Top 10 mispronounced places in Toronto revealed. Which one are you saying incorrectly?
If you live in Toronto, you’ve more than likely heard someone refer to Queen’s Quay or Roncesvalles incorrectly at least once and held back the urge to correct them.
But now, thanks to language learning platform Preply, a definitive list of the most mispronounced places in the city, and how to say them properly, is available for your reference.
“There's nothing more embarrassing than getting to a new city and mispronouncing its name in front of a local—especially if you butcher the regional accent,” Amy Pritchett, learning success manager at Preply, said in a news release. “To avoid that awkward encounter, we've researched the most commonly mispronounced places in Toronto so you never have to worry about these tongue twisters again.”
The U.S.-based language learning company used Google data to compile the list of 26 places in the city that people search “how to pronounce” most often.
Based on that research, and a ranking by Preply of the word’s difficulty to pronounce, here are the top 10 places you may be saying incorrectly and how to say them properly:
1. Toronto: Believe it or not, the word “Toronto” itself is the most difficult to pronounce based on search trends and Preply’s own analysis.
- Correct: tuh-ronno
- Incorrect: toe-ron-toe
“It's not ‘tor-ahn-toe,’ it's Toronno. Or Churrano. Pronouncing the second ‘t’ in Toronto sounds pretentious, and it's a dead giveaway that you don't live in Toronto,” Preply said.
2. Geoffrey: Located in Toronto’s west-end, Geoffrey is another residential street name pronounced differently than how you spell it.
- Correct: jeh-free
- Incorrect: gee-off-free
“Don’t pronounce Geoffrey with a beginning ‘Geo’ like Geoff, nor is the ‘Ji’ sound like ‘George.’ Instead, Geoffrey pronounced with a beginning ‘Jeh’ like ‘Jeffery.’
3. Etobicoke: The ‘k’ is silent.
- Correct: et-toh-bee-co
- Incorrect: et-a-ba-co-key
“We know you’ve lived here long enough to say ‘Etobico’ instead of pronouncing it Etobi-COKE. The Etobicoke name with its silent ‘k’ is derived from the Ojibwe word ‘wadoopikaang,’ which refers to a place where alder trees grow.
4. Yonge: It’s pronounced Young Street.
- Correct: young
- Incorrect: YUN-ji
“Please don’t make it Yonj St. or try to make it rhyme with ‘sponge.’”
5. Wellesley: Don’t let the second ‘e’ in this downtown Toronto street throw you off.
- Correct: WELLZ-ly
- Incorrect: well-LESS-ly
“Wellesley is a downtown Toronto artery with its subway station. If you are a TTC commuter in Toronto, it will be hard to avoid this word.”
6. Grosvenor: The ‘s’ is silent.
- Correct: gro-vner
- Incorrect: gross-vee-nor
“The ‘s’ is silent and should sound like ‘Grov-ner’ Let's all pretend to be English and say ‘gro-vner’ almost like 'guv-ner'!”
7. The Esplanade: Known for it’s lively bar scene, the name of this downtown strip often gets mispronounced.
- Correct: thuh esplan-aad
- Incorrect: thuh esplan-AID
8. Strachan: If you’ve ever planned to meet someone outside of Trinity Bellwoods Park on Queen Street, you may have been confused by the spelling of this downtown avenue.
- Correct: strawn
- Incorrect: strak-en
“The name of this street is strawn — not strack-an, according to Heritage Toronto. Rhymes with yawn.”
9. Spadina: Chances are, you have been saying the name of this Toronto artery incorrectly, according to Preply.
- Correct: spuh-dee-nah
- Incorrect: spuh-die-nah
“Most Torontonians pronounce Spadina as ‘spuh-die-nah,’ but the funny thing is that you should pronounce it as ‘spuh-dee-nah.’ That’s the historical pronunciation of it anyway!”
10. Roncesvalles: A Spanish word, the name of this hip Toronto avenue and surrounding neighbourhood has been mispronounced for years.
- Correct: rawn-SES-vay-yez
- Incorrect: rawn-SEZ-vales
“Some say Rawn-sez-valls; others insist that it ends with ‘vale.’ Others give up and call it Roncy. It’s a Spanish word that got shifted over here.”
Take a look at some of the other mispronounced places that made the list here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.