How do you say Toronto? It's Tow-RON-Tow, not Ta-ronnow

I'm not even a resident of Toronto (although I was briefly a resident of North York while working on a short term contract in the area back in 1997).

There's one thing that really bugs me. The pronunciation of "Toronto."

It's Tow-RON-Tow. Not Ta-ronnow, Trawna or anything else in between. Most, but not all, people who read the news on radio and television pronounce it correctly, as do most people who have immigrated here from other countries and often have English as a second language.

Ironically, the long time and native residents of Toronto, and in general, anyone in or from Southern Ontario, says Taronnow, or some variation. It may seem like a little thing, but it's like finger nails on a chalk board for me.

Yesterday I got into a debate about this during a discussion about commuting from Barrie to Toronto. Of course, "Toronto" was mentioned a few times. Without warning, I was rudely interrupted and told to say "Taronnow" since I sounded so phoney each time I pronounced it "Tow-RON-Tow." "Phoney?" I said... "but that's the way it's supposed to be pronounced!" I pride myself on speaking clearly and annunciating properly. It's hard to speak one way for certain people and another way for someone else.

Plus, I'm not even from Toronto myself! Not that I dislike that city (I despise Barrie, just north of Toronto though), but maybe it's my subliminal little way of distancing myself from this area and not "blending in." That did not go over very well yesterday. It's not that I don't want people to think I'm from Toronto (since I'm not, anyways), but once I move as far away from Barrie as I can, I don't want people to ask, when they hear my pronunciation of "Toronto" (aka the centre of the universe) if I'm from Toronto. Having lived in Montreal in Vancouver, Ontario is thought of as the plague. It's not that I'll deny having lived here, but I'd rather not let people wonder if I have, based on the way I pronounce "Toronto." Why bring it up if I don't have to?

I figured that I can't go wrong by pronouncing a name the proper way, but it looks like I did. Must be a Toronto thing. Do residents of New York say "Noo Yawk" instead of "N'you YOUR-k? Or is that just people who live far from the big apple who say that?

Back to the original story... How do you say "Toronto?"