samfp1943 I would think that someone from the Beautiful State of Washington, would want to make certain, and crystal clear, they were NOT from Washington, D.C.
I would think that someone from the Beautiful State of Washington, would want to make certain, and crystal clear, they were NOT from Washington, D.C.
We in NY state have the same problem with the "city." Say you're from New York and people automatically think you mean New York City. Most of us add "northern" or "upstate" to that, although to the city dwellers, upstate means Westchester County. I'll often also point out that I'm about 10 miles from the Canadian border, which really flumoxes people, as they apparently don't realize that NY borders Canada.
There used to be an active ferry at Toad Suck - as late as the 1970's, anyhow. Been there, although we didn't ride it.
That "tonic" thing runs right up through Maine, as I found out when visiting the ex's family some years ago.
I know "pop" is at least a midwestern thing - Faygo even sells a drink called "Red Pop." It's a strawberry concoction, IIRC. Not bad, but sweet!
I recall reading years ago about a fellow who had been challenged about the fact that most of us from the US only speak one language, while many Europeans are fluent in several. The fellow replied something to the effect that his Georga was excellent, his Brooklyn wasn't too bad, his "Valley" (California) was good enough to get by, and his Texas was actually pretty good.
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...
tree68 I recall reading years ago about a fellow who had been challenged about the fact that most of us from the US only speak one language, while many Europeans are fluent in several. The fellow replied something to the effect that his Georga was excellent, his Brooklyn wasn't too bad, his "Valley" (California) was good enough to get by, and his Texas was actually pretty good.
Tree: A ----- men brother.
Another thing that has bugged this old geezer for a number of years- when I was a kid our meal times were referred to as breakfast, dinner, and SUPPER. Now all the young folk say breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I always thought lunch was something you ate, such as vienna sausage and soda crackers or a baloney sandwich, while sitting on the tailgate of a pick-up truck taking a break from some laborious task. And which is correct- balogna or baloney? How do y'all pronounce vienna? And what do you wash it down with- pop, soda, soft drink, or something a little stronger?
I was raised in Westchester County ("upstate"). We would travel to "town", or "the city", meaning Manhattan only on NYC's Harlem Div., or the NYNH&H. No one went to the other boroughs! I went to college in Canton, NY (NYC's St. Lawrence Div.). That was called "The North Country", for good reason! Back in Westchester, we had problems. Was a sandwich, on Italian bread, a "Hero", "Sub(marine)", "Hoagie", "Grinder", or whatever? "Pop" and "Soda" were synonimous. "Tonic"? No way, unless it had gin in it! Yar! I got my North Carolina accent beat out of me in 1942, when we moved to NY. I can still pick up my NJ (DL&W), NC (SOU), NS (CNR), NY, VT (CVR - with a bit of Français), accents in about ten minutes of being back in the environment! Cool! Never could do Brooklyn, but my Bronx is passable. MA?: now way! ME? A'yup! Nort' Dakota?: I'm working on it. "Yooper" of MI: same as ON. No problem. TX: can do. Fun!
Hays
baberuth73Another thing that has bugged this old geezer for a number of years- when I was a kid our meal times were referred to as breakfast, dinner, and SUPPER.
To me, the "everyday" mid-day meal was (and is) lunch. As you say, sandwich, maybe some chips, and a cookie or some fruit to wrap it up. Today it was leftover chili and cornbread.
Dinner, on the other hand, is a meal. On Saturday we had "lunch". On Sunday, we had dinner - meat, mashed potatoes, veggie, pie for dessert, you get my drift. Dinner was usually a little later, too - early afternoon as opposed to noon for lunch.
I seem to recall that the evening meal was always "supper" for my family (except on Sunday, when it was more of a snack), although it often carried the same trappings as Sunday Dinner.
baberuth73How do y'all pronounce vienna?
