5 East End Places That Are Hard To Pronounce

WAINSCOTT

To the untrained eye and ear, this community’s name may appear to look and sound like WainSCOTT. But anyone who knows this place has heard some local residents pronounce it WainSKIT. Which is correct? Perhaps the hamlet will codify the correct phrasing if and when it incorporates as a village.

QUOGUE

Despite being one of just two monosyllabic communities on the East End, some poor misinformed souls may insist this village is pronounced KWOwg with a hard O. But Hamptonites know the correct pronunciation is kwaag. Either way, it is not to be confused with Quiogue, the adjacent peninsula pronounced kwee-ag. 

DERING HARBOR

As the least populous village in New York State with just 11 residents as of the 2010 census, there aren’t many people arguing about whether it’s pronounced DEERing or DERing. But considering there may be more furry hooved residents than humans residing in this Shelter Island community, the former may be more appropriate.

AQUEBOGUE

The spelling of this North Fork hamlet lends itself to being mispronounced as AQUA-bog, which sounds fitting for a coastal community featuring wetlands. While the meaning fits — it translates to “head of the bay” — the correct way to say it is ACK-wuh-BOG. Confused? Just remember that the first syllable is “ack,” like comic strip character Cathy’s catch phrase.

LAUREL

This one may appear simple enough, but as a 2018 viral meme demonstrated, some people may inexplicably hear the name of this North Fork community as Yanny, not Laurel. We’re still not sure which is correct.