This is a new thread, created to avoid the off-topic police.
Quoting the Sage of Upstate New York: "Reminds me of the "g" in Samoan - which is pronounced as "ng," but not as hard as in English. The prime example is the capital of American Samoa, Pago Pago, which the uninitiated usually say as "Paygo Paygo" or pronouncing the first syllables as in hunger pangs. In reality, it's "Pahn go Pahn go, with the g kinda held on the back of your tongue. Hard to describe..."
I have been told that when a printing press, supposedly complete with all the necessary fonts was shipped to Samoa, somehow all of the letters "g" were lost enroute--therefore it was impossible to spell the name of the chief city correctly.
Of course, we can think of many place names in our country which are spelled in ways that confuse the uninitiated--Worcester ("Wooster"), for instance. Until my wife corrected me (she lived and worked in New York City for eleven years), I accented the ultimate syllable of New Rochelle until she told me that the penultimate syllable is accented.
Wow! at times I need a grammar check, for if I am composing quickly my fingers may omit a necessary word. But--I would not trust anyone who went through high school in the last forty years, for it seems that much that I learned is no longer taught. Whoever compiled the grammar check in Word Perfect does not understand the English language.
Johnny
For the benefit of all who caught two spelling errors in the above when receiving it via email, I failed to proofread it, but did correct them before leaving it on the forum.
OK Johnny, you've got me. Just how DO you pronounce it?
New RO-chelle, or New Ro-CHELLE?
Wayne
From what my wife told me, it is RAH-shll. (I do not know how to put the schwa in after the "sh" or the "sch".) For the benefit of the unlearned, a schwa is a very short vowel that is usually represented by an upside-down lower case "e."
New RAH-shll? Man, that's a new one on me! Never heard it pronounced that way before.
I think I'll invoke my God-given right as a New Jersey native to pronounce things anyway I please!
New Rah-shll. They never pronounced it that way on the old "Dick vanDyke Show"!
1974 Merriam Webster's New Collegiate dictionary has the ‘r’ at the end of the first syllable, which is slightly emphasized and has a parenthetic (y) before a ‘u’ with a dot on top representing similar to ‘oo’ in foot. The second syllable is an upside-down ‘e’ representing similar to ‘u’ in abut. The third syllable (shel) is emphasized.
So something like Nur-uh-SHELL? Probably need a Huguenot.
Quite a few French Hugenots emigrated to the part of New Jersey where I'm from, Bergen County to be exact. Some came during Dutch rule, others during English, but most during the 17th Century as the New Rochelle settlers did. The present-day town of Demarest is named for one of the prominent Hugenot families, the De Marests.
As an aside, Bergen County residents pronounce the towns name as "Demma-rest."
Cairo, the capital of Egypt, is pronounced "kai-roh."
Cairo, a town in southern Illinois, is pronounced "kay-row."
Dan
Then there's Lima, Peru, pronounced "Lee-ma", and Lima, Ohio, pronounced "Ly-ma."
Bogota Columbia (Boga-ta) versus Bogota New Jersey (Buh-go-duh.)
Amherst, Massachusetts, is pronounced "Amerst," as is Amherst College. Amherst, NY is pronounced with the `h'. There are other Amersts scattered about the US and Canada, some of which may well be pronounced differently, yet, such as Amherst, VA and TX.
Many, many other towns have their own local pronunciations, such as Versailles, MO, 'Versales."
I'm sure General Lord Jeffrey Amherst, for whom all those places were named, would have pronounced it AM-herst.
The Brits tend to put the emphasis on the first syllable of a multi-syllable name.
My old neighborhood gets butchered routinely, correct pronunciation is HEGG-wish, not HEDGE-wish.
Thanks to Lands' End, the stop on the Illinois Central is mispronounced. Correct pronunciation is MAT-uh-son, not MATT-sen.
I was born in the state that's Hi in the middle and round on both ends. Back there, the B&O served the town of Belpre (pronounced Bell-Pree), and a branch of the PRR served Cadiz (Caddis, with the accent on the first syllable). A major point on the NYC's Big Four was Bellefontaine (just say Bell Fountain). If you come from the Cleveland-Akron area, you pronounce Cuyahoga Ki uh hoge uh (long O, hard G). But you might slip and call it Ki-uh-hogga (short O). If you're in a hurry it's Ki-hogga, and if you're in a BIG hurry it's Cogga. So don't be confused if somebody says he's from Cogga Falls.
Tom
ACY If you come from the Cleveland-Akron area, you pronounce Cuyahoga Ki uh hoge uh (long O, hard G). But you might slip and call it Ki-uh-hogga (short O). If you're in a hurry it's Ki-hogga, and if you're in a BIG hurry it's Cogga. So don't be confused if somebody says he's from Cogga Falls. Tom
If you come from the Cleveland-Akron area, you pronounce Cuyahoga Ki uh hoge uh (long O, hard G). But you might slip and call it Ki-uh-hogga (short O). If you're in a hurry it's Ki-hogga, and if you're in a BIG hurry it's Cogga. So don't be confused if somebody says he's from Cogga Falls.
And if it is locals talking - it's just 'the Falls'.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Then there's Wanaque, New Jersey, as in the old Erie Wanaque-Midvale branch.
I'm told there's two ways to pronounce Wanaque, "Wanna-kee", and "Wanna-kew", but honestly all I've ever heard is "Wanna-kew."
In California's Antelope Valley, the UP (former SP) runs through the city of Lancaster (LAN-cas-ter).
