Posted in North Dakota
May 04, 2018
If You Can Pronounce These 7 Words, You’ve Lived In North Dakota For Far Too Long
North Dakotans don’t speak a different language from other states, but our dialect is heavily influenced by a few other languages. That results in our using some words most people wouldn’t be able to pronounce. If you’ve lived in the Peace Garden State all of your life, then you definitely can pronounce these specific words plus know exactly how to say certain city names that might trip an out-of-stater up. Do you know the correct way to say them all?
Who doesn't love a delicious slice of kuchen for dessert? If you don't know how this is pronounced, you're probably going to pronounce it wrong on your first try. It's not at all pronounced how it is spelled and a true North Dakotan would know that.
You'd be surprised at the amount of out-of-staters who assume this should be pronounced in a French way or similar to a minnow fish. Us North Dakotans know that certainly isn't the case, otherwise there wouldn't be the catchy, rhyming phrase of "why not Minot?"
This seems pretty normal to a North Dakotan. We all know about Lake Sakakawea and its namesake, who helped the famous Lewis and Clark on their travels. But most of the rest of the country would refer to her as "Sacagawea" and probably wouldn't know what Sakakawea sounds like.
Here's a town name that seems to confuse people who don't know how to pronounce or spell it correctly. It's not "wah-petin" or "wap-etin." And when spelling it, don't leave out the "h!"
This tasty treat is a North Dakota favorite, but anyone who has never encountered the word before would probably struggle to pronounce it. It's definitely not pronounced exactly the way it looks.
Speaking of North Dakota foods, this one may not be a favorite (and most people wouldn't consider it a "tasty treat" either), but if you've lived in this state your entire life you know likely know how to pronounce it correctly. It's not "loot-fisk," like pronouncing the first half of the word like the old instrument, it's "loo-teh-fisk."
One more unusual food name that North Dakotans usually know how to pronounce: knoephla. Despite its various spellings, a lot of outsiders might pronounce it with an emphasis on the "o" in the first syllable. Instead, it should be pronounced like "neh-fla."
How many of them did you know how to pronounce? What other words do you think non-North Dakotans not know how to say? Let us know! If you knew these, you may also be familiar with these classic NoDak phrases.
