The above piece ends with a note on how we pronounce “Knoxville” and how that may project certain emotions or attitudes: e.g. the Knoxville, Iowans are more apt to put on a more sunny inflection. This raises what for me has been a curious problem: do I perk up the end with a neutral “ville” or let the the end kind of roll down with a muffled “vul.” The former would be considered the preferred, conventional pronunciation, in line with the orthodoxy of broadcast media and standardized elocution instruction; the latter is probably the most commonly used, the vernacular among natives. Yes, there is the variant, often heard in the outlying counties and neighborhoods (and around Market Square when I was a kid), perhaps spelled phonetically, “Knox-vail” with the first syllable slurred a tad longer than necessary.

Of course I would always call myself a “Knoxvillian” who hailed from “Knoxvul.” But now, up North, to avoid blank stares and repetitions, it is necessary to always use “ville”

Here’s a sampling of sites that offer a variety of pronunciations. “Ville” seems to predominate but this is far from scientific and I suspect the respondents are more interested in “getting it right” rather than authenticity. I am relieved to find at least one “vul” and I am certain there would be more from the bona-fide native population.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX47smXOEJ0
http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=knoxville
http://www.embedplus.com/dictionary/how-to-pronounce-knoxville-and-use-it
https://www.howtopronounce.com/knoxville/

This page has a map with four versions. The “vul” can be heard in the voice from Virginia.
http://www.forvo.com/word/knoxville/

Finally, this page offers two wonderful variants:
https://www.howtopronounce.com/french/knoxville/

-Brent Waugh
Current Chicago Resident, but thanks to you, I still proudly call Knoxville home