Massachusetts and Rhode Island’s Different ‘Quahog’ Pronunciation

There is nothing like hearing folks from out of state mispronounce words we have been pronouncing correctly here in Massachusetts forever. An example is the word quahog.

Any blue-blooded Massachusetts native, especially those from the most prominent fishing port of New Bedford, knows how to pronounce quahog. We grew up eating these things.

Ever since the producers of Family Guy gave us the fictional Rhode Island town of Quahog, mythically located in Newport County, we have had to tolerate the Ocean State's superiority complex on the subject of the bivalve mollusks.

Please! These are the same folks who don't know the difference between a coffee frappe and a kitchen cabinet. Look it up.

Folks in southeastern Massachusetts understand that quahog is pronounced COE-hog. Don't tell that to someone from Providence, though, who insists the proper pronunciation is KWA-hog.

I am married to a gal from Pawtucket, so I know what I am talking about.

For the record, the New England Historical Society, which refers to the quahog as a "Rhode Island Icon," lists the proper pronunciation of quahog as KO-hog. Go figure.

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I consulted the Merriam-Webster Dictionary online to prove my point. Hmmm. Not much help there as the site offers multiple pronunciations including qua-hog, ko-hog, and kwo-hag.

Google says quahog sounds like kow-haag, and Google Groups says it's KWA-hog. So there's that.

Not for nothing, you say toe-may-toe, I say tom-mah-toe, so let's just order up a couple of quahogs and some chow-duh and call it a day, okay?