We have fun with Native American names, as well as French names, around here. Nearby Chaumont is "sha MOE." Gananaoque (Ontario) is "gananockway.'
Spent a year in CA whilst in USAF, so names like La Jolla and Cabrillo don't throw me like they could.
I read once that in the movie "Steel Magnolias" the four protagonists each had a different accent. To a northerner such as myself, it's not all that significant, but to someone from the region, it's probably very noticable.
One of my aunts, who was born and raised here along with her brothers and sisters, had a bit of an accent - but her siblings didn't - but I'm not sure where from. Given that some of my forebears hailed from Connecticut (albeit several generations ago), it's possible that she got a touch of New England somehow. The family line (on that side) starts in England and Massachussetts, but that goes back into the 1700's.
Being right on the border with Canada, we hear the occasional "aboot" and "eh," but you don't hear it amongst the locals.
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...
CopCarSS Buzz. Try again!
Buzz. Try again!
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Lordy, how THANKFUL I am to be from the Wonderful ACCENT FREE Pacific Northwest. We do have some Native American Names/Words that can trip some people up. We also have a few French transplanted names, such as the Beautiful Pend Orielle Lake in the Northern Pan Handle of Idaho, any Non residents/French care to take a stab at Pend Orielle?
Never mind how 85% of the rest of the country BUTCHERS the pronounciation of my home state of Oregon, just a bit of advice if you visit our Beautiful State, DO NOT pronounce it with an audible E or worse yet "Y", it is NOT ORYGUN. Doing so near a dark alley may be detrimental to your Health and well being.
Doug
May your flanges always stay BETWEEN the rails
edblysard Now that’s funny, cause we think it be you’all that has the funny sounding accents…
Now that’s funny, cause we think it be you’all that has the funny sounding accents…
Amen, brother! One my bosses was a guy of Finnish ancestry from somewhere in the upper reaches of Min-e-SO-tuh, yah. I have a thick, grits-n-gravy SE GA drawl; it took us about six months for us to learn how to communicate, and even after a couple of years there were a few things we had to spell out for each other. For a year or so I had a telephone conversation with a very nice lady from Wis-KAHN-sun about once a week, who had a pretty thick accent, and we laughed about the differences in the way we talked. My wife once worked with a native of BAS-tun (Massachusetts), and I never did learn to understand what she was saying.
As a kid growing up I lived in Cental Ohio, Northeastern Indiana, Western Pennsylvania, Central Maryland, back to Northeastern Indiana, Northeastern Ohio, back to Western Pennsylvania and then to Southwestern Indiana. The one thing that was ALWAYS said everywhere, 'You're not from around here are you?' My speech picked up individual mannerisms from each of the locales.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
challenger3980 Lordy, how THANKFUL I am to be from the Wonderful ACCENT FREE Pacific Northwest. We do have some Native American Names/Words that can trip some people up. We also have a few French transplanted names, such as the Beautiful Pend Orielle Lake in the Northern Pan Handle of Idaho, any Non residents/French care to take a stab at Pend Orielle? Never mind how 85% of the rest of the country BUTCHERS the pronounciation of my home state of Oregon, just a bit of advice if you visit our Beautiful State, DO NOT pronounce it with an audible E or worse yet "Y", it is NOT ORYGUN. Doing so near a dark alley may be detrimental to your Health and well being. Doug
I'm from Michigan and it's pronounced Pond-O-ray.
Norm
In broadcasting there once was what was called the No Accent Midwest which we all strove for, even us from the New York City area. I got my first real professional radio announcing job as a weekend DJ, etc. in Auburn NY after being at Ithaca College almost two years. The day after my first day the News Director approached me with., "So you're from North Jersey..." He explained how my pronunciations were not from the City or LI or anyplace else in the Metropolitan area but North Jersey! I can go on about growing up in North Jersey, learning NYC pronunciations of Houston St. and the like, then moving to upstate NY then to Springfield, MA, then back to Binghamton, NY and having friendships all over the country bolstered by being a railroad enthusiast and learning the quirks and dialects and fun of pronouncing words and interpreting place names.
But what goes around comes around. About 10 years ago I walked into a prospective client and began speaking with her when I blurted out, "Where in North Jersey are you from?" Looking surprised she replied "Butler" and asked how did I know. I told her I was from Denville and she asked if I knew her uncle, a one time police officer, and I had to say I knew him well!
RIDEWITHMEHENRY is the name for our almost monthly day of riding trains and transit in either the NYCity or Philadelphia areas including all commuter lines, Amtrak, subways, light rail and trolleys, bus and ferries when warranted. No fees, just let us know you want to join the ride and pay your fares. Ask to be on our email list or find us on FB as RIDEWITHMEHENRY (all caps) to get descriptions of each outing.
