Do you "correct" locals' pronunciations of their own cities?

[unicorn]

My hubbie, along with some friends and myself, attended a Kylie Minogue concert in downtown Los Angeles last night. Opening for her prior to Kylie's performance was British singer Rita Ora. Rita began with greeting "Good evening, Los Angeles," which she pronounced "Los AngeLEEZE." I must admit that it pissed me off a bit. How would she like it if someone came to perform in Gloucester, England and said "Good evening, Glau-sister"? And it's not as if Los Angeles is a smaller town, either. I wouldn't go to Australia and ask to buy a plane ticket to "Brize-BANE." Nor would I go to Thailand and try to buy a ticket to "Fuck-it". Even when I take code-share British Airways flights into LA, the British crew manage to pronounce the name of the city correctly when we land, as they welcome us to the city. It also pisses me off when I hear people who should know better pronounce New Orleans as "New or-LEANS" instead of "New OR-lins." Personally, when I travel, I always try to learn how to correctly pronounce the cities I'm visiting, and I'm not speaking to the 20,000 people she was addressing at the Crypto Arena. 

I find such behavior disrespectful. Do you? For the record, Kylie pronounced the city correctly. And it's not as if LA or NO were formerly British cities, either, so there would be no reason to suspect they were supposed to be pronounced in a British manner. 

[floridarob]

Nah, I'm from Boston originally and no one can understand what a Bostonian is saying.....I've lost the accent but @reader on the other hand 🤷‍♂️😝

[vinapu]

where's that beautiful cathedral ? Gloucester UK or Gloucester Idaho ?

[PeterRS]

I was once accompanying a friend on a smallish cruise ship around the Caribbean and then up the Amazon to Manaus. For dinner we were always seated with 4 others, one of whom was an 81-year old who gave lectures every couple of days on the Royal Family. I was pretty sure she made most of it up. Then when she learned i was based in Bangkok, she waxed lyrical about a visit she had made to Phuket - and then I knew she had made much of her talk up. She pronounced the island Foo-kay and talked about having been a guest of the Sultan at his Palace! 

Frankly I just laugh off such wrong pronounciations. But then talking of America, I freeze every time I hear the US National Anthem mangled by some pop or other singer. It's the 'national' anthem for goodness sake. But if that's what Americans want . . . 

Incidentally, if anyone visits Manaus, do try and take in a short visit to the Opera House. It was built by the rubber barons at the end of the 19th century and was refurbished to its former glory not so long ago. Opera companies used to make the sea voyage for seasons in Buenos Aires. The intention was that the companies would then move north for seasons in Manaus. That rarely happened but some great singers did sing there including the great tenor Enrico Caruso. The relatively recent film "Pavarotti" opens with shots of the tenor visiting the theatre in 1997. 

[bkkmfj2648]

When I lived in Italy for 12 years, I found the pronunciation of foreign (non Italian) cities interesting - especially when it might involve booking an airline ticket.

For example:

Monaco - as in the country,

Monaco - as in the city in Germany known as Munich.

so, you want to be quite sure which one is your true destination.

 

[a-447]

When people tell me they've been to Japan and visited Kyoto (which they pronounce as 'kye - yoe-toe) and Tokyo (mins pronounced as 'toe-kee-yoe'), I just let it pass. Afterall, Japanese is not their language.

A numbet of years ago I found myself sitting next to a Japanese professor of English on the train. Seeing I was a foreigner he immediately started speaking to me in English, because as every Japanese person knows, all foreigners speak English!

We started talking about places I'd been to in Japan, when he suddenly switched to speaking to me in Japanese. 

I asked him his he knew I spoke Japanese and he said it was because I was the only foreigner he had ever heard pronouncing the place names correctly!

BTW, radio and T.V. announcers from the eastern states in Australia sometimes mispronounce place names here in Western Australia. I find it amusing but it doesn't bother me.

[unicorn]

1 hour ago, a-447 said:

...announcers from the eastern states in Australia sometimes mispronounce place names here in Western Australia...

I learned something new. I didn't know there were any cities other than Perth in Western Australia. 😄But, seriously, it's one thing to mispronounce a small town name from 2000 km away. It's quite another to be performing in person for a crowd of 20,000 in a city of over 3 million, and getting the name wrong. A performer should know her crowd. 

[Keithambrose]

3 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

When I lived in Italy for 12 years, I found the pronunciation of foreign (non Italian) cities interesting - especially when it might involve booking an airline ticket.

For example:

Monaco - as in the country,

Monaco - as in the city in Germany known as Munich.

so, you want to be quite sure which one is your true destination.

 

Yes, that's an easy one to be caught out by. I had to be careful when I was in Rome. 

[Keithambrose]

1 hour ago, a-447 said:

When people tell me they've been to Japan and visited Kyoto (which they pronounce as 'kye - yoe-toe) and Tokyo (mins pronounced as 'toe-kee-yoe'), I just let it pass. Afterall, Japanese is not their language.

A numbet of years ago I found myself sitting next to a Japanese professor of English on the train. Seeing I was a foreigner he immediately started speaking to me in English, because as every Japanese person knows, all foreigners speak English!

We started talking about places I'd been to in Japan, when he suddenly switched to speaking to me in Japanese. 

I asked him his he knew I spoke Japanese and he said it was because I was the only foreigner he had ever heard pronouncing the place names correctly!

BTW, radio and T.V. announcers from the eastern states in Australia sometimes mispronounce place names here in Western Australia. I find it amusing but it doesn't bother me.

I have always tried to get personal names right, as well as place names. My business,  international maritime law, involved many nationalities. When I was a trainee we lost a client,  as my boss consistently got his name wrong, and the name of his company! I still remember, Pollitti not Polloto, Efemar not Ermefer! Also, in Germany I was taken to a meeting by my client,  a senior German lawyer. She said that the meeting would be in German,  but that was OK, as I spoke German. I had to point out that I didn't speak German,  I just made sure I pronounced  the names, etc, correctly! The meeting went ahead, and I understood hardly anything! However, I kept the client!

[a-447]

2 hours ago, unicorn said:

I learned something new. I didn't know there were any cities other than Perth in Western Australia. 😄

!!!