Re: CHAT: silly names

John Cowan wrote:

> I always thought that the state of Maine held the U.S. record
> for silly names, as in the well-known quatrain:
>
>         To the shores of Lake Aghquabamticook,
>            All in the state of Maine,
>         A man from Wittipesaugam came,
>            One evening in the rain.
>
> But now I find that in Massachusetts, some miles south, we have Lake
> Chargoggagoggmanchaugagoggchaubunagungamaugg, locally pronounced
> ['wEpsta].  Take *that*.
There's a southern suburb of Vancouver, BC, called Tsawwassen, pronounced
[t@'was@n].  Though it's not as ornate as the names you mention, I've
always loved that double "w".

Washington state has some good names, too:  Skykomish, Snohomish,
Puyallup,...

Matt.

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