10 of the Most Mispronounced Streets in Yakima

Every city has a personality and flair of its own, and the one in the city of Yakima can come across as a bit snarky (yet sometimes in a friendly way).

If you're not from around here, you're definitely going to end up butchering the names of these streets.

When I first moved here, I had no idea how to pronounce some of the nearby cities, like Selah and Buena. Now, I'm an old pro; I've lived in Yakima for so long (over 2 decades) that it's practically my second hometown. I've lived here for almost half my life!

ENTER THE GPS LADY, STAGE RIGHT

Which mispronounced street makes your ears bleed the most? (And why is it when the GPS map does it? lol)

Okay, let's play a little game. Raise your hand if you've ever heard the GPS lady mispronounce the name of:

SELAH

My GPS pronounces it as "suh-LAH"

AHTANUM ROAD

"Ought-tuh-num Road"

WAPATO

"Wuh-PA'-toe"

NACHES

"Natch-chiss"

via GIPHY

It seems like there's over 1,000 public streets in Yakima. Let's see which ones we hear strangers and newcomers getting wrong the most:

Ahtanum Road

Boggess Lane

Boucher Lane 

(Is it pronounced like "OUCH-er" with a B, or is it said like Kathy Bates did when she said "Bobby Booshay" from the movie Waterboy?)

via GIPHY

Breaum Road 

(Bray-em? Bramm? Bree-um?)

Buwalda Lane 

(B'yew-walda? Buh-walda?)

Cayuse Lane

(K'youse? Kye-use?)

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Chevoit Way

(Chevrolet? Shuh-voy't?)

Cotswold Lane 

(Cott-swulled? Cotts-WALLED?)

Dammar 

(D'MARR? Day-MARR? DAMM-mar?)

Kroum Rd 

(Kr'OWm? Chrome? Kr'O-oom?)

Well, if you want to know how they're said the right way, you gotta ask a local.