Unless you're from our beautiful state of Michigan, you might have a hard time pronouncing some words that are native to Michigan.

We have plenty of towns throughout the state that are tricky to say if you're not from Michigan. Even simple things like soda/pop can be tricky to say for non residents and some lifelong residents too.

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I would imagine that some folks my call it "FI-GO" if they're not from the mitten. Other words like "Gratiot" can be a challenge too, some might pronounce it "GRA-T-EOT"? Wrong! It's GRA SH IT.

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Still some struggle with the word "Okemos", I've heard it refererred to as O KEY MOS. It's native and it's pronounced "O - KUH - MAHS".

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Only True Michiganders Know How to Properly Pronounce This Word

The one obvious word that we say correctly in Michigan that others from out of state get wrong 9 out of 10 times is PASTY! Truth be told, growing up in southwest Michigan there wasn't a whole lotta talk about pastys. When I moved further "north" to Lansing is when I learned about these culinary masterpieces. Of course when I learned about them I thought they were called "PASE-TIES".

Funny thing is that people often mis pronounce "Pasty" and instead refer to it as a "Pastie". You'll be happy to know that there should be no confusion because these two words are spelled differently. The food is pronounced "PASS-T".

According to Merriam-Webster a "pastie" is:

small round coverings for a woman's nipples worn especially by a stripteaser.

According to Merriam-Webster a "pasty" is:

a meat pie.

Meat pies and items to cover up "risque" behavior are two different things. The spellings are completely different too. The next time you have visitors in from another state, get them acclamated to the term "Pasty" and remind them it's not "PASE-TIES", it's "PASS-T's".

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