Kinda like Versailles, KY. While the French version is "Vare-sigh," in KY, it's "Ver-Sales."
baberuth73 Another thing that has bugged this old geezer for a number of years- when I was a kid our meal times were referred to as breakfast, dinner, and SUPPER. Now all the young folk say breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I always thought lunch was something you ate, such as vienna sausage and soda crackers or a baloney sandwich, while sitting on the tailgate of a pick-up truck taking a break from some laborious task. And which is correct- balogna or baloney? How do y'all pronounce vienna? And what do you wash it down with- pop, soda, soft drink, or something a little stronger?
Johnny
The ButlerThe "soda" vs. "pop" is taken a step farther where I live. Here it is so-da vs. so-dee.I am, also, amused by "you" vs. "yous" vs. "y'all."Reading over what I just wrote, is it far-ther or fur-ther?
The "soda" vs. "pop" is taken a step farther where I live. Here it is so-da vs. so-dee.
I am, also, amused by "you" vs. "yous" vs. "y'all."
Reading over what I just wrote, is it far-ther or fur-ther?
I hope all y'all(The plural of Y'all which is singular) have a great National Train Day.
There's a town in Colorado between Denver and Boulder called Louisville that is pronounced like Lewis ville.
Which blows my mind, because Louis is so clearly french.
I have to disagree with 'Degessty'; Columbia, SC is DEFINITELY NOT Lowcountry! Lowcountry stops around Orangeburg. Columbia is kind of an accent all it's own. Probably the influence of the university.
And, yes, we DO need to 're-educate' all those TV broadcasters that are fresh out of j-school: they can't handle Gervais (GER-vay) or Huger (U-gee) (don't even get me started on Dessasaure), or the state tree (it's PAL-metto, not PALM-etto), and the state flower is Yellow JESSAMINE, not jasmine!
And it's LANCaster, and GREENvul.
/Lone
Remember: In South Carolina, North is southeast of Due West... HIOAg /Bill
YoHo1975The ButlerThe "soda" vs. "pop" is taken a step farther where I live. Here it is so-da vs. so-dee.I am, also, amused by "you" vs. "yous" vs. "y'all."Reading over what I just wrote, is it far-ther or fur-ther? I hope all y'all(The plural of Y'all which is singular) have a great National Train Day. There's a town in Colorado between Denver and Boulder called Louisville that is pronounced like Lewis ville.Which blows my mind, because Louis is so clearly french.
James
So, with centralized dispatching and all the regionalized dialects, can/does this cause crews and dispatchers to fail to understand each other?
Then of course there was the Lima (lie-ma) Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio. Wonder if they ever shipped any locomotives to Lima (lee-ma), Peru?
Sault Ste. Marie is also one that can throw a few people.
When writing Warren Buffett's name, don't forget to cross both "t"s. Here, in Montana, we have some problems with the DSs in Fort Worth, especially the really "southern" or Cajun ones. It is hard to get them to pronounce some locations, like Devon (DEE-vaughn) or Kevin (KEE-vin), but they come around. Devon being a breed of cattle and a town in England doesn't help. In the north country of New York, Madrid (MAH-drid), and Chaumont were two of the toughies, along with Lowville (home of the world's best cheddar cheese!). Google Lowville. People are adaptable, though. Don't even want to think about Québec, NewfoundLAND, Maine, or New Brunswick.
There is also Louisville (Lewisville), Mississippi. You may be familiar with the question, "How do you pronounce the name of the capital of Kentucky?" The answer, of course is not either "Louieville" or "Lewisville," but "Frankfort."
Columbia, S. C., is definitely below the Fall Line; Great Falls, on the Catawba (which becomes the Wateree), is on the Fall Line. Incidentally, Great Falls was one of the places considered for the location of the U. S. Military Academy.
A while back, on another thread, I more or less invited contributors to attempt to pronouce "Horry" correctly. I was told when I was between the sixth and seventh grades, by a resident of the county, that it is "OH REE."
Another error--some people think that the Mississippi Delta is in Louisiana, not knowing that it is in Mississippi. The Delta of the Mississippi is in Louisiana.
