A Korean husband tries to pronounce tricky U.S. city names like Mackinac, Sault Ste. Marie, and Ypsilanti while his partner corrects him. The stumbles highlight why these names trip up non-native English speakers, especially Korean learners.
My husband is from Korea and today he's going to try and pronounce US city names.
Ma-ki-na-k? Ma-ki-na-k?
You've been here before.
What? Ah, Ma-ki-na. Ma-ki-na.
Yes, Mackinac.
Sault Ste. Marie. Moray?
Sault Ste. Marie.
What? English is weird. Ypsilanti? Or Ypsilanti?
Yes! Ypsilanti.
Charlevoix. Charlevoix.
Charlevoix.
Charlevoix.
Sounds kind of fancy. Let's go to Charlevoix.
Gratuit. Gratuit. Gratuit.
Yes!
Oh, gratuit. Gratuit. All grass. All— Grease?
It's a color.
Gray. All gray?
Yes!
What? Where's the S?
All gray.
Tawas, my hometown.
Your hometown?
Yes, Tawas born, baby.
