A Northwest Pronunciation Guide

The Northwestern United States are full of place names that are hard to pronounce simply by looking at them, and there are other names that are just commonly mispronounced for some reason or other...I don't claim to have the exhaustive list, but here are a few names with their proper pronunciation, sorted by state (and province). If you know of any that I've missed, or if you find a place name and you're wondering how to pronounce it, e-mail me at webmaster at stevensauke dot com. (Be sure to replace the words "at" and "dot" with the appropriate symbols, of course.) I don't guarantee I'll know how to pronounce it, but I'll look into it and get back to you. You might even see it added to this page. :-)

You may be wondering why I'm including British Columbia (BC) in this page, since it's a Canadian province. It's so close to the Northwest US that it's often considered a part of this region. Plus, it's between Washington and Alaska.

Alaska

Anchorage AYNG-kor-ij
Bering (Strait) BARE-ing
Denali deh-NAH-lee
Juneau JOO-no
Kotzebue COT-se-boo
Yakutat YACK-a-tat

British Columbia

Agassiz AGG-a-see
Coquitlam coe-KWIT-lum
Kelowna kel-LOE-na
Nanaimo na-NYE-moe
Penticton pen-TICK-ton
Quesnel kwe-NELL
Vancouver van-COO-ver
Wycliffe WICK-liff

Idaho

Aberdeen ABB-er-deen
Boise BOY-see (note that there is no Z)
Coeur d'Alene core da-LANE
Lapwai LAP-way
Lemhi LEM-high
Kamiah KAM-ee-eye
Kooskia KOO-skee
Kootenai KOOT'n-ee
Malad ma-LAD
Moscow MOSS-co (rhymes with "toe"... does not rhyme with "cow")
Nez Perce nez purse or nez pierce
Owyhee oh-WYE-hee
Perrine PRINE
Pend Oreille PAWN-do-RAY
Picabo PEEK-a-boo
Ririe RYE-ree
Schweitzer SWITE-zer
Shoshone sho-SHO-nee or sho-SHONE
Weippe WEE-ipe
Weiser WEE-zer

Montana

Absarokee ab-SOR-kee
Butte byoot
Choteau SHO-toe
Dupuyer da-POO-yer
Ekalaka ee-ka-LA-ka
Gallatin (County) GAL-la-tin
Glasgow GLASS-go
Havre HAV-er
Helena HEL-en-a
Ismay IS-mee
Kalispell CAL-lis-pell
Kevin KEE-vin
Kiowa KYE-oh-wa
Meagher (County) mahr
Moiese mo-EEZ
Rapelje RAP-ul-jay
Missoula miz-ZOO-la
Ravalli (County) ra-VALL-ee
Wibaux WEE-bo
Yaak yak

Oregon ORE-e-g'n
(note that Oregon does NOT rhyme with "gone")

Aloha a-LO-a (unlike the Hawaiian pronunciation)
Alsea AL-see
Astoria as-STORE-ee-a
Champoeg sham-POO-ee
Coos Bay coose bay ("Coos" rhymes with "goose")
Coquille co-KEEL
The Dalles the DALZ
Estacada es-tuh-CAY-duh
Eugene yoo-JEEN (the stress goes on the second syllable, not the first)
Gervais JER-vis
Half.com ...well, you probably know how to say that, but I couldn't resist putting it in the list. :-)
Heceta ha-SEE-ta
Imnaha im-NAH-hah
Klamath Falls CLAM-ath
La Grande la grand (the e is silent)
Minam MINE-um
Multnomah mult-NO-ma
Nehalem nee-HAY-lem
Netarts NEE-tarts
Siletz sil-ETZ
Siuslaw sigh-YEW-slaw
Tigard TIE-gurd (like "tiger" with a d at the end)
Tillamook TILL-a-mook (rhymes with "book")
Tualatin too-AWL-a-tin
Ukiah yoo-KYE-uh
Umatilla YOO-ma-TILL-a
Umpqua UMP-kwah
Wallowa wuh-LOW-wa (the second syllable rhymes with "cow")
Willamette wil-LAMM-met (the second syllable is pronounced like "lamb")
Yachats YAH-hots
Yaquina ya-KWINN-a

Washington WASH-ing-ton
(note that there is no R in "Washington")

