Paul of CovingtonHow about two people from the same state-- when I was in the army in Alaska, I met someone from Natchitoches, La. I could hardly understand a word he said.
And how about the pronunciation of Natchitoches? It looks something like nach ih toe ches.
If I remember, it's pronounced nak' uh tish.
My state has a county named Keya Paha. It's pronounced kip' uh hah.
York1 John
How about two people from the same state-- when I was in the army in Alaska, I met someone from Natchitoches, La. I could hardly understand a word he said.
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"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
CSSHEGEWISCH Some years ago, when answering an 800 number on assigned days was part of my duties, I was trying to assist a caller from somewhere south of the Ohio River. After a few minutes of each of us asking the other to repeat, I quipped that we seemed to be having problems understanding each other's accent.
Some years ago, when answering an 800 number on assigned days was part of my duties, I was trying to assist a caller from somewhere south of the Ohio River. After a few minutes of each of us asking the other to repeat, I quipped that we seemed to be having problems understanding each other's accent.
I speak on the phone with Grace is JOE-juh about once a month. By mutual agreement we both speak slowly and work hard to enunciate our words so that we can do business together.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
daveklepper SALfan, regardless of how you sound, you write beautifully. And my Fort Bragg, NC, Army service taght me to understand Southeners.
SALfan, regardless of how you sound, you write beautifully.
And my Fort Bragg, NC, Army service taght me to understand Southeners.
Thank you for your very kind compliment; I will treasure it all the more because I learned how to write in the school of hard knocks, by people reviewing my writing and telling me what I did wrong. Spent two years with the same English teacher in high school (it was a small school) without writing a single composition or theme. We diagrammed about a million sentences and identified about 20,000 parts of speech, never even wrote a short report. In Business Writing in college, we wrote every type of letter you can imagine, but only one short (5 or 10 page) report. Have had jobs that required some or a lot of writing (most of them a LOT) since 1979, and it's still a struggle.
PM me if you would like to hear the epic tale of a 6-8 page letter I wrote early in my career.
I was born in New Orleans. My family always said/says New OR-lins. But some of my relatives say New-AWL-yuns.
It is interesting, however, to hear a CSX DS located in Jax talking to a crew in the Midwest. Not all of the dispatchers have Southern accents, but some sure do.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
SALfanSpent about three years working for a guy of Finnish extraction from the upper reaches of Min-ne-so-ta, yah; his Minnesota accent was as heavy as my Southern one. It took us about six months to be able to reliably communicate,
https://www.pbs.org/video/tpt-documentaries-how-talk-minnesotan/
Lithonia Operator I spent a lot of years in Georgia. The pronunciation I'm used to for Albany (GA) is ALL-benny.
I spent a lot of years in Georgia. The pronunciation I'm used to for Albany (GA) is ALL-benny.
That's how the locals pronounce it; my mother's sister lived there, and other family south of there. Cairo, GA is pronounced KAY-ro by the locals, and Lafayette is Luh-FAY-ett. For Tree68, Vienna, GA is also pronounced Vie-ENNA.
BaltACD Through school I spent 1st throug 4th grade in 4 different schools in 3 different states - the balance through HS graduation was spent 5 different schools in 3 different states. College ended up being 3 schools in two states. No matter where I went I would always get the same comment - You aren't from around here are you! At each stop along the way I would pick up speaking mannerisms from where I was at the time - at the next stop the local mannerisms would be different in some aspect. When I went to Jacksonville for CSX's centralized dispatch center I expected a wide range of 'local accents' - and there were. The anticipated 'heavy southern' accent among the Dispatchers from the South was nowhere near as bad as I had thought it would be. That changed when one listened into the dispatchers communications with field personnel on subdivisions in the South. The 'locals' in the South had HARD Southern speech mannerisms.
Through school I spent 1st throug 4th grade in 4 different schools in 3 different states - the balance through HS graduation was spent 5 different schools in 3 different states. College ended up being 3 schools in two states.
No matter where I went I would always get the same comment - You aren't from around here are you!
At each stop along the way I would pick up speaking mannerisms from where I was at the time - at the next stop the local mannerisms would be different in some aspect.
When I went to Jacksonville for CSX's centralized dispatch center I expected a wide range of 'local accents' - and there were. The anticipated 'heavy southern' accent among the Dispatchers from the South was nowhere near as bad as I had thought it would be. That changed when one listened into the dispatchers communications with field personnel on subdivisions in the South. The 'locals' in the South had HARD Southern speech mannerisms.
