Pronouncing Calgary
 

I was reminded of this this afternoon, watching the Sabres play the Flames.

I grew up in Western NY, so interaction with Canadians was frequent. As a US person, I always pronounced the city name as CAL-gur-y. However, I have heard some people (mostly Canadians) pronounce it (cal-GAR-y).

I say 'mostly Canadians', because it seems most of the population of the US couldn't locate Canada on a map, much less Calgary ("What state is that in?"). :)

Cal-ger-y is how I would say it.

I have also had people ask 'Is SIN a province in China' in the USA. :rolleyes:

Being born and raised in Alberta I can advise that most Albertans pronounce it in two syllables as follows:

"Cal-gry"

"Cowtown" is also acceptable.

Agreed.

My Alberta friends appear to say Cal-Gree,.

That's probably the best written written phonetic pronunciation I've seen. I was born in Calgary and lived here all my life, that's how I say it.

Lived here for over 40 years...

Cal-Gree, Cal-Gur-EE, and Cal-Gar-EE are all acceptable and used.

I would agree with others that the 2 syllable pronunciation is most common these days.

^ LOL!

Well, this is pretty much as I expected.

So where the heck does that Cal-GAR-ee (accent on the second syllable) come from? I've heard it more than once, maybe even on CBC.

(and don't get me started on NEW-fund-land vs. New-FOUND-land). :)

Neu-fun-land

Newf'n-LAND :p

OK, that's a third one.


Hmmph! Newfies!

Went to junior high and high school in Edmontonchuk (though I understand the Ukrainian presence has been somewhat diluted since) and lived in Calgary for about five years, and that's how I've always pronounced it @:-)

Maybe I wasn't paying attention, but don't recall the long EEEE at the end (been passing though Texas for last 25 years or so, and have about couple of years left before moving on).

While we're discussing Canadian city pronunciations, I am of the firm belief that Toronto is down to a single syllable in most cases: "Traw." Home of the Traw Maple Leafs and the Traw Blue Jays.

At MOST it is "TRON-na."

If someone actually calls it "Toe-ron-toe" you know they're a tourist.

I've always pronounced it as T'ronno, as does my coworker who is actually from there.

With Canadians, I tend to say "TRAWna", with emphasis on the first syllable (Traw) and the second syllable barely pronounced.

In London (UK), when people ask where I am from, I will say it fully - To-RON-toe.

Greg

actually, we say Torono, a limited number of people would basterdize it to na but for most, it's no...

for the OP Q, i call it cal gree like in green.

And Regina rhymes with... you-know-what. :D

If I'm away from home and asked where I'm from, my city is pronounced "London, no the other one" LOL. The city to the east is either Tronno, or Tronto to me, and is actually spelled that way on the hoodie I bought from nhl.com lol

Most people overseas probably don't know of it, though...
(remember that the majority of people overseas see Canada having 3 major cities-YVR/YMQ/YTO and the rest is uninhabited.)

But a lot of UA fliers are becoming aware of YHZ (IIRC) where 752 often make a fuel stop in winter coming back to US due to strong headwinds, particularly in winter ;) :eek:

At any rate, one of those airports in eastern Canada, Halifax, perhaps Newfoundland, don't recall which one they favor to land.

Gander used to be the main refueling point for TA flights, and I think it's more convenient on TA routing, especially on flights going to/coming from further west.

I thought UA favored YYR/YQX as diversion points?
Using YHZ would be more practical with preclearance there as well (though I have never entered the US from there, so I am not sure how a international to US connection would work there without entering Canada.)

Yes it's YYR/YQX...very few UA 757 diversions to YHZ.

At YHZ, for an International to US connection......you would have to enter Canada first.....then right up-stairs to US Pre-clearance. It's a small, convenient airport!

www.hiaa.ca

http://hiaa.ca/travel-checklist/travel-to-the-us/

Cal-gary?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgary,_Mull

Um,

We don't pronounce the second A.

Why not? Everyone else does.

Angry Calgry?

I don't pronounce the second and third syllables in the same way as the man's name "Gary". But there's a little more between the g and the r than "gree" as in the colour "green". More emphasis on the Cal part though.

This is all well and good (and I knew most of it), but my original question (perhaps buried) is about the pronunciation as cal-GAR-ee, with the accent on the second syllable.

I know I've heard it more than once and from several sources, but it appears that Canadians do not use it. So, who does?