I am from Long Island, a place notorious for Billy Joel, Jones Beach, year-round flip flops, thick accents and, of course, infamously difficult-to-pronounce town names.
Some of our cities, like Ronkonkoma, Quogue and Happague, have long been the subject of internet lore, with tons of viral videos focusing on non-L.I. natives attempting to pronounce them without a brutal butchering.
It’s been done before, but it’s an inarguably good format, and, knowing such, I eventually had to con someone into it — a Long Islanders right of passage, if you will.
My dear Georgia coworker, southern gentleman Matt Mataxas, agreed to the challenge, saying he thought he would do pretty well because “I know how the alphabet works.”
Contempt will get you nowhere, Matt.
Watch him struggle to pronounce Syosset and Aquebogue in the TikTok below, brought to you by Bored At Work.
@itkboredatwork LAWNGUYLAND TOWN NAMES
♬ original sound – itkboredatwork
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