While we're on the subject or off topic, can anybody explain "Missour-ee" versus "Missour-uh" which has puzzled me since my ill-spent youth? As I recalled, it changed diagonally from North-East (Hannibal) to South-West (Springfield), though now, I can't remember which way it changed across the state.
Well I gave someone this problem and was not able to get answers . This comes from the town I now live.
1. Pronounce "Greenough St.
2. Now the hard one -- manhole. First one to get this will get a chauffeured railfan trip around Atlanta. 48 Hrs starts now.
ChuckCobleighWhile we're on the subject or off topic, can anybody explain "Missour-ee" versus "Missour-uh" which has puzzled me since my ill-spent youth? As I recalled, it changed diagonally from North-East (Hannibal) to South-West (Springfield), though now, I can't remember which way it changed across the state.
My mom and stepdad moved there (Sedalia area). They pronounce it "Misery".
The older relatives we had down in that state always said "Missour-uh".
Mike WSOR engineer | HO scale since 1988 | Visit our club www.WCGandyDancers.com
Growing up in Chicago it was always Misery, but that wasn't so much an accent thing as a We're better than Missouri thing.
blue streak 1 Well I gave someone this problem and was not able to get answers . This comes from the town I now live. 1. Pronounce "Greenough St. 2. Now the hard one -- manhole. First one to get this will get a chauffeured railfan trip around Atlanta. 48 Hrs starts now.
Let me take a shot at #1 gree no (?) & #2 man' ole (?) Try North Mississippi > Nor miss' sippi
And while I'm think about it New Madrid, Missouri > NEW MAD rid, Miz' ery
Driving across Mo. was always a chore, cause the cops were always in a state of Miz' rey. That would give me a headache to enjoy in the state of IL' A NOISE! made you look forward to peace in In' di' yana, so you could rest in O Hi yo, so you could run across Pencil vain ya, and race across Jersi into Da CITY!
Whadda Country ! !
chad thomas While were on the subject of pronounciation, Does anyone know the proper way to pronounce Cadiz (as in Cadiz, Ca. on the BNSF transcon)? Someone I know that lived there says it's like katy's, but I never heard that. hopefully someone here knows.
While were on the subject of pronounciation, Does anyone know the proper way to pronounce Cadiz (as in Cadiz, Ca. on the BNSF transcon)? Someone I know that lived there says it's like katy's, but I never heard that. hopefully someone here knows.
In San Bernardino County, California "KAY-tease" is accepted pronunciation.
For years I pronounced that famous stretch of southern California railroad "Tey-yah-COPie" instead of "tuh-HATCH-uh-pee." It wasn't until I lived in nearby Barstow, California, during the last half of 1971, that I finally learned the correct pronunciation of Tehachapi.
In the summer of 1973 I met an old head railroad station agent who worked in the "Lead Belt" region of east central Missouri. "PEW (slight pause) RHINE-uh" is what he called those famous grain processors (Ralston-Purina) headquatered at "Checkerboard Square," Saint Louis. To this day, except in the company of business colleagues, I prefer his corrupted pronunciation.
Between the Twin Cities and Aberdeen, SD, The Milwaukee Road had a crew change point at Montevideo, Minn. For years I pronounced it like the capital city of Uruguay, "Mon-tee-fih-DEO-oh." Wrong oh! In the Land of 10,000 Lakes it's pronounced "Mon-tee-vid-E-oh," like "Monty Video."
The old-head Rio Grande guys I know call the first crew-change point south of Denver "PEE-eb-low" instead of "Poo-EB-low." When they refer to "GEE-JAY" (Grand Junction, Colo.) and "PEE-burg" (Phippsburg, Colo.) at least I know what they mean and where those places are on a map.
And last but not least, Chicago has its "MON-trose Avahnoo" but the end of the Rio Grande Railroad branchline is at "Mont Rose," Colorado.
OREGON? It's the only state which comes to mind that has - get this now - two and a half syllables. "ORE-uh+gun," where the "uh" smoothly rolls into the "gun," is how I've heard the Willamette Valley natives pronounce it.
