Pronunciation of Louisville
Pronunciation of Louisville, Kentucky, US / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The correct pronunciation of the name of Louisville, Kentucky is heatedly debated.[1]
The three most popular pronunciations are, in order:
- US: /ˈluːəvəl/ ⓘ LOO-ə-vəl,
- /ˈluːivɪl/ ⓘ LOO-ee-vil, and
- locally /ˈlʊvəl/ ⓘ LUUV-əl
All three are generally considered acceptable; the Louisville Visitor Center says that only the rare /luːisvɪl/ ⓘ LOO-wis-vil is completely unacceptable (though it is the correct pronunciation for the name of the much smaller Louisville, Colorado).
There are also acceptable hybrid ways of saying the name, such as LOO-ə-vil, a mixture of the first and second pronunciations.[2]