I think it's Pend Oreille, isn't it? In french, the "ei" is pronounced "eye", and the "lle" would be silent, so Pohn dOhr-eye?
I have no idea whether N. CA is considered Pacific Northwest or not, but I was on my way to see the Keddie Wye when I stopped at Clio to visit the renowned Clio trestle. Upon relating my story to a local, I was told that it does not ryme with EEE-O like I thought, but rymes with EYE-O. I thought she had it wrong until I was corrected again by another person in another location. Then there's always the Kootenai River, pronounced koot-nay near Libby, MT.
A friend from Libby, MT always said that she'd drive the English teacher in school nuts when she made fun of Pend Orielle, pronouncing it Pend Oh Rielley rather than pond o ray as I've always heard.
Now there's where I live in Trieste, Italy. All, or almost all Americans would pronounce it Tree est, but it's pronounced here as Tree est eh. Then there's the Slavic name -- Trst. And ya, it's not a joke as it's on all of the highway signs as we're just 4-5 miles from Slovenia. A four letter word without any vowels at all. Pronounced Turst, ot Tirst, or Terst, or whatever. Then there's Bohinj,as in Bohinj tunnel, or where we had a VERY beautiful few days in Bohinjska Bela. Bohinj is pronounced bow heen.
If you take the train out of Sezana (say zanna) to Bled, try pronouncing the intermediate stops of Podbrdo or Kreplje. Oh well, I'll never get it right.
Murphy Siding FORT smith? . . . . Or, is that putting to much French accent into it?
FORT smith? . . . . Or, is that putting to much French accent into it?
Closer!
Believe it or not, the locals call it "Pea-EBB-low"
-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
BaltACD CShaveRR I've also found that the locals of a one-time headquarters city in the east always said "BAL-timmer". The "t" is always in it, but the less it's dwelt on, the better. Sorry! The locals pronounciation is Bawl-mer! Hon! Only 'outsiders' put a T in it. Now, down on the Eastern Shore, some locals there highlight the T ... Bal - T - more.
CShaveRR I've also found that the locals of a one-time headquarters city in the east always said "BAL-timmer". The "t" is always in it, but the less it's dwelt on, the better.
I've also found that the locals of a one-time headquarters city in the east always said "BAL-timmer". The "t" is always in it, but the less it's dwelt on, the better.
Sorry! The locals pronounciation is Bawl-mer! Hon! Only 'outsiders' put a T in it. Now, down on the Eastern Shore, some locals there highlight the T ... Bal - T - more.
Could it be that there are differences in pronunciation in different parts of the city? Many years ago someone from Baltimore said what sounded to me like Balt'more, but with a very weak "t".
In New Orleans, if you say "New Orlins", you are probably from midcity; "New Orle-uhns", from uptown; "N'Orlins" (with a sort of New York sound), from the Irish Channel area; "Nyawlins", from the ninth ward ("nint' wawd"). If you say "New Or-LEENS", you are from out of town.
_____________
"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
GN_Fan INow there's where I live in Trieste, Italy. All, or almost all Americans would pronounce it Tree est, but it's pronounced here as Tree est eh. Then there's the Slavic name -- Trst. And ya, it's not a joke as it's on all of the highway signs as we're just 4-5 miles from Slovenia. A four letter word without any vowels at all. Pronounced Turst, ot Tirst, or Terst, or whatever. Then there's Bohinj,as in Bohinj tunnel, or where we had a VERY beautiful few days in Bohinjska Bela. Bohinj is pronounced bow heen. If you take the train out of Sezana (say zanna) to Bled, try pronouncing the intermediate stops of Podbrdo or Kreplje. Oh well, I'll never get it right.
INow there's where I live in Trieste, Italy. All, or almost all Americans would pronounce it Tree est, but it's pronounced here as Tree est eh. Then there's the Slavic name -- Trst. And ya, it's not a joke as it's on all of the highway signs as we're just 4-5 miles from Slovenia. A four letter word without any vowels at all. Pronounced Turst, ot Tirst, or Terst, or whatever. Then there's Bohinj,as in Bohinj tunnel, or where we had a VERY beautiful few days in Bohinjska Bela. Bohinj is pronounced bow heen.
Polish place names are easy, you just pronounce them the way they look.
The Clio in Michigan is also pronounced "eye-oh."
A local habit here is to drop certain t's. Thus "Clay-ton" becomes "Clay-un."
