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You say yah-KWIN-ah
Kind Newportonian Laura Eberly approached me after the taping of our kickoff rural economy show at Cafe Mundo. "I just wanted to let you know you mispronounced Yaquina," she said. It was one of the nicest reprimands of grammar or pronunciation I've ever gotten. I said yah-KEEN-uh, she said yah-KWIN-uh. Can't re-do the show, but here's the acknowledgment and thanks. Later another nice Newportonian, Bridgette Statz, helped me practice. Have a listen here.
Now back in Portland, I just checked out the "Pronunciation Guide of Oregon Place Names," which is kept in OPB's control room. It's the 1961 edition (has this paper booklet really been at OPB that long?!) by Robert Monaghan, who at that time was the general manager of the Oregon Association of Broadcasters and an assistant journalism prof at U of O. On page 80, Yaquina's pronunciation is printed as yuh-KEEN-uh - but crossed off, with yuh-QUINN-uh written in.
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Just for fun, here's some more information about the Yakwina Tribe of Native Americans, for which the river and bay are named: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaquina_%28tribe%29
:)