WARSHINGTEN? Isn't that a mid-Atlantic states pronunciation?
MISSOUR-EE vs. MISSOUR-AH? The latter pronunciation, folks have told me, is found north of the Missouri River.
VIENNA? There's Vee-EN-nah, Austria and Vee-EN-nah Sausage; but the town in southern Illinois is pronounced VY-enna.
THOSE vs. THEM?
Yardmaster: "Where'd you put those cars?"
Switchman: "Huh?"
Yardmaster: "I said, 'Where did you put those cars?'"
Switchman: "What?"
Yardmaster: "Whered'ja put THEM cars?"
Switchman: "Oh, they're over in South Six."
Within some quarters of the railroad industry, proper grammatical usage is not always an effective means of communication - at least not orally.
Ca jun or Cahon: I went over the line some 66 years ago...before I was a year old...I'm told. So my only impression is from pictures I've seen. Defnitely you cannot say "cage in" in wide open territory like that! Cahon is more like it: pronouncing the word aloud and losing it in the wind.
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Am disappointed no one guessed
samfp 1943 came close on the first. Greenough is pronounce green - o long O.
2. Manhole: well its a "man - hed" long e like Heddy Lamar the actress not head. I know don't ask me why. It is spelled correctly here.
As I recall, Richard Steinheimer's photo essay on Cajon Pass in a 1970's issue of Trains magazine had the correct pronounciation, as well as a comment on the origin/ derivation of it based on the 'box canyon' nature of the terrain there. See -
Cajon Pass revisited Trains, September 1974 page 20 guide to Cajon Pass ( ATSF, CALIFORNIA, PASS, SP, "STEINHEIMER, RICHARD", UP, TRN )
- Paul North.
Head on up to Sinai, S.D. That's sigh-NE-eye ( )
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
WSOR 3801 ChuckCobleigh While we're on the subject or off topic, can anybody explain "Missour-ee" versus "Missour-uh" which has puzzled me since my ill-spent youth? As I recalled, it changed diagonally from North-East (Hannibal) to South-West (Springfield), though now, I can't remember which way it changed across the state. My mom and stepdad moved there (Sedalia area). They pronounce it "Misery". The older relatives we had down in that state always said "Missour-uh".
ChuckCobleigh While we're on the subject or off topic, can anybody explain "Missour-ee" versus "Missour-uh" which has puzzled me since my ill-spent youth? As I recalled, it changed diagonally from North-East (Hannibal) to South-West (Springfield), though now, I can't remember which way it changed across the state.
Anyone who spent time in the Army would always refer to Fort Lost in the Woods, Misery. Otherwise known as Fort Leonard Wood.
Greenwhich, CT is Grenitch and Greenwhich NY is Greenwitch. It is Am Herst NY but Amerst MA. The list of prounciations and variations is endless...like is it LYmah O or LEEma O? And do you know how many ways there are to pronounce NEWARK?
blue streak 1Greenough is pronounce green - o long O.
I live on Vallejo Drive. Vallejo is a common old California name pronounced "vah-YAY-ho" with the "V" barely voiced. Boy do Eastern contacts butcher it! Most amusing is "Valley Joe".
Jack
tree68We have some pronunciation headaches around here - both from the French and the native American place names - Chaumont (sha MOE) and Gananoque (gan an AH quay) are two often massacred by "furriners."
In the early stages of our relationship, Sue and I had a discussion of place names. I did pretty well with NY names, including "Schuyler" (which surprised her). She didn't get "Saguache," though. ;-)
And when I was in Vancouver, I was happy to find out that I was indeed pronouncing Dale's home correctly.
The only place I've ever been screwed up is the two states that I've called home. Only in Illinois would "Cairo" be KAY-row and only in Colorado would "Pueblo" be pea-EBB-low. The latter isn't very, very common, but I've heard it more than once.
-ChrisWest Chicago, ILChristopher May Fine Art Photography"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." ~Ansel Adams
St. Francois, Missouri. Saint Fran-sis, Miz-er-ah.
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