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Please support WESA by making a donation during our fall fundraising campaign The Pittsburgh accent has long been part of the region’s identity and culture But people from around here also have some unique ways of pronouncing some words that outsiders might find a little strange asker Jameel al Khafiz wondered about the pronunciation of North Versailles which is about 13 miles southeast of Pittsburgh “I was wondering why we in Pittsburgh pronounced the city of North Versailles [Ver-SAYLZ] the way we do which would be Versailles [Ver-SIGH],” al Khafiz asked Allen Wagner’s family first moved to a part of North Versailles known as Port Perry a bustling port along the Monongahela River The community was eventually taken over by the railroads that served the nearby Edgar Thomson Steel Works as land was bought by the company for shipping and other industrial needs I watched them fill the valley with slag from the mills,” Wagner said “The other thing that used to happen to us was that whoever had the newest car in our family got to put it in the garage your car was covered in metal flake dust from the mills.” As was true for much of the Pittsburgh region in the mid-20th century the local economy was dominated by manufacturing Many families worked in the steel or glass industries and the township’s population peaked between 1960-1980 but an Amazon warehouse recently opened off of Route 30 The name “Versailles” is a reference to the Palace of Versailles a former residence of King Louis XIV of France whose family has lived in the North Versailles region since the 1920s the western Pennsylvania township was given the name in 1869 “It was actually passed down as a nod to our French allies during the Revolutionary War,” Kordalski said why don’t you say North Ver-SIGH?’ … But I honestly don’t know why.” Versailles — as we’ve mentioned — is a French word the double “l”s at the end aren’t pronounced “That's very difficult to pronounce if you're an English speaker with sounds that aren't English sounds,” said Barbara Johnstone a retired professor of linguistics and rhetoric at Carnegie Mellon University whose written and researched a lot about the Pittsburgh accent She said pronouncing words this way isn’t a sign of ignorance — and it isn’t a mistake “It has to do with how the word is spelled and I think people are pronouncing it the way it's spelled Ver-sails People who don’t know the original pronunciation are going to fall back on how it’s spelled The “s-a-i-l-l-e-s” at the end of Versailles looks like the English word “s-a-i-l.” This also happens with the city of DuBois which is another French word that would be pronounced “Du-BUWAH” in that language — but pronounced “dew-BOYS” here asker David Reinwald is originally from Chicago and says it took him a while to get used to the pronunciation of Mt Lebanon (regionally pronounced as “Leb-uh-NIN”) versus the country of Lebanon (“Leb-uh-NAHN.” “I just wondered why that was pronounced the way that it was,” Reinwald said and it kind of amused me over and over until it took me a long time to get used to it Michael Cahall, a volunteer at the Historical Society of Mt. Lebanon, where he gives tours and speeches to visitors and classes about the township’s past. The area was first developed as farmland in the late 1700s and grew gradually until the early 1900s as transportation became more available to the community. According to the township’s website the first streetcar to Pittsburgh began operating in 1901 and soon after multiple housing subdivisions were created Lebanon’s business district were constructed in the 1920s and ’30s which aligned with the opening of the Liberty Tunnels (in 1924) and Liberty Bridge (in 1928) The accessibility to the South Hills meant many former city dwellers packed up and headed for the suburbs “The community was blossoming,” Cahall said Lebanon to your work in Pittsburgh those days in 20 minutes to a half hour.” Geoff Hurd has lived in the township for 42 years and volunteers at the local historical society Lebanon” allegedly came from a trip a minister He brought back two trees — called cedars of Leba-NAHN planted them prominently in his front yard and people took notice “People would look at those things and obviously they weren’t native trees to Pennsylvania and ask ‘What kind of trees?’ And the answer was cedars of Lebanon,” Hurd said “He lived on the hill part of Bower Hill Road and somehow this transmorphed and the neighborhood got to be known as Mt Both Hurd and Cahall said they haven’t heard much controversy about the township’s pronunciation Linguist Johnstone says that the way most English speakers pronounce the country of Lebanon stresses the first syllable the most it’s much more common to only have one stressed syllable in the word then you get ‘Leb-uh-NIN.’ You only stress the first syllable and the other two vowels both get reduced in this way,” Johnstone said That’s in line with how we say some other common three syllable words Think “cultural,” where just the “cul” is stressed “The main stress is on the ‘cay,’ the secondary stress is on the ‘vay.’ If you said it really fast or said it really casually you might end up saying ‘vuh-cay-shun,’” Johnstone said While some might see the region’s pronunciation of these places as unusual “The proper pronunciation of the name of a town is how people pronounce it themselves.” they’ll tell you they’re pronouncing their town’s name right…because they are We’re experiencing life in Pittsburgh along with you We’re all curious about the world and want to find solutions to problems in our neighborhoods and government. Our reporting helps you do that.   WESA’s role in our partnership with you is to investigate report and produce. We’re asking you to be involved.  WESA thrives because of community involvement and listener contributions.   