Aberdeen ABB-er-deen
Alki AL-kye (rhymes with "pie")
Anacortes ann-a-COR-tiss
Asotin a-SOE-tin
Bellevue BELL-vyoo
Blewett (Pass) BLOO-it
Bothell BAW-thel
Bremerton BREMM-er-ton
Brier BRY-er (rhymes with "higher")
Buena boo-EE-na (3 syllables)
Camano (Island) ca-MAY-no
Camas CAMM-us
Cathlamet cath-LAM-met
Chehalis sha-HAY-lis
Chelan sha-LAN
Cheney CHEE-nee
Chewelah chew-WEE-la
Chimacum CHIM-a-cum
Chinook shin-NOOK (rhymes with "book")
Cle Elum clee ELL-um
Colville CAHL-vil
Connell cah-NELL
Coulee COO-lee
Coupeville COOP-vil
Covington CUV-ing-ton
Cowiche cow-ITCH-ee
Darrington DARE-ing-ton
Deschutes dez-SHOOTS
Des Moines de MOYNZ (different pronunciation from Des Moines, IA)
Duwamish doo-WAH-mish
Elbe ELL-bee
Entiat EN-tee-at
Ephrata ee-FRAY-ta
Everett EV-rit
Hoquiam HOE-kwee-um
Ilwaco il-WAH-co
Issaquah IZ-a-kwah
(Strait of) Juan de Fuca (h)wahn de FYOO-ca
Kahlotus kuh-LOE-tus
Kalalach CLAY-lock
Kalama ka-LAM-a
Kennewick KEN-ih-wick
Kiona kie-OH-nuh
Kittitas (County) KIT-it-tass
Klickitat (County) CLICK-it-tat
Makah ma-KAW
Mattawa MATT-a-wa
Mazama ma-ZAM-a
Mesa MEE-sa
Methow MET-how
Montesano MON-ta-SAY-no
Mukilteo muck-il-TEE-o
Naches NAT-cheese
Neah Bay NEE-a bay
Nisqually nis-KWAHL-lee
Okanogan O-ka-NOG-gan
Olalla o-LAH-la
Palouse pa-LOOSE
Pasco PASS-coe
Pe Ell pee el
Pend Oreille (County) PAWN-do-RAY
Peshastin peh-SHASH-tin
Poulsbo PAULS-bo
Puget (Sound) PYOO-jit
Puyallup pyoo-AL-up
Quillayute KWILL-a-yoot
(Mt.) Rainier ray-NEER
Sammamish sa-MAM-ish
San Juan (County) san (h)wahn
Satus SAY-tis
Sauk sock
Seattle see-AT-tl (named after Chief Sealth [pronounced "SEE-elth"], who was also known as Chief Seattle)
Selah SEE-la
Sequim skwim
(Mt.) Si sigh
Skagit (County) SKAJ-it
Skamokawa ska-MOCK-a-way
Snohomish sno-HOE-mish
Snoqualmie sno-KWAHL-mee (only 3 syllables)
Spanaway SPAN-a-way
Spokane spo-CAN
Sprague sprayg
Stehekin sta-HEE-kin
Steilacoom STILL-a-cum
Suquamish soo-KWAH-mish
Tacoma ta-COE-ma
Tlingit KLINK-it
Toppenish TOP-pen-ish
Touchet TOO-she
Toutle TOO-tl
Tukwila tuck-WILL-a
Tulalip too-LAY-lip
Vancouver van-COO-ver
Vashon VASH-on
Wahkiakum (County) wah-KYE-a-cum
Walla Walla WAHL-a WAHL-a
Wapato WOP-a-toe
Wenatchee wen-NAT-chee
Yacolt YACK-olt
Yakama (Tribe) YACK-uh-mah
Yakima (city) YACK-uh-mah

Northwest Vocabulary

americano a-mare-ih-KAH-no

a blend of espresso and water..."americano" is Italian for "American"

a cold drink made by Tully's that is a mixture of milk, crushed ice, flavor (your choice), and their special syrup (most flavors also include espresso)

coffee with milk added..."café au lait" is French for "coffee with milk" (not to be confused with "caffè latté", which is Italian for "coffee milk", and is an entirely different drink [see latté, below])

a foamy blend of espresso and milk

a breed of salmon

a breed of salmon

a strong pressed coffee that is the base for most of the coffee drinks..."espresso" is Italian for "pressed," not "express"...thus, there is no X in "espresso"

Starbucks' cold blend of espresso and milk

a kind of clam with a really long neck

16 ounces of coffee (or other drink)

one of Seattle's first ferries

a blend of espresso and milk, not as foamy as cappuccino...the espresso is added first, and then the milk..."latté" is Italian for "milk"

a blend of espresso, steamed milk and milk foam...the milk is added first, and then the espresso..."macchiato" is Italian for "marked" or "stained"

20 ounces of coffee (or other drink)...Starbucks calls it venti; Tully's calls it veinte; Seattle's Best Coffee calls it large

Flags courtesy of http://atlasgeo.span.ch/flags/index.htm
Here is an excellent Montana Pronunciation Guide
Thanks to Pat Owen, Michael Hoaglin, Jan Johnson, Duane Walter, Dylan Lawrence, Eric Summerer, Nick Kennedy, Cathern, bpal and Marie for help with some of the cities. Some helped by giving me correct pronunciations, and others helped by asking me how to say the names of different places, and I added those places.