You probably don't know the right way to say the names of these Long Island towns: 'Butchered'
Share and Follow

This will have you spit out your “cawffee.”

If someone mispronounces the names of local communities in Long Island, it often gives away that they are not from there. Surprisingly, even longtime residents from the area with the area codes 516 and 631 get it wrong at times.

Even sports teams like the New York Islanders and Long Island Ducks have shared videos where players from outside the area struggle to pronounce names like Wantagh and Patchogue correctly.

Mispronunciations are not limited to outsiders, as even residents can have trouble with names like Massapequa and Ronkonkoma. Over the centuries, these names have been anglicized, making their original pronunciations, which are based on Native-American languages, unfamiliar to many today.

“Our language wasn’t written in the sense of being translated into English or French — the sound is what they’re trying to copy,” Wallace, based on on the island, told The Post.

He compared how Algonquian is the root base of many different Native American languages, some of which were spoken on Long Island, much like the Romance languages, such as French, Spanish, and Italian, all of which stem from Latin.

However, during colonial times, much was lost in translation because the European settlers “didn’t know how to spell,” especially with hard consonants like the letter “H,” which are vital to the Algonquian language, he added.

From there, readers would only see, but not hear, the real pronunciation. Ultimately, it turned into a telephone game that has been ongoing for a few hundred years.

Wallace recognizes that there’s no one official way to sound out some towns, such as Wantagh, which islanders say as “wan-tah.”

And the local way of saying Patchogue as “patch-hog” is pretty close to its origin, he said.

These, however, are some Native American-named local towns that even the most bona fide residents are getting wrong, according to Wallace.

Copiague

Townsfolk and the recorded voice on the Long Island Railroad alike sound out this Suffolk community as “co-peg,” but really it should be pronounced closer to “co-pi-ah-e” with a short “I” and long “E,” he explained.

“[Europeans] would elongate the A when they read it…and that’s all they would hear after,” Wallace added of what translates loosely to grove or forest.

Massapequa

The town that has caught the eye of President Trump over as it fights to keep its Chiefs team logo in the face of a state ban on Native American mascots isn’t straightforwardly pronounced “Mass-a-pequa,” said Wallace, who opposes the school using the name.

As with other Algonquin hard consonants, the real sound is “Mass-a-peek” without the open vowels at the end, he added, explaining that it means place of great water.

Cutchogue

Unlike Patchogue, residents aren’t remotely close to getting the pronunciation of the quiet North Fork escape spot on.

While it’s spoken today as “cutch-hog,” Wallace said the real way is “cutch-e-hoki,” spelled as “kecheahki.”

In the same vein as Massapequa, it translates to mean great place.

Setauket

Similar to Cutchogue, Setauket, spoken like Secaucus in New Jersey, is a world apart from its perceived pronunciation.

Wallace says it as “Se-tau-ah-ki” and added its definition is place of streams, something the north shore enclave by the Long Island Sound is known for.

Ronkonkoma

That’s right, Long Island’s showstopper that’s been a punchline on “How I Met Your Mother” and an Artie Lange monologue on an insufferable Yankees fan “has been butchered,” Wallace said.

Its prototypical “Ron-cahnk-ama” pronunciation — which Neil Patrick Harris projected on the LIRR 2 a.m. drunk train in the sitcom — should be “Ronkon-koman,” he explained.

The town name derives from its kettle lake, formed by the glacier that carved North America, which was sacred to its native population.

One translation for Ronkonkoma is “deep cavern place” in reference to the lake, which is tied to urban legends of hauntings and drownings attributed to a Native American-related curse — a story Wallace has explicitly called bunk on.

Share and Follow
You May Also Like
How people are celebrating, protesting and traveling for July Fourth

Various ways individuals are observing, demonstrating, and journeying for Independence Day.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Recent polls will tell you there’s been a…
What's open and closed on July Fourth

What will be available and unavailable on Fourth of July?

The Fourth of July holiday, also known as Independence Day, celebrates the…
Trump speaks with Zelenskyy after ‘disappointing’ call with Putin

Zelenskyy has conversation with Trump following ‘disappointing’ call with Putin

WASHINGTON () Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had an “important and fruitful”…
Devil Wears Prada fans shocked after Anne Hathaway nearly missed out

Fans of “The Devil Wears Prada” surprised when Anne Hathaway almost missed out

The Devil Wears Prada is making a comeback with a sequel, almost…
Florida expired tags: Potential consequences and tips to avoid registration spam

Consequences of having outdated Florida vehicle registration and ways to prevent receiving registration-related solicitations

Nearly 700,000 Florida drivers have expired tags, and according to recent data…
Trump signs 'Big, Beautiful Bill' into law as B-2 bombers fly overhead

Trump Signs Important Bill as B-2 Bombers Fly Above

President Donald Trump signed his ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ into law with his…
Katy Perry's secret hurt as Orlando Bloom behaves like an 'adolescent'

Katy Perry’s hidden pain due to Orlando Bloom acting immature.

Weeks after Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom called it quits, he was spotted…