Moving to a new place is equal parts exciting and unsettling — and one of the most nerve-wracking parts can be the first time you try to say a weird place name out loud in front of other people. Here's a cheat sheet to some of the local streets, cities, parks and springs that might give you pause.
Altamonte Springs: Newcomers often pronounce the first part with four syllables and a long E at the end, but it's just "ALL-tuh-mont."
Apalachicola: A quaint little Gulf Coast getaway known for its oysters, though harvests are paused right now. "APP-uh-LATCH-i-cola."
DeSantis: Our beloved governor. Is it "Dee-Santis" or "Duh-Santis"? Neither! It's pronounced "ASS-hole" (long O).
Hiawassee: One of those big roads whose name you'll hear often in traffic reports, and if the reporter is new to town, they're bound to stumble on it. It's "HIGH-uh-WAH-see."
Kissimmee: Just a short jaunt down I-4, this city went from cow town to theme park central when Disney hit the scene. That tourist significance and the presence of "kiss" in the spelling makes it the most-often mispronounced in the area, but sorry, there's no kissing in Kissimmee. Say "Kih-SIM-ee" and you've got it.
Micanopy: A leafy, sleepy hamlet with plenty of antique shops outside Gainesville, also home to the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings historic homestead. Don't get confused by the "canopy" in there; it's "MIK-uh-NOPE-ee."
Narcoossee: Unincorporated community in east Osceola County and another road whose name you'll hear mispronounced often in traffic reports: "Nar-KOO-see."
Osceola: The county next door to Orange contains Kissimmee and many touristy diversions. No long O, no hard C — it's "Ah-see-OH-lah."
Oviedo: A nearby city just east of Orlando. Unlike the city in Spain, it's got three syllables, not four, and no long A sound: "Oh-VEE-doh" (as in Homer Simpson).
Semoran: A major north-south thoroughfare, part of State Road 436, pronounced "SEH-more-on." Unlike most of the names on this list, not a Native American name but rather a portmanteau: It goes through both SEMinole and ORANge counties.
Wekiwa: You'll see this spelled both Wekiva and Wekiwa in the names of cities, parks, and springs. The reason for that has to do with the maps being made around the time the white man was stealing the land from the Native Americans, but we're not here to get bogged down in history. Research suggests it's properly said with the W, but very few of them are around to correct the 99 percent of locals who pronounce it with a V sound: "Weh-KY-vuh."
Bonus points: Although the middle word in New Smyrna Beach is properly pronounced "SMIR-nuh," locals persist in Southernizing it to "Suh-MIR-nuh." Adopt this mispronunciation and no one will know you haven't been partying at NSB for years.
