![Towns Only Iowans Would Know How To Pronounce](http://townsquare.media/site/726/files/2016/05/PHOTO_Welcome-to-Iowa_Credit-Google-Maps-Street-View.jpg?w=630&h=420&zc=1&s=0&a=t&q=89&w=980&q=75)
Towns Only Iowans Would Know How To Pronounce
I'm proud to be a born and bred Iowan my entire life, but we do have some messed up ways to say some of our Iowa towns.
Here is a list of the ones that cross my mind. If I missed any, add them in the comments section below.
ADEL, IOWA
Adel (Ah-dell) might be a singer, but she is not from Dallas County Iowa's Adel (AA-dell).
CAMANCHE, IOWA
The Comanche (Co-man-chee) Indian tribe is from Oklahoma and not from Clinton County Iowa's Camanche (Cah-manch).
IONIA, IOWA
Until I looked it up, I never knew that Ionia was actually four syllables (I-o-nee-a), and that it is an ancient region of central coastal Western Asia, now present day Turkey. You might find some good turkey hunting in Chickasaw County Iowa's Ionia (I-own-ya).
MADRID, IOWA
Madrid (Ma-drid), Spain is a city that boosts almost 3 million people. Madrid (Mad-rid), in Boone County Iowa, is a tad smaller at around 2,500 people.
MAQUOKETA, IOWA
This one is filled with native American heritage. It's comes from a Sauk and Fox Indian word meaning "there are bears". Originally called Springfield, Maquoketa (Ma-coe-ke-ta) is named after the river that runs through this Jackson County Iowa town. I don't think there is another town anywhere in the world with the same name.
NATIONAL, IOWA
It was not about National pride, rather the pride of a nation, when they named National (na-tion-al), Iowa in Clayton County.
NEVADA, IOWA
The state of Nevada was named using the Spanish word, loosely translated, ‘snow-capped’, but they pronounce it ‘Nev-ADD-uh’. In Story County Iowa’s Nevada, there are no snow-capped mountains, but we pronounce it ‘Nev-AH-da’ which is much closer to the proper way to say it. Looks like we got that one right.
SIGOURNEY, IOWA
Sigourney (Si-gor-nee) Weaver was not born in Keokuk County Iowa’s Sigourney (sig-GOR-nee), which was named after the poet Lydia Huntley Sigourney.
TRIPOLI, IOWA
This is probably one of the most messed up Iowa pronunciations we have to endure. Tripolo (Trip-o-li) is a geographical name and is the name of the largest city in Libya. In Bremer County Iowa, Tripoli (Truh-poe-la) means the home of the panthers.
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