How do you pronounce Wendell? Zebulon? Commonly mispronounced places in NC

North Carolina is home to a multitude of dialects – which means there is often hot debate on how to pronounce some of the places across the Tar Heel state.

Maps of commonly mispronounced North Carolina towns, counties and landmarks made the rounds on social media this week, stirring up arguments among natives from across the state, as well as transplants still learning how not to embarrass themselves when talking about Kure Beach (KURR-ee Beach) or Buncombe County (BUNK-um County).

Robert E. Allison created a map on his website robslink.com with commonly mispronounced places in North Carolina, including Beaufort (BOE-furt), Bertie County (burr-TEE County) and Durham (DURR-um). Hover your mouse over the locations and the “proper” pronunciation is revealed.

The Louis Round Wilson Library at UNC-Chapel Hill also has a map full of names, plus the names pronounced in short audio clips. Click on the counties on the map or the names below to hear the pronunciations or view phonetic spellings.

Wendell tells a story of the Wake County town’s naming and dual pronunciations on its website.

“As this area grew, a small village was forming. The people in this area needed a name for their little town. They asked their schoolteacher, M.A. Griffin, to come up with a name for this area. Mr. Griffin loved the poet Oliver Wendell Holmes. He suggested that they call their town Wendell after the poet. However, the pronunciation of the town is different from the way one normally pronounces Oliver Wendell Holmes.

“After the train came to town, the porters on the train would call out ‘WENDELL.’ They pronounced each syllable with emphasis. The townspeople picked up on this pronunciation, and it continues to this day.”

For more information, go to library.unc.edu/wilson/ncc/talk-like-a-tar-heel or robslink.com/SAS/democd73/mispronounced_north_carolina.htm.

This story was originally published July 26, 2017 at 3:24 PM with the headline "How do you pronounce Wendell? Zebulon? Commonly mispronounced places in NC."