How to Pronounce the 50 States

How to Pronounce the 50 States (1/4)

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The US state names can be tricky.  In this 4-video series, I’ll go over how to pronounce each one of the state names.  Remember, people from different regions might use a different pronunciation for some of the names.

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The pronunciation of the 50 states in America, in alphabetical order. First, Alabama. Alabama has 4 A’s in it. Two are pronounced aa, with the life, ‘aa’ as in ‘bat’, and two as the schwa, uh, uh.Very relaxed, very different from how much you have to work for the aa. Alabama. You can see my mouth goes: Alabama, Alabama. Alaska: Again, they’re 3 A’s, and the middle one has the ‘aa’ as in ‘bat’ and the other two are schwa. Alaska. Arizona: It beings with an A, but it’s pronounced as the ‘er’ as in ‘bare’ (now ‘share’), being followed by the R. Arizona. Arkansas: This state name is funny because it’s spelled exactly like the state Kansas, with two extra letters on the front, ‘Ar-‘. However, it is not pronounced at all like ‘Ar-Kansas’, it’s pronounced Arkansas, Arkansas. Now, this state is also a good example of: sometimes in English, in a word that has a syllable that is unstressed, there is practically no vowel sound at all. Ar-cn, cn is the middle syllable. Arkansas, Arkansas. It has very little emphasis and almost no vowel whatsoever. Uh, uh. It’s more just like a little quick sound before you get into the next syllable. Arkansas.

California. This state, often the first I is too well-pronounced: Cal-ee, Cal-ee. It’s ih, it’s the relaxed ih. California, nia. So neither of the I’s in this word are pronounced like a sharp ee sound. California, California. Colorado. Now different people in the States do pronounce this state name differently. I personally pronounce it Colorado. Co, this is like the ‘aw’ as in ‘law’, even though it is spelled as an O. Col-uh, uh, schwa, ra-, again, that ‘aw’ as in ‘law’, Colorado. ‘Oh’ as in ‘no’ is the last sound. Colorado. Connecticut. Now this state name actually contains the word ‘connect’, but it’s not pronounced like that within the state name. First of all the C, that second C, is silent. And then the T is not pronounced as a tt, but more like a D. Connecticut. Delaware. Now, this state name contains the W sound, which is sometimes tricky, so you have to be careful when you watch the mouth – Delaware – that it comes in like that. Delaware.

Florida. This is my home state. And actually, when I was traveling abroad and I would say, Oh, I’m from Florida, people would say Where? And then they would say Oh, Florida! Florida Well, as you can see when I pronounce it, the I is not even pronounced at all. It’s two syllables. Flor-da. However, some people do bring the I into the mix a little bit, and that is perfectly acceptable: Flori-, Flori-, but it’s really not its own syllable. It’s not Flor-ee. Flor-i, Florida, Florida. Georgia. Now, both the vowels that come after the G’s in this state name, the first an E and the second an I, are not pronounced as sounds themselves, they are there to tell us how to pronounce the G’s. So they’ll be a jj instead of a gg sound. Geor – gia. Georgia. Hawaii. Now this comes not from the English language, but from the native language of the Hawaiians. Hawaii is how we pronounce it. I am sure that in Hawaii, the Hawaiians pronounce it with a more authentic accent. But in general, in America, we call this state Hawaii. Idaho. Idaho, all of the letters in this word are pronounced like we would expect them to be: Idaho.

How to Pronounce the 50 States (2/4)

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The US state names can be tricky.  In this 4-video series, I’ll go over how to pronounce each one of the state names.  Remember, people from different regions might use a different pronunciation for some of the names.

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Illinois – we don’t pronounce the S at the end. Il-uh-noy. Illinois. Indiana. Now, in this state name, the I is pronounced as opposed to Florida, where it drops out. However, it is pronounced attached to the ‘ana’; it’s not so much it’s own stark syllable. Indiana. Iowa. Again, this state has a W in it so be careful that your mouth really does form that W sound. Iowa. Kansas. Now, the last A in this state name is very much so, again, an unaccented syllable, kind of just like an ‘uh’ sound, a very very quick schwa. It is surrounded by these two S’s. The first one is voiced and the second one will be unvoiced. So, the last syllable is zzuhss. Kansas.

Kentucky. The first syllable of this state name has a schwa, but as it is an unaccented syllable, it’s almost like no vowel at all: kn, kn, straight from the kk to the nn. Kentucky. Louisiana. Lou-ee-zzee-ana. Louisiana. Maine: one-syllable state name. Maine. It has the ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ diphthong. Maine. Maryland. Now, it has a Y in it, which is sometimes pronounced too sharp, as an ee sound. But since it’s not the accented syllable, it’s much more relaxed: it’s a schwa. Mar-uh-lind. And the last three [4] letters, L-A-N-D, spell the word ‘land’ in English. However, it’s really pronounced more with an ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’ sound: lind, lind. Maryland, Maryland. Massachusetts: Mass-uh-choo-sets. Massachusetts. Michigan. The C-H is pronounces as the ‘sh’ sound here: Mish-uh-gun. Michigan. Minnesota: Minn-ih-so-da. The T is not a sharp sound, it’s more the D. Minnesota. Mississippi. Miss-ihss-ip-ee. Mississippi. Missouri. Notice the double S here is pronounces as a zz sound (voiced): Missouri.

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How to Pronounce the 50 States (3/4)

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The US state names can be tricky.  In this 4-video series, I’ll go over how to pronounce each one of the state names.  Remember, people from different regions might use a different pronunciation for some of the names.

