If You Can Pronounce These 12 Words, You've Lived In Connecticut For Far Too Long
By Lisa Sammons|Published October 17, 2022
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Lisa Sammons
Author
Lisa loves animals and has dogs, rats, cats, guinea pigs, and snakes. She is passionate about animal rescue and live music - traveling across the country to see a favorite band is a pretty regular occurrence! Being out hiking in the woods enjoying the scenery with her beloved dogs is another favorite hobby, and also checking out the Pokemon Go scene in whatever city she happens to be in at any given time (coffee and dog leash in hand). You can reach Lisa at lsammons@onlyinyourstate.com
Newcomers to the Nutmeg State can sometimes be surprised by how many of our town names and locations are difficult to pronounce. Connecticut has a rich Native American history, and many of our cities and natural wonders are named after words that local tribes used to describe them. This can make them a little difficult to pronounce. Combine that with all of our places named after British counterparts and it can sometimes feel like Connecticut has its own language! Here are a few of our favorite weird words from Connecticut that aren’t necessarily pronounced the way you’d expect:
Tucked away in the Quiet Corner, Quinebaug ("QUINN-uh-bog") is sometimes overlooked by visitors. It's a small city of about 1,100 people named for a nearby river. The river's name is derived from a Native American phrase meaning "long pond."
North Grosvenordale ("GROVE-ner-dale") is a village in Thompson. The village was named for William Grosvenor, a Rhode Island investor who built textile mills in the village.
The town of Berlin and its hamlet of East Berlin may look like they should be pronounced like the German capital, but in actuality the stress is entirely different. The Nutmeg State Berlin has always been pronounced "BER-lin," though if you believe local legend, the pronunciation was changed during World War I to avoid association with the Germans.
This one's actually a bit debatable, but many locals swear that the pronunciation is "CAH-ven-tree." The town was the birthplace of Nathan Hale, a Revolutionary War spy who is Connecticut's official state hero.
This beautiful state park in Pomfret was originally resided on by the Mohegan tribe. The name is a Native American word meaning "important fishing place," fittingly enough, since fishing is a popular activity at the park. The name is pronounced "mash-MUH-kit."
Quinnipiac University is named after the Quinnipiac tribe that once resided in what is now Connecticut. This one's a little easier to pronounce than some of the others on the list: "kwi-nuh-pee-ak."
Southington is a town in northern Connecticut that you'd be forgiven for mispronouncing. Instead of "south" like the direction, it's actually pronounced "suh-thing-ton."
Did you know the Thames River in New London was originally named the Pequot River after the nearby tribe? It was renamed in 1658 after the River Thames in London. The original Thames is pronounced "temz," but the one in Connecticut is "thaymes."
"Match-a-moo-dus" is a bit of an odd word, but there is an explanation behind it. The word is derived from a Native American term meaning "the place of bad noises." It's thought that the unusual noises sometimes heard here are microearthquakes.
This 9,000-acre state forest is absolutely beautiful. The name is a Native American word meaning "great rattlesnake" and it's pronounced "mess-shaw-mass-sick."
Poquonnock is an Algonkian word meaning "cleared land." It's pronounced "puh-qua-nock."
So how about it: how many of these have you always pronounced incorrectly? We have to say, even if you were 100% correct, there’s really no way to spend too much time in Connecticut, so it’s definitely not a bad thing!
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