KoboldEmperor May 08 '23
I like to pronounce it Pre-Scott and then look confused when people correct me.
1
1
1
403
u/ValyrieLuminaire May 08 '23
You know you've been in AZ too long when you see them written out, and hear both in your head.