YouTube blocked? Click here to see the video.

Video Text:

The 50 states, part 3 of 4. Montana, Montana. This one starts with the ‘aw’ as in ‘law’ [?], the second and accented syllable has the ‘aa’ as in ‘bat’ [æ], and then the schwa. Montana. Nebraska. Again, it is the middle syllable that is accented, and again, it is the ‘aa’ as in ‘bat’ sound. Nebraska. Nevada. I should say that some people pronounce this Nevada, with the ‘aa’ as in ‘bat’. I pronounce it as a ‘ah’ as in ‘father’ [a], Nevada, again it is the middle syllable there that is accented.

State names with the word ‘new’. It is written as a separate word, but when it is spoken it sound like the same word because it is brought so close together. New Hampshire, New Hampshire. Now this ending, S-H-I-R-E, in British English, would be pronounced ‘shire’, but here it is sh-rr, straight into the rr sound. New Jersey. Here the first syllable, though unaccented, is the ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ [u], and the last syllable, also, though unaccented, is the ‘ee’ as in ‘she’ [i], so neither of them are schwa [?] sounds. New Jersey. New Mexico. Here, ‘Mex-‘ is the accented syllable, and the X is pronounced kk – ss, with these two sounds. New Mexico. New York. Now this ‘new’ state name especially sounds like one swooping sound to me: New York. The yy consonant can be hard for some people. Remember that the sound starts really far down here, yy, as opposed to here, ‘ee’ as in ‘she’. York, York, New York.

North Carolina. Now again, this state name is two words, but to me it has a little bit more of a feel that it is two separate words: North Carolina. North Dakota. Now here again, the T-H for ‘north’ kind of has a quick break before you go into the next word: North Dakota. Da- being a schwa, ko-, the ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ [o?] diphthong, da. North Dakota. So notice that it is spelled with a T: ta, but it is pronounced da. North Dakota. Ohio. This state name only has 4 letters, but it is full of diphthongs. O – the ‘oh’ as in ‘no’, then the H sound, hh, then the ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ [a?] diphthong, then again the ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ diphthong. O-hi-o, Ohio. Oklahoma. Both the O’s in this state name are ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ diphthongs, and both of the A’s are schwas. Ok-la-hom-a. Oklahoma.

Oregon. Some people do pronounce this Oregon, with the ‘ah’ as in ‘father’ ending. I pronounce it Oregon. And this gn syllable, the unaccented, ending in an N, takes on no real vowel sound of it’s own, it’s more gg straight to nn: gn, Oregon. Pennsylvania. The beginning of this state name is just like the noun ‘pencil’, though it’s spelled differently. Pennsylvania. Va-, the ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ [e?] diphthong, nia, which is from the N, quickly into the ‘ee’ as in ‘she’, before it goes into the schwa. Ni-a, nia, Pennsylvania.

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How to Pronounce the 50 States (4/4)

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The US state names can be tricky.  In this 4-video series, I’ll go over how to pronounce each one of the state names.  Remember, people from different regions might use a different pronunciation for some of the names.

YouTube blocked? Click here to see the video.

Video Text:

Part 4 of 4 on the 50 state names. Rhode Island. As you probably know, the S in ‘island’ is silent.Rhode Island. Again, it is a two-word state name. And the D in Rhode very softly connects to Island. Rhode Island, Rhode Island. South Carolina. Just as in North Carolina, after the T-H, there is a very slight break. South Carolina. South Dakota. Again, there is a bit of a break after the T-H.It’s not thdd, thdd, South Dakota. And again, the T here in Dakota is pronounced as a D: Dakota.Tennessee. The first E is the ‘eh’ as in ‘bed’ [ε] sound. The second is a very quick ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’ [ɪ], it is unaccented. And then we finish off with the ‘ee’ as in ‘she’ [i]. Tennessee.

Texas. The ‘eh’ as in ‘bed’ followed by the kk-ss sounds of the X. Then, a schwa [ə]. Texas, Texas.Utah. The first part of this state name is the word you, as in you. This beginning Y consonant [j] sound can be difficult. Yy, yy. Remember that it starts not just here, that would be the ‘ee’ as in ‘she’, but down here, yy, and you bring it up, Utah. Vermont. This begins with the vv sound, which really needs to be obvious here because it is the beginning of the word: vv, vv. So be sure you are voicing that with your vocal cords. Vv-Vermont, Vermont. Virginia also starts with this vv, vv sound.Virginia. Now it ends -nia, the same way as Pennsylvania: nn, ‘ee’ as in ‘she’, very quickly into the schwa. Nia, nia, Virginia.

Washington. Starting with a W, so the mouth must be very small when you start. Wa-. It then opens up into the ‘ah’ as in ‘father’ [α]. Washington. Ee, ing, ing, ‘ee’ as in ‘she’, Washington, tn. West Virginia. Again, the mouth must start very small for the ww, West. Now, Virginia, the emphasis was on ‘gin’. West Virginia: the emphasis is on ‘West’. Wisconsin. Wi-, ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’, co-, ‘aw’ as in ‘law’ [ɔ], sin, kind of a schwa, be really more straight into the nn sound. Wisconsin. Wyoming. This state name starts with the word why, though it’s not spelled the same. Wy- with the ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ [aɪ] diphthong, ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ [oʊ] diphthong, Wyoming, ee, ‘ee’ as in ‘she’, into the ng, NG sound. Wyoming.

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