I have a thick Southern accent (when I talk you can smell the magnolias and the biscuits and gravy). Spent about three years working for a guy of Finnish extraction from the upper reaches of Min-ne-so-ta, yah; his Minnesota accent was as heavy as my Southern one. It took us about six months to be able to reliably communicate, and even after that occasionally one of us would say something that stumped the other one. Once took a business trip to the interior of Wiss-kahn-sun and sat in a meeting with some people who had grown up there. The locals and I might as well have been jabbering in Swahili at each other; luckily my boss (from Oklahoma) and his boss (from somewhere in the Midwest) were able to interpret when needed.
Considering I had family in the vicinity of Gratiot, and grew up in the outer 'burbs, I'll have to disqualify my self.
Dad lived on Bewick.
To SD60MAC: As for Gratiot and Livernois:
I'll have a go.
From listening to CKLW in the 1960's, this (former) Clevelander believes this intersection (?) would be pronounced GRAAH-shut & LIVER-noy.
(It's difficult to write out our Great Lakes-ese accent with its the very flat "aah" sound which I tried to indicate. It might be pronounced as aah as in grab.
CSSHEGEWISCHI once had a conversation with a woman from New Orleans and her accent struck me as a combination of Southern and Brooklyn.
There is a section of New Orleans that was settled by German and Irish immigrants. This linguistic/accent combination is responsible for the New York accent, and this accent also naturally evolved, more or less, in this section of New Orleans.
John Kennedy Toole's brilliant A Confederacy of Dunces references this factoid in the preface.
Gratiot and Livernois.. If you're not from Michigan take your best shot..
charlie hebdoConsider Native Americans. Much longer than 200 years.
CSSHEGEWISCH I once had a conversation with a woman from New Orleans and her accent struck me as a combination of Southern and Brooklyn.
I once had a conversation with a woman from New Orleans and her accent struck me as a combination of Southern and Brooklyn.
That might have been Nint' Wawd. Sort of Brooklyn with a twang.
York1I worked in MidCity -- the school was on Canal Street.
Warren Easton, Sacred Heart or St. Ant'ny? I lived one block from Warren Easton and went to Sacred Heart two blocks away.
York1an area exists in our country where people have lived for 200 years who still speak a different language among themselves.
As I was growing up, one of the neighbor's had a wife from Decatur, Il. She spoke fast, in short bursts and had an unusual inflection where the end of most multi-syllable words were given a fade. She would pronounce Decatur as "DeeKAYTaahhh". A conversation with her was an assault upon the eardrums. Whenever we would hear a squirrel chattering, my dad would frequently joke "there's ol Ada from Dekaytahh"
Most folks would ask her to repeat herself frequently when talking to her. She insisted that "everyone talks like that back home" ...having never been there personally, I wouldn't know either way. But it definitely seemed like a second language, until you got used to it.
York1 Paul of Covington Hey, York. Where'y'at, man? How's yomominem? I was out makin' groceries. I worked in MidCity -- the school was on Canal Street. I lived in the Navarre section of Lakeview. It amazed me that, as you point out, small sections of the city each had a distinct accent. One of the janitors was a Cajun. He would talk to me while he worked, and then laugh when he saw I didn't have the slightest idea what he had said. That's another amazing thing -- an area exists in our country where people have lived for 200 years who still speak a different language among themselves.
Paul of Covington Hey, York. Where'y'at, man? How's yomominem?
I was out makin' groceries.
I worked in MidCity -- the school was on Canal Street. I lived in the Navarre section of Lakeview.
It amazed me that, as you point out, small sections of the city each had a distinct accent.
One of the janitors was a Cajun. He would talk to me while he worked, and then laugh when he saw I didn't have the slightest idea what he had said. That's another amazing thing -- an area exists in our country where people have lived for 200 years who still speak a different language among themselves.
Consider Native Americans. Much longer than 200 years.
Paul of CovingtonHey, York. Where'y'at, man? How's yomominem?
Hey, York. Where'y'at, man? How's yomominem? (your mom and them)
You must have lived in mid-city: New Orluns or New Orlins
Uptown: New Or-le-uns (As I recall, this is the official pronunciation.)
Irish Channel: N'orlins
Ninth Ward: Nyawlins or Nawlins
If you hear New Or-LEENS, it's either someone from out of town or you need to say it that way to make it fit in a song.
