Help me talk like a local.

[Onthe405]

At least we haven't begun giving them personhood status, like when they say The 5 or The 405 in Los Angeles. Then again, freeways are more tempermental in LA. We always include the I in the Interstate titling.

Actually, this isn't because of a perceived cultural phenomenon of granting freeways "personhood". It's simply a more practical, abbreviated way to refer to them since:


1. There are so many freeways, it's a simpler way to give directions-- or recite consistently long traffic reports--- in a shorter period of time. The word "the" is used largely as a separator/identifier since only numbers are referenced. A continuous recitation of a numeric string without it would be difficult to follow.


2. They geographically transverse large swaths, and are often times assigned many names along the entire course [[just as in Detroit: Lodge=Northwestern, Chrysler=Fisher, etc). The number covers the entire route.


3. They are a salad mix of state [[CA 2) vs federal [[US 101) vs interstate [[I 5) designations. These change on occasion, but the number [[when available) is intentionally kept the same for reference consistency--unlike the Lodge, which went from "I-696" to "US 10", then "Michigan 10".

[Király]

How about "Wabash"? Does it rhyme with snobbish?

[DetroitPlanner]

How about "Wabash"? Does it rhyme with snobbish?

pronounced Wah-Bash

[Zacha341]

Use lots of double-negatives.

Ex: I don't got no reason to be online now when I should be doing....

[Brian1979]

Hello Detroiters.

Can you help me with the local pronunciations of these. I've seen them in print a lot but have never heard them spoken aloud. I'd like to know where the syllable stress goes too. e.g. Gratiot = GRASH-it [[I think I have that one right?)

The list so far:

Charlevoix
Livernois
Joseph Campau
Dequindre
Chene

Thanks from a Detroit-phile on the west coast.

I know you asked this awhile ago and probably have several answers by now. You do have Gratiot correct.

Charlevoix is pronounced Char-lu-voyh
Livernois is pronounced Liver-noy
Joseph Campau is pronounced Joseph Com-po
Dequindre is pronounced De-quinn-der
Chene is pronounced Shayne.

Some other ones that are interesting in the city of Detroit:

Lahser is Lah-sir
Cadieux is Cad-ju
Schoennerr is Shay-ner
Cicotte is See-cot
Beaubien is Bo-b-in
Groesbeck is Gross-beck
Campus Martius is Campus Mar-tee-us

[Dan Wesson]

Year old thread...

When I saw the OP I immediately thought of that scene from the first Airplane movie where Barbara Billingsly, The Beaves Mom, translates some Jive talking for the flight attendant.

[Spartan]

Campus Martius is Campus Mar-tee-us

Campus Mar-shus

[Király]

pronounced Wah-Bash

Where does the word stress go? WAH-bash or wah-BASH?

[DetroitPlanner]

Where does the word stress go? WAH-bash or wah-BASH?

I would say the first. Others may disagree. Much of our local pronunciation is still based in french. This means near silent word endings such as Detroit, and emphasis on the beginning of syllables.

[gazhekwe]

WAH bash, just like Johnny Cash: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZiQ89_s67Q

[dtowncitylover]

Campus Martius is Campus Mar-tee-us

Who says this? No way, MAR-shus

And it's WAH-bash if your a civilian, wah-BASH if your a ninja

[Király]

How about Matty Moroun? Like "ma-ROON" or "ma-RONE"?

[txlady]

Anyone remember the episode of Detroit 183 [[is that right) where the main guy had to go up to Mack-ah-nack Island for some reason? Talk about cringing.

All I can say to the OT is, I can't believe everyone told you the truth. I'd have been tempted to tell you it was Grat-ee-ot and Lake Ooh-ryan. But if you really want to set people's teeth on edge, say Dee-troit.

[Scottathew]

How about Matty Moroun? Like "ma-ROON" or "ma-RONE"?

It's pronounced "Moron".

[Former_Detroiter]

I have heard some people call the Boulevard the Boulevoid.

You must have been on my Dad's Bus. When he got to E. Jefferson & E. Grand Blvd. he always said " E. Grand Boulevoid Grand Belt exchange" It's amazing I can remember something from 50 years ago but can't remember what I did last week....

[Király]

It's pronounced "Moron".

I won the bet with myself, I figured someone would say that.

Seriously though, out here in the west coast I just have never heard "Moroun" spoken out loud, so I really don't know. Is it "ma-ROON" or "ma-RONE"?

[Sandhouse]

I really don't know. Is it "ma-ROON" or "ma-RONE?"

I have no idea how the family pronounces it, but in the trucking and transportation world I hear ma-ROON or mo-ROON depending on how much care the speaker takes. I also hear a lot of phrases like, "You won't believe what Matty Moroun is trying to pull now . . ."

[Scottathew]

I won the bet with myself, I figured someone would say that.

Seriously though, out here in the west coast I just have never heard "Moroun" spoken out loud, so I really don't know. Is it "ma-ROON" or "ma-RONE"?

I certainly took the bait on that one

But on a serious note, I've always pronounced it "Ma-roon", but I have no reason to believe that my way is more correct over others.

[turkeycall]

See Below.

[turkeycall]

Let's see, the mile roads run north from Warren, I think. Warren would be One, Joy Two, Plymouth Three, Schoolcraft Four, Fenkell Five, McNichols Six, then Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, then Fifteen Maple, Sixteen Quarton and Big Beaver, Seventeen Lone Pine, Wattles is in there somewhere, either 17 or 18, Eighteen Long Lake, Nineteen Square Lake, Twenty South, Twenty One is 59 and from there I believe we lose the grid.

Oops! Hit the wrong button. The grid goes at least as far as 32 Mile Road in Richmond.

[Jimaz]

From The Free Press, Jan. 12, 2017:
Here's your guide on how to pronounce all things Michigan

... The Michigan Braille and Talking Book Library has developed a new guide, "You Say It How in Michigan?" that offers the correct pronunciation for more than 2,200 Michigan cities and other locales....

Here's a direct link:
Pronunciation Guide - 'You Say it How in Michigan?' for Michigan Names and Places.

You can click on the pronunciation to hear it. This is well worth bookmarking.

[frankfrank]

Oops! Hit the wrong button. The grid goes at least as far as 32 Mile Road in Richmond.

I'll see your 32, and raise you to 37.

I remembered, from visiting friends in Romeo many years ago, that their Mile Roads went at least to 32 there as well. I never ventured much north of Romeo, but I see a 37 Mile Road intersecting Van Dyke M-53 just before you get to Almont.

[mkd]

I'll see your 32, and raise you to 37.

I remembered, from visiting friends in Romeo many years ago, that their Mile Roads went at least to 32 there as well. I never ventured much north of Romeo, but I see a 37 Mile Road intersecting Van Dyke M-53 just before you get to Almont.

It supposedly goes up to 50 Mile, though 37 Mile may be the last one named as a mile road.

http://patch.com/michigan/newbaltimo...-earning-names

[Király]

From The Free Press, Jan. 12, 2017:
Pronunciation Guide - 'You Say it How in Michigan?' for Michigan Names and Places.

That's awesome, thanks for the link. It says Lafayette is pronounced "[[lä-fā-ET)"
but don't Detroiters say "le-FAY-it"?

[Jimaz]

... don't Detroiters say "le-FAY-it"?

Maybe someone else can answer that better.

I pronounce it the way they do in the pronunciation guide but I first learned that name in New Orleans so I may be atypical.

That pronunciation guide is really amazing. It's hard to imagine they'd miss anything with a list that large. I'm still clicking through it.