SPEAK LIKE A NATIVE NEW ENGLANDER 4

One of the town names that newcomers to Massachusetts
initially mispronounce is Haverhill, birthplace of my ancestors
Amos Hastings and Abigail Mitchell.

The furthest off is to say the first syllable like the verb "have"
and then pronounce the 'r' as the second syllable before
ending with a"hill" so it comes out "Have-r-hill". I've heard
this once or twice from reporters new to the area.

'Have' actually has a long 'a' as in "hay" and some people get
that first part right but still fall into the 'hill' trap.

There's no hill in Haverhill. Basically, the 'h' is silent and the
name has two syllables:

"Hayv + rill"= "Hayvrill".

So remember, if you are going to Haverhill, keep the 'h' out
of it!