York1Another funny thing is that Hollywood films have New Orleans people with a Southern accent.
Yeah, we Yats get a kick out of films about New Orleans where they talk with a southern accent. Sometimes I hear locals talk that I would almost swear came from New York. I suspect that it may be because being a port city, the same waves of immigrants came here as in the eastern ports.
I remember hearing that when Emeril Lagasse started out, many people in New York thought he was one of their own.
York1Another funny thing is that Hollywood films have New Orleans people with a Southern accent. I remember almost no one there having a southern accent unless they had moved into the city from some other southern area. The NO natives talk reminded me more of an eastern big city accent.
I saw a comment once about the movie "Fried Green Tomatos" that noted that each of the four leads had a different accent. I don't recall the specifics, though.
Paul of Covington tree68 York1 New Orleans Don't you mean "Nawlins?" Depends on what neighborhood you're from.
tree68 York1 New Orleans Don't you mean "Nawlins?"
York1 New Orleans
Don't you mean "Nawlins?"
Depends on what neighborhood you're from.
Everyone in the city who I knew called it New Orluns. Usually tourists who wanted to fit in called it Nawlins.
Another funny thing is that Hollywood films have New Orleans people with a Southern accent. I remember almost no one there having a southern accent unless they had moved into the city from some other southern area. The NO natives talk reminded me more of an eastern big city accent.
charlie hebdo rrnut282 To get this thread back on track: MOE-non is a (franco)anglicized version of the Pottawatami word for "swift running." Not a bad nickname for a railroad. Someone mentioned another possible Hoosier Line, the Wabby. The new line SW out of Fort Wayne crosses the Wabash River a couple of times. It came really close to this, but only missed by a couple of miles. The Wabash RR crossed the Wabash River in Wabash County, next to the City of Wabash. Wabash also had two lines across the state, but they did not cross like the subject C.I.&L. To derail it again: Indiana also has a Ver-SAILS. It's down by Kentucky, so it's possible they kept the mis-pronounciation with which they were familiar. The State Park nearby is another franco-anglicized word: Ouabache State Park. Twenty years ago it was Quabache State Rec Area. Obviously, there has been disagreement on what the Pottawatami called the river. The Midwest has many French place names due to the heritage of French control prior to the treaty of Paris, 1763. Many are mispronounced.
rrnut282 To get this thread back on track: MOE-non is a (franco)anglicized version of the Pottawatami word for "swift running." Not a bad nickname for a railroad. Someone mentioned another possible Hoosier Line, the Wabby. The new line SW out of Fort Wayne crosses the Wabash River a couple of times. It came really close to this, but only missed by a couple of miles. The Wabash RR crossed the Wabash River in Wabash County, next to the City of Wabash. Wabash also had two lines across the state, but they did not cross like the subject C.I.&L. To derail it again: Indiana also has a Ver-SAILS. It's down by Kentucky, so it's possible they kept the mis-pronounciation with which they were familiar. The State Park nearby is another franco-anglicized word: Ouabache State Park. Twenty years ago it was Quabache State Rec Area. Obviously, there has been disagreement on what the Pottawatami called the river.
To get this thread back on track: MOE-non is a (franco)anglicized version of the Pottawatami word for "swift running." Not a bad nickname for a railroad.
Someone mentioned another possible Hoosier Line, the Wabby. The new line SW out of Fort Wayne crosses the Wabash River a couple of times. It came really close to this, but only missed by a couple of miles. The Wabash RR crossed the Wabash River in Wabash County, next to the City of Wabash. Wabash also had two lines across the state, but they did not cross like the subject C.I.&L.
To derail it again: Indiana also has a Ver-SAILS. It's down by Kentucky, so it's possible they kept the mis-pronounciation with which they were familiar.
The State Park nearby is another franco-anglicized word: Ouabache State Park. Twenty years ago it was Quabache State Rec Area. Obviously, there has been disagreement on what the Pottawatami called the river.
The Midwest has many French place names due to the heritage of French control prior to the treaty of Paris, 1763.
Many are mispronounced.
York1New Orleans
My old bosses, who were still mad about the Great Northern being "taken away" by the Burlington Northern, pronounced it BIN-siff
ORNHOODid you ever wonder where all the "R"s that are never prononced in New England go? Warshingdon!
No, they go to the Ninth Ward of New Orleans for the words "terlet" for "toilet" and "erl" for "oil".
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