Man Who Pronounces 'Versailles' Correctly Gets Punched at Kentucky Gas Station

A French tourist was physically confronted at a gas station in Versailles, Kentucky, after pronouncing the town's name in the French manner — vehr-SY — rather than the locally accepted pronunciation, ver-SALES, which has been standard in Woodford County since the town's founding in 1792. 'He came in and asked for directions to vehr-SY,' said gas station attendant Dale Pump. 'I said where? He said vehr-SY. I said we don't have a vehr-SY. He pointed at the sign on the road that says Versailles. I said oh, you mean ver-SALES. He said no, it's vehr-SY, it's a French word. That's when Hank got involved.' Hank, a regular customer identified only by his first name, informed the tourist that 'this is Kentucky, and in Kentucky, it's ver-SALES. We don't do French here. We also have a town called Athens and we call it AY-thens. That's how it works.' The confrontation remained verbal but became heated when the tourist suggested that pronouncing Versailles as 'ver-SALES' represents 'a fundamental misunderstanding of French phonology.' Hank responded that 'France doesn't get a vote in how we say our town names' and that 'if they wanted us to say it their way, they shouldn't have sold us Louisiana.' Local toponymist Dr. Cordelia Atlas confirmed that American towns named after foreign cities almost universally adopt anglicized pronunciations. 'Cairo, Illinois is KAY-ro. Lima, Ohio is LY-ma. Pierre, South Dakota is PEER. This is consistent and deliberate. The original pronunciation is replaced by a local one, and the local one becomes correct through usage.' The tourist has continued his trip through Kentucky, where he plans to visit Louisville. He has been warned that the correct local pronunciation is LOO-uh-vul, not LOO-ee-vill, and that deviation from this standard 'may result in similar feedback.' 'American English is a contact sport,' the tourist observed.