Fifty-five year old true story: I was dating a woman in Buffalo; we're both native speakers. She tells me to meet her at a place on "Gothee" Street, over in the Lovejoy district.<p>I bike over to the east side of town, and search all over for Gothee Street. No luck. Ask a few locals - nada. Spend a half hour looking; eventually give up.<p>Next morning, there's hell to pay. She waited an hour for me.<p>What happened? "It's Goethe Street, stupid," she says" "G O E T H E"<p>I had no idea of this super-local pronunciation -- I'd always pronounced the poet's name as "G uh - t uh"<p>(Similar thing happened in a town near Rochester, New York: How do you pronounce Chili, NY ? You'd better say "Chy - Ly" unless you want to sound like a stranger.)