How to pronounce Pennsylvania’s weird town names
(WHTM) – Pennsylvania is full of weird town names, but some of the Commonwealth’s town names are just plain hard to pronounce (if you aren’t from here).
Not all of Pennsylvania’s weird town names are difficult to pronounce such as Burnt Cabins, Forty Fort, Intercourse, Blue Ball, and Bird-In-Hand.
So which town names are “difficult” to pronounce in Pennsylvania?
Words Pennsylvanians say that are unique to Pennsylvania
Schuylkill – Pronounced Skook-ill
There are two places and one river that has this name in it: Schuylkill County, Schuylkill Haven, and the Schuylkill River.
Schuylkill County was founded in 1811 and has around 143,264 people while Schuylkill Haven was founded in 1840 and has a population of around 5,258.
Conewago – Pronounced Con-i-wa-go
Conewago Township was founded in 1850 and is in Dauphin County with a population of around 3,122.
Ephrata – Pronounced Eff-rit-a
Ephrata Borough is in Lancaster County, has a population of 13,736, and was founded in 1891. Lancaster will be brought up below.
Lebanon – Pronounced Leb-a-non or Leb-nin
Like Schuylkill, Lebanon has a city and a county form. Lebanon County was founded in 1813 with a population of 143,493. Lebanon the city was founded in 1740 and has a population of 26,581.
Wilkes-Barre – Pronounced Wilks-berry or Wilks-bear
Wilkes-Barre is unique as there are up to four ways someone could “technically” pronounce it but both “Wilks-berry” and “Wilks-bear” are the two truly accepted. Wilkes-Barre is in Luzerne County, was founded in 1769, and has a population of 44,453.
Monroe – Pronounced Mun-roe
Monroe County is located on the eastern side of Pennsylvania, was founded in 1836, and has a population of 169,273.
DuBois – Pronounced Doo-boys
Located in Clearfield County, DuBois was founded/settled in 1812 and has a population of 7,460.
Duquesne – Pronounced Doo-kain
The city of Duquesne was founded in 1789 and is in Allegheny County (another one listed below). Duquesne University was founded in 1878 and is in Pittsburgh. Duquesne has a population of 5,191 and the university has around 8,179 enrolled students.
Emmaus – Pronounced Em-may-us
The city of Emmaus is found in Lehigh County, was founded in 1759, and has a population of 11,627.
What American Indian tribes were in Pennsylvania?
Lititz – Pronounced Lit-its
Lititz is in Lancaster County, was founded in 1742, and has a population of 9,527.
Versailles – Pronounced Ver-sails
Versailles Township was founded in 1788, is in Allegheny County near Pittsburgh, and has a population of 1,458.
Punxsutawney – Pronounced Punk-suh-taw-ney
Punxsutawney was founded by Reverend David Barclay in 1816, is in Jefferson County, and has a population of 5,725.
Reading – Pronounced Red-ding
“Have you read that book or are you going to read that book,” well this may look like “reading” but it’s actually “red-ding.” Reading is in Berks County, was founded in 14748, and has a population of 94,844.
Conshohocken – Pronounced Con-sho-hocken
The Borough of Conshohocken is in Montgomery County, was founded in 1820, and has a population of 9,266.
Lancaster – Pronounced Lan-kiss-ter
Lancaster resembles both Schuylkill and Lebanon in being a county and a place. The city of Lancaster was founded in 1742 and has a population of 57,503. Lancaster County was founded in 1729 and has a population of 553,652.
Susquehanna – Pronounced Susk-wi-han-uh
Let’s continue with the multiple places or things with Susquehanna. There is a Susquehanna Borough, Susquehanna County, Susquehanna River, and Susquehanna University and most of them aren’t close to each other.
Susquehanna Borough was founded in 1794, is in Susquehanna County, and has a population of 1,365.
Susquehanna County was founded in 1810 and has a population of 38,389.
Susquehanna University is in Selinsgrove, Snyder County, and has a total enrollment of around 2,199.
Allegheny – Pronounced A-luh-gay-nee
Allegheny is also a township, county, and river. Allegheny Township was founded in 1820, is in Westmoreland County, and has a population of 8,068.
Allegheny County was founded in 1788, has a population of 1,233,253, and is home to the city of Pittsburgh.
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