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that Pennsylvania's Strasburg RR operates in Lancaster (LANK-as-ter) County.
No?
Garyla:
You're very close. The only nit-picking correction I would make is to attach the S to the last syllable: LANK-uh-stir. This considerably de-emphasizes the middle syllable. In contrast, we are familiar with Burt LAN-CASS-ter. Pronounce it that way in Amish country & you'll get a wry smile from the locals. By the way, Reading is pronounced pretty much the same way they pronounce it across the pond (think past tense of "read").
I am not sure about the Pennsylvania town, but it is LANK-as-ter county in South Carolina and the seat of the county is LANK-as-ter--I grew up ten miles south of the county seat. And, my father, along with many of his ancestors, was born in LANK-as-ter county in Virginia; I believe the name of the county seat is pronounced the same way.
Then, when I lived in Pickens county, Alabama, I met some people whose ancestors came from Lancaster county, S.C., who pronounced their family name Lan-CAST-er. (I also found some distant cousins whose ancestors had come from Lancaster county, S.C.)
And, considering that Quebec is the French spelling of an Indian (or First Nation, as they say now) name, I do not doubt that if the area had been settled by English instead of French, the name would be Kebec.
ACY Garyla: You're very close. The only nit-picking correction I would make is to attach the S to the last syllable: LANK-uh-stir. This considerably de-emphasizes the middle syllable. In contrast, we are familiar with Burt LAN-CASS-ter. Pronounce it that way in Amish country & you'll get a wry smile from the locals. By the way, Reading is pronounced pretty much the same way they pronounce it across the pond (think past tense of "read"). Tom
There are some here in the Midwest that get mispronounced a lot -
Montevideo, MN...it's not pronounced like the South American city (Mon-tah-vi-DAY-oh) but "Mon-tah-VID-ee-oh" (so the last part is "video" like TV).
Pierre, SD...it's not like a French guy's name (Pee-yair). It's pronounced "Peer", like a 'pier' where a ship would land.
Winona, MN...isn't "Why-know-nah" (like Wynonna Judd) but "Whi-know-nah".
Sault Ste. Marie, MI (and ONT)...thanks to the Soo Line, I think most railfans know "Sault" rhymes with "Zoo" so it's "Soo Saint Ma-ree"
Nicollet, WI is "Nick-o-lay" but Nicollet in MN is "Nickle-it".
Des can cause trouble...Des Plaines, IL is normally "Dez Plaines" but Des Moines IA is "Duh-Moin". BTW Dubuque IA, is "Duh-byooke".
Faribault, MN is generally "Fair-a-bow" but people from there sometimes pronounce the "t" so it's more like "Fair-a-bolt".
BTW I think ones like these are different from local slang / blurred pronounciations that come up, like people in Milwaukee WI saying "Mwaukee" or New Orleans LA residents saying "Nahlins".
FWIW if you like Spam, Austin MN where it's made is pronounced the same as the one in Texas, but Hormel, the company that makes Spam, is called "Hoar-MEL" pretty much everywhere but Austin MN...people there say "Hormull" (kinda rhymes with "normal").
This is fun! Reminds me of that great Stephen Vincent Benet' poem "I've Fallen In Love With American Names".
"...and bury my heart at Wounded Knee."
Ever hear a Baltimorean pronounce the name of his city? Lots of variants from the people who call the place home. There's BAL-TEE-more; BALL-a-mer; BALL-da-mer; BALL-mer; and probably others. Please refrain from calling him a Baltimoron. That's not appreciated.
Just a follow-up: From my home I can pick up Brewers games. Milwaukee native Bob Uecker always says "Mill-wah-kee". People there talking to each other sometimes slur it to "Mwah-kee" but I think if you asked them how to say it, they would say "Mill-wah-kee".
BTW Monticello in Virginia (Thos. Jefferson's home) is "Mon-tah-chell-o" with the "cello" part pronounced like the musical instrument. But if you're in Monticello, MN you're in "Mon-tah-sell-o".
As a Philly transplant to the Middle coal fields there were two pronunciations that stood out to me.
Shenendoah was pronounced SHEN doe
Mahanoy was pronounced MACK a noy
And in Philadelphia never say you are going downtown. That immediately lables you as an outsider. You go "Center City".
ACY Ever hear a Baltimorean pronounce the name of his city? Lots of variants from the people who call the place home. There's BAL-TEE-more; BALL-a-mer; BALL-da-mer; BALL-mer; and probably others. Please refrain from calling him a Baltimoron. That's not appreciated. Tom
Des Moines, WA has an "ess" sound at the end.
Des Moines, IA does not.
WP Lives
Don't recall where I first encountered this, so if I'm treading on somebody's copyright, my apologies.
Scene, a mixed train, one coach at the rear, approaching a town spelled Euralia.
Conductor (front of coach) - "You're a liar! You're a liar!"
Brakeman (rear of coach) - "You really are! You really are!"
Chuck
tomikawaTT Don't recall where I first encountered this, so if I'm treading on somebody's copyright, my apologies. Scene, a mixed train, one coach at ther rear, approaching a town spelled Euralia. Conductor (front of coach) - "You're a liar! You're a liar!" Brakeman (rear of coach) - "You really are! You really are!" Chuck
Scene, a mixed train, one coach at ther rear, approaching a town spelled Euralia.
I'm more in favor of LANK-uh-stir, for the town/county here in South Carolina. (BTW, that's the "PAL metto State"; we can always spot the outsiders who want it to be "PALM etto".
Remember: In South Carolina, North is southeast of Due West... HIOAg /Bill
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