you’ll be doing something great for yourself and your family and others across the entire region. Everyone benefits from an independent news organization that has the community’s best interest in mind. That’s WESA. Please make sure everyone has access to this essential news source Your gift of $10 a month, or any other amount Have a tip for the WESA newsroom? Email news@wesa.fm TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need Police are looking for the driver of an SUV who struck a pedestrian Wednesday night in North Versailles and didn’t stop The unidentified victim was struck in the intersection of Greensburg Pike and Hyer Avenue where first responders were summoned at about 8:40 p.m The man was taken to an area hospital in critical condition Allegheny County Police detectives are looking for “dark-colored SUV.” Anyone with information concerning this incident is asked to call the County Police Tip Line at 1-833-255-8477 (1-833-ALL-TIPS) Stay up-to-date on important news from TribLIVE 1-800-909-8742 © 2025 Trib Total Media | All Rights Reserved About Us Advertise Career Opportunities Contact Advertising Contact Circulation Contact Newsroom Contact Us Feedback Request Correction Resource Center Scholarship Opportunities Send Letter to the Editor Send News Tip Subscribe Subscriber Services Blog eFeatures Email Newsletters eTrib Facebook Home Delivery Instagram LinkedIn Marketing Minute Store Locations TribLIVE App - App Store TribLIVE App - Google Play X (formerly Twitter) Arts & Entertainment Best of the Best Business Directory Circulars Contests Coronavirus Lifestyles Local News YaJagOff Obituaries Opinion Our Publications Photos Real Estate Sports Video Weather Cookie Settings Privacy Policy Terms of Service Jeff Himler is a TribLive reporter covering Greater Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant Area and Derry Area school districts and their communities. He also reports on transportation issues. A journalist for more than three decades, he enjoys delving into local history. He can be reached at jhimler@triblive.com This website is unavailable in your location It appears you are attempting to access this website from a country outside of the United States therefore access cannot be granted at this time 2025 at 8:24 am ET.css-79elbk{position:relative;}A Giant Eagle store PA — Giant Eagle has announced the impending closure of its supermarket and in-store pharmacy at 1701 Lincoln Highway in North Versailles but necessary decision to close the North Versailles Giant Eagle," a release from the grocery chain stated North Versailles customers can shop at several other nearby locations such as Braddock Hills Pharmacy customers can call their preferred Giant Eagle pharmacy location to have their prescriptions transferred All North Versailles Giant Eagle employees who are interested will be offered positions at nearby Giant Eagle locations Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox. Jack Troy is a TribLive reporter covering the Freeport Area and Kiski Area school districts and their communities. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in January 2024 after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh. He can be reached at jtroy@triblive.com A suspect in a McKeesport assault and carjacking crashed on Route 30 in North Versailles on Thursday afternoon after failing to stop for an Allegheny County sheriff’s deputy The deputy took the man into custody after he crashed into a utility pole near Grandview Cemetery The sheriff’s office did not immediately identify the suspect and shut down traffic on a portion of Route 30 until about 7:30 p.m. according to an Allegheny County 911 dispatch supervisor The only person injured in the crash was the suspect who suffered broken bones and was taken to an area hospital According to a statement from the sheriff’s office the deputy positioned his cruiser in a parking lot at Routes 30 and 48 after hearing a radio report that the suspect’s vehicle was headed in that direction on Route 48 When the car approached with the driver’s window rolled down the deputy yelled for the driver to pull over The deputy pulled onto Route 30 in pursuit but slowed down when the suspect took off at a high rate of speed When the deputy arrived at the crash scene a few minutes later the suspect was out of the car and was taken into custody The crash caused a power outage for area Duquesne Light customers A spokesperson for the utility said about 350 customers remained without power at about 8 p.m. with service expected to be restored by 10 p.m including the suspect’s name and an account of the carjacking weren’t available Thursday night from McKeesport or North Versailles police of a fatal two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Crooked Run Road and 5th Avenue in North Versailles A Wilkins man charged with homicide by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter turned himself in at Pittsburgh Municipal Court on Friday according to the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office Aaron J. Butler, 20, of Wilkins was driving in North Versailles on April 7 when police said he struck another vehicle died of her injuries shortly after the crash Butler was initially taken to UPMC Presbyterian hospital and treated for a collapsed lung he told police that Chonko’s car had begun inching into the intersection of Crooked Run Road and Fifth Avenue in North Versailles Police spoke with two witnesses who were also driving at the time of the crash Both said they saw Butler’s Pontiac Grand Am speeding and weaving in and out of traffic prior to the crash Investigators were also able to locate video from a nearby security camera which showed Chonko’s car turning left onto Crooked Run Road just before Butler’s car strikes it at a high rate of speed Police said the airbag control module in Butler’s car showed it was traveling at 86 miles per hour two seconds before the collision when the brakes were applied Blood collected during Butler’s hospital treatment tested positive for marijuana at the time of the crash Court records do not list an attorney for Butler and a preliminary hearing date has not yet been set therefore access cannot be granted at this time.