Residents of Webster, Massachusetts were aghast when they discovered that the local government had erected a sign directing people to the local lake on which they had misspelled the name of their beloved Lake Webster. How could such a mistake have been made? Perhaps the name of the lake is a little confusing.



Lake Webster is the English name for the local body of water, although it is more appropriately called by it’s Native American name Chargoggagoggmanchauggauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg. The moniker was applied to the lake by the Monuhchogoks, a local group of the Nipmuck people, and it translates approximately to “Englishmen at Manchaug at the fishing place at the boundary."

The sign misspelled the official 45 letter name putting an H in place of the last N, and an O in the 20th letter spot, in place of the proper U.

At 45 letters the lake is also cited as having the longest place name of any location in the United States. In it’s longest spelled version Chargoggagoggmanchauggauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg (which is 49 letters) the word has been cited as having the most instances of any single letter in a word, with the letter G being represented seventeen (17) times. The name also contains 10 instances of the letter "a" (not including the "a" in "lake"), more than any word in the English language.

For more information about this wonderful piece of Americana, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Chaubunagungamaug. I’m particularly interested in the songs written about the lake, and hearing someone sing the name. Also fascinating is the spurious story concocted about the meaning of the lake in the 1920s, and the 1950s poem written as part of an effort to standardize the spelling of the name at 45 letters.

Other amazing facts for the curious…

The title of “longest place name in an English speaking country” belongs to Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu, a Maori name.

Some have said that Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, is the longest place name. It’s a village on the island of Anglesey in Wales. Definitely the longest place name in the Welsh language, and the longest place name in the UK, the name is 51 letters long in the Welsh alphabet, the can be translated as "St Mary's church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio of the red cave".

But consider this one…

The full name of the city of Bangkok (Krungthep) in the Thai language is Krungthepmahanakonbowornratanakosinmahintarayudyayamahadiloponoparatanarajthaniburiromudomrajniwesmahasatarnamornpimarnavatarsatitsakattiyavisanukamphrasit, and is the Guinness Book’s favorite for longest name in the world.

The translation here is more historical story than a word... but it's pretty cool.

krungthep mahanakhon - The land of angels, the great city of

amorn rattanakosin - immortality, various of devine gems
mahintara yudthaya mahadilok pohp - the great angelic land unconquerable
noparat rajathanee bureerom - land of nine noble gems, the royal city, the pleasant capital
udomrajniwes mahasatarn - place of the grand royal palace
amorn pimarn avaltarnsatit - forever land of angels and reincarnated spirits
sakatattiya visanukram prasit - predestined and created by the highest devas

See also:

Wikipedia - Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

Wikipedia - Longest_word_in_English

Wikipedia - Longest_words