- A Michigan pronunciation guide features nearly 2,000 audio clips of local place names
- It was originally created for audiobook narrators but can be used by the public
- The guide includes the phonetic spelling and a link to an audio recording of the correct pronunciation
LANSING — Do you have trouble pronouncing Bois Blanc, Ontonagon, Mackinac, Sault Ste. Marie or Milan? Or are you tired of other people getting those or other Michigan place names wrong?
There’s a guide for that.
The Michigan Pronunciation Guide — “You Say it How in Michigan?” — includes nearly 2,000 audio files with correct pronunciations for names like Keweenaw and Ypsilanti.
The state initially created the guide to assist audiobook narrators, but it’s a tool anyone can use — and many people do, according to Betsie Branch, the recording studio coordinator for the Michigan Bureau of Services for Blind Persons, Braille and Talking Book Library.
“There are a lot of names and place names that we weren’t sure how to pronounce, so we developed the pronunciation guide to help our narrators do a better job,” Branch told Bridge Michigan.
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Other frequent users include reporters or newscasters “who need to know how to pronounce a name when they’re doing their stories,” she said.
Is there a Michigan place name that always trips you up, or that you’re tired of hearing others pronounce wrong? Let us know what the name is, what variations you hear and why you think it’s so difficult to pronounce by filling out this form.
In the meantime, here are some commonly mispronounced Michigan place names that we came across in our reporting, and how to say them correctly, according to the state:
Dowagiac: Just 20 miles from the Indiana border, pronunciations for this Cass County city can border on otherworldly. The name Dowagiac is derived from a Potawatomi word.
Bois Blanc: Good luck on this one. There are two Bois Blanc Islands that Michiganders might be familiar with, and of course, two different pronunciations. The Bois Blanc Island located southeast of Mackinac Island in Lake Huron is often pronounced like:
That’s not to be confused with Bois Blanc Island on the Canadian side of the Detroit River, which was home to an amusement park that closed in 1993. It’s usually called “Boblo,” like so:
Further adding to the confusion, many in the UP refer to the Lake Huron community as “Boblo.”
Ontonagon: A village on the shore of Lake Superior. The name comes from an Ojibwe word meaning “bowl” or “dish.”
Keweenaw: The northernmost county in the Upper Peninsula, known for its copper mining history. The name comes from the Ojibwe word meaning “place where portage is made.”
Ypsilanti: A city in Washtenaw County, located about 6 miles east of Ann Arbor and home of Eastern Michigan University. The name “Ypsilanti” comes from Demetrios Ypsilantis, a Greek hero of the War of Independence.
Grosse Ile: A township and island in the Detroit River. The name comes from the French word meaning “big island.”
Charlotte: Pronounce this mid-Michigan city like its namesake in North Carolina and locals are sure to rib you. “Shar-Lot” was named after the wife of an early city developer.
Milan: This Michigan city and township were reportedly named in honor of Italian residents, but pronounce it like the Italian metropolis and you might get some odd looks.
Gratiot: The more than 40,000 residents in Gratiot County, along with anyone who frequents Gratiot Avenue in Detroit, might have an easy time pronouncing this one. For others, the late namesake Capt. Charles Gratiot did not make it easy.
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