Yesterday, Ernie flashed his verbal skills by teaching us all the correct pronunciation of “sherbet” (sher-bit). In the comments to the entry, Lois asked about the correct way to say Turkey Hill’s home, Lancaster County. Deb V. cleared up the conundrum, and Ernie offers his input below.
There are a lot of words in the English language that are commonly mispronounced and I won’t get into all of them here, mainly because I’m guilty of mispronouncing some of them myself. But one word I feel it’s my duty to clarify is the correct pronunciation of “Lancaster” (as in Turkey Hill’s home, Lancaster County).
Almost everyone outside PA pronounces it “Lan-cast-er”, which is fine because they don’t know any better. Sort of like how some people who aren’t from Kentucky might pronounce Louisville as “Loo-ee-ville” when it’s really pronounced “Loo-uh-vul” (but you have to say it really fast for it come out right).
The same is true of Lancaster, which is pronunced “LANK-ister” or “LANK-us-ter” (there are various phonetic spellings). You can listen to the proper pronunciation by clicking on the little play button on this website. Now let’s put everything we’ve learned together in a sentence:
“People in Louisville enjoy Turkey Hill sherbet made in Lancaster County.”
Tags: Ask Ernie, ice cream, turkey hill
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If you’ve got a technical question about the ice cream making process or some other inquiry about the nuances of America’s favorite treat, chances are Ernie has the answer. He might not be able to answer all questions, but he’ll try his best and some may be featured on the Ice Cream Journal.
You are correct, each area has its own way of pronouncing where they live. One of the best is Long Island, NY where locals and NYC pronounce it “Lung Island” and the rest of the english world say Long Island as written. Another place is Chicago.
I think I get that right at least some of the time!
Worcester, MA anyone?
Or Schenectady or Oneonta?
Unfortunately neither one produces that fabulous Turkey Hill ice cream, as far as I know.
monroeville, alabama is another one…they put emphasis on the second syllable.
glad we can pronounce lancaster!!! 
I think I get that right at least some of the time!
I guess because of living here in Lebanon and because of the Pa. Dutch slang we do mispronounce words, but we know where we are going. Linda
If Toronto, as in ToronTOE is Torono, for those in the know, and Rochester, as in RochESTHER is really Rochistir, is Lancaster now Lankustir to the locals?
Do it really matter when we all can pronounce Turkey Hill!
Maybe someone should put together a book containing pronunciations of difficult sounding city names. We have a start right here in the comments below. And we might even include a famous product from that city. We all know what it would be for LANK-ister, PA.
This reminds me of the song “you say tomato, I say tomato, you say potato I say potato….” I need some TH ice cream to mull this over.
Aren’t differences great? That gives us the chance to learn new things except for TH that is.
You say TOE-MATE-OH, I say TOE-MOT-OH. There are other towns/cities named Lancaster. I know in the Buffalo, N.Y. area, it is pronounced Lan-caster, N.Y. It is like Newark. It is New-erk in N.J. and New-Ark in Delaware.
Hi everyone,
ernie you are so right about how a person pronounced each word/s. If you are from the south…you some what speak different then a person from the West Coast… Like CA or OR. I am from Maryland and I lvoe to hear people say Maryland. Some say Maryline or Marylane. But, I can only say you know what they saying when they ask for Turkey Hill ice cream.
I don’t care how people pronounce sherbet as long as they say Turkey Hill before it. Then I know it will be terrific sherbet!
I know its always been a word that different people say their own way. I don’t really get excited about how its sounded out. I do think that the Lancaster area is one of the most BEAUTIFUL in Pa.
i cant pronounce some words so i try not to say them
Variety is the spice of life!!
How about pronouncing Haverstraw, NY? Doesn’t matter how you pronounce them they are all great places!
WE VACATIONED DU BOIS PA ONE YEAR. MY HUSBAND AND HIS BROTHER HAD A DIFFERENT WAY OF SAYING IT EACH TIME. AND THEY STILL MESS UP. THAT WAS 7 YEARS AGO.
Thanks Ernie for giving us the correct pronunciation of those words.
I am also from the Buffalo area. There are many places with Native American names. Cheektowaga is a suburb and the name translates to “Land of the Crab Apples”. This one is tough to pronounce unless you live here “Scajaquada” ( ska jack wa duh.
I say Sher-Bert and I say Delicious
Eat Turkey Hill, enjoy, be entertained, AND learn.
It depends on where you live, NY residents definitely sound different, also Massachusetts. Think it’s great.
Turkey Hill is the best ice cream there is.
Are any coupons available?
I am a retired senior and the coupons really help.
Thanks for a great product.
Right now I have 6 half gallons of Turkey Hill in my freezer. I just love this ice cream.
Your example of Louisville is not exactly accurate. I’m from the Louisville area and I have always pronounced the name of the city Lou-e-ville. It’s named after King Louis of France (not King Loua). You know what they say about assuming…