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
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Ellen DeGeneres addresses the 'hurtful' end of her talk show in new stand-up set
Ellen DeGeneres is reflecting on how her talk show came to an end in her newest Netflix special, 'Ellen's Last Stand ... Up Tour.'
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
What to pack during an emergency
Knowing what to have at home, or take with you for an evacuation, can be useful and even life-saving.
Regulated area for invasive box tree moth expanded to parts of the Maritimes
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has added much of the Maritimes to a regulated area for an invasive species.
Already expensive, planning for fertility treatment difficult as costs vary widely
Being unable to have a child naturally can be extremely difficult. But when you factor in the high costs of fertility treatments, the range of individual circumstances and the fact that the industry itself is secretive about fees, it can make the whole ordeal even more devastating and hard to plan for.
A healthy lifestyle can mitigate genetic risk for early death by 62%, study suggests
Even if your genetics put you at greater risk for early death, a healthy lifestyle could help you significantly combat it, according to a new study.
Avs forward Valeri Nichushkin suspended at least six months
Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin was suspended for at least six months without pay and placed in Stage 3 of the league's player assistance program.