toronto

Study confirms most Canadians don't know how to pronounce Toronto

For all of the weird nicknames Toronto has been given (Hogtown! T.O.! The Big Smoke!) nothing bothers my ears more than hearing two hard "T"s.

It's not "tor-ahn-toe," it's Toronno. Or Churrano. Or even Trawna.

Pronouncing the second "T" in Toronto not only sounds pretentious, it's a dead giveaway that you don't actually live in Toronto – which is fine, if you're a tourist. We get enough foreign media here to know that you say it wrong.

What's more surprising is that, apparently, most of the other people in Canada say our city's name like an American does.

how toronto pronounced

Most Canadians appear to think that Toronto has multiple hard "T"s. Toronto begs to differ. Photo via The 10 and 3.

Data visualization firm The 10 and 3 recently compiled the results of a nation-wide survey on how Canadians speak.

To get these numbers, researchers conducted an online survey of 9,500 English-speaking Canadians, asking respondents about everything from Kraft Dinner to bristol board.

The results are as surprising as they are fascinating, (did you know that "crooked" means "cranky" in Newfoundland?)

Unfortunately, they also reveal a heavy truth that the citizens of our city must come to accept: Nobody outside of Toronto really knows how to say Toronto.

No beef, rest of Canada – I still have yet to master "Calgary," as my friends from Calgary are quick to point out whenever I say "CAL-gerry."

Lead photo by

Marcanadian


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

Tunnelling is now complete for Toronto's next huge transit project

People spotting Toronto's fancy Roombas for cutting grass in parks are enthralled

Ontario just got hit with an earthquake and officials blame this mine

TTC workers are gearing up to go on strike and here's what you need to know

Here are the highest and lowest paying gig jobs at the City of Toronto right now

Yonge-Dundas Square renaming to Sankofa Square is about to become more official

A 7-kilometre stretch of the TTC subway will be closed for this entire weekend

Years of construction on major Toronto street set to extend even longer with new project