How to pronounce Wallenpaupack: wall-en-paw-pack.

I have heard all sorts of funny attempts, my favorite is "Wuh-linn'puhpack" said as quickly as possible, with the "linnpuhpack" said very in a very rushed and staccato way. Another one I have heard is "Wall-en-poo-pack", which would have made my kids laugh hysterically.

The other day a client called and she said her last name was Porta. I was thinking...like a porta-bello mushroom? Or like Designed To Sell's adorable designer, Lisa LaPORTA? So, to be safe, I asked her to spell it - was I wrong. Her name was Porter. (Safe bet she was from Long-GUY-Land).

My friend is an editor, and one of her projects was to edit data entry for a children's dictionary. She got a chuckle correcting the pronunciations that were given - she had to replace "hun ' tuh" with "hun-ter". (Another Long-Guy-Land person perhaps?)

My neck of northeastern Pennsylvania (Wayne and Pike County) has an interesting mix of dialects, too. Nearby is "Da Valley" - which for non-locals is "Scranton." Scranton, to us, encompasses a whole slew of little towns - they may have their own zip codes and names, but they are still "Scranton."

There is an online Scrantonese Dictionary, which has given me more than a few chuckles. A lot of this Scranton dialect has trickled into Hawley and Lake Wallenpaupack, as I have heard several of these over the years. Here are a few in no particular order:

• Kuzzints: Your uncle’s children.

  Onnakowna: Because (“I got a flat tire onnakowna someone dropped nails on da road.”)

  Pellow: Where you put your head when you sleep onnakowna you’re tired.

  Kupple-too-tree: A couple, two or three...

  Wock: What you take the dog for at night.

  Tock: What you do on the phone.

  Plimmit: A muted reference to Plymouth, Pennsylvania.

  Otto: A car.

  Ackamee: The place where you get da grocery order. (ACME - no longer in our area. I used to work there.)

  Haitch Beeyo: HBO, the cable TV all night movie station, I tink.

  I totso: I thought so, too.

  Tot: What Mr. McArdle tried to do in school :)

  Lonn more: It cuts the grass.

  Rude aidy: The road that takes you to Penn State. (Route 80)

  Atha Leets: Lots of good ones play for Penn State.

  Wadder: Comes out the fosset.

  Be-endat: Means “because.”

  Hoddog: Tastes great with soss on it. (My mom used to say it like that...)

  Fil’em: the thing you put in your camera.

  Arthur Idas: What retired atha leets take Excedrin for.

  Burgarly: When you enter a building without permission and maybe take something.

  Yuge: Really big.

  Zenit: That brand of TV that you watch the Penn State atha leets on.

  Axe: Ask

  Termistat: thermistat

  Winda: as in "closeda winda, da ya live in a barn?"

  Ba-troom: a place to relieve yourself

  Ba-tree: battery

  Tinkin: when you put your brain in gear.
  
  seen : commonly used instead of "saw". "Don't tell me yiz wasn't dere, I seen yiz wit my own eyes!".
  
  Alla Youz: How you address several people at once
  
  radarater: the thing heat comes out of
  
  offah: He knocked da glass offah the table.
  
  
• warsh: Did you remember to warsh behind your ears? -or- I warshed my shirt.

  chimley: chimney
  
  mango: a green bell pepper.
  

There you have it. Any fun pronunciations from other parts of the country?

Hey, no matter what your accent or dialect, I'll be happy to help you with your northeastern PA / Pike County / Wayne County/ Lake Wallenpaupack area real estate needs! Feel free to send me email, or search the MLS (no registration required!)

Lake Wallenpaupack: Tomato, Tomahto, You Say Pepper, I Say Mango, ©Copyright 2007 by Karen E. Rice. All rights reserved.