Not an accent, but a pronuniciation thing is the Polynesian languages, where you basically pronounce all the letters, even doubles of the same letter. In Samoan, "thank you" is "faafetai," sometimes written "fa'afetai," and pronounced fa-a-fa-ta-i, albeit quickly and smoothly. Putting that little pause between the two a's takes some practice. Hawaiian is much the same.
Here's the one I think wins an "Emmy" for being difficult to pronounc, Natchitoches, LA on the UP (former T&P) Dallas - Shreveport - New Orleans line. Unless you're from cajun land you'd never guess it's pronounced Nack-Uh-Tish.
Mark
SALfan samfp1943 - Cairo, GA is also pronounced "KAY-ro". None of the kids fresh out of journalism school hired by the local Nitwitness (TV) News can get that thru their thick heads. Liked your phrase for Mississippi ("South of the Magnolia Curtain"). I'll have to remember that one - I try to collect and use vivid descriptive phrases. deggesty- In an earlier post I believe it was you who said the folks from NE North Carolina and SE Virginia had a very unique, almost Elizabethan pronunciation (my apologies to the actual author, if it wasn't you). Whomever said it, they were so right! I once worked with a guy from somewhere in the Tidewater, and he had a pretty good dose of the Old English in the way he pronounced words. In your post above, you make the point that there are many "Southern" accents. Right again! I grew up in SE GA, but my mother had family in SW GA, where they have an accent different enough that it can be easily distinguished from that of SE GA. Back in the days when Phil Gramm was a U.S. Representative from Texas, some reporter on TV made a comment about his "Texas drawl". Hogwash!! Nearly hurt myself laughing at that, because it is obvious to anyone with the right ear that he learned to talk in SW GA. I believe his father was in the Army, but I know Gramm's family was living near Columbus, GA when he was little. When my wife and I (she's a Tallahassee, FL native) lived in Arkansas, we were asked thousands of times "Are you from Texas?" We spoke different enough from the Arkansawyers that it was obvious.
samfp1943 -
Cairo, GA is also pronounced "KAY-ro". None of the kids fresh out of journalism school hired by the local Nitwitness (TV) News can get that thru their thick heads.
Liked your phrase for Mississippi ("South of the Magnolia Curtain"). I'll have to remember that one - I try to collect and use vivid descriptive phrases.
deggesty-
In an earlier post I believe it was you who said the folks from NE North Carolina and SE Virginia had a very unique, almost Elizabethan pronunciation (my apologies to the actual author, if it wasn't you). Whomever said it, they were so right! I once worked with a guy from somewhere in the Tidewater, and he had a pretty good dose of the Old English in the way he pronounced words.
In your post above, you make the point that there are many "Southern" accents. Right again! I grew up in SE GA, but my mother had family in SW GA, where they have an accent different enough that it can be easily distinguished from that of SE GA. Back in the days when Phil Gramm was a U.S. Representative from Texas, some reporter on TV made a comment about his "Texas drawl". Hogwash!! Nearly hurt myself laughing at that, because it is obvious to anyone with the right ear that he learned to talk in SW GA. I believe his father was in the Army, but I know Gramm's family was living near Columbus, GA when he was little. When my wife and I (she's a Tallahassee, FL native) lived in Arkansas, we were asked thousands of times "Are you from Texas?" We spoke different enough from the Arkansawyers that it was obvious.
And right you are SALFAN !
About the turn of this century, I was thrust into a move to HotLanta ( or for my aviation savvy friends ATL) Taking my Native tongue( born in Memphis,Tn.) to Georgia was a real experience. We did business in Albany, Georgia with a couple of shippers ( the locals pronounce it "ALL BENNY", and are pretty serious about THAT pronunciation, it took me a little while to find out it was not tow places. )
Do not ever think that all Americans speak the English language you grew up with. Out here in fly-over country the Kansans speak their own brand ( adding 'r's, subtracting other letters with abandonment in places most would not exppect We have a 'crick' behind our place; clothes go into the 'Warsh'.
Well! you get my drift!
In deference to the powers that be, Kalmbach is located in WawKEEshaw. It's ancestral home is Mwaukee, which is north of Ray-seen.
Yep, it is Oreille, not Orielle, another causuallty of typing while tired.
I have delivered to the region for about 15 years, vacationed on the lake and have friends from the Couer d' Alene area and have always heard the "O" prounounced as an "uh" never as an "O" by anyone who lived in the area. I have aways heard it as Pon da Ray, or Pon duh Ray. Listening to a local, one would never guess that there was an "O" just before the "Ray" in the name.
CopCarSS Murphy Siding FORT smith? . . . . Or, is that putting to much French accent into it? Closer! Believe it or not, the locals call it "Pea-EBB-low"
Well, PALM..er..stun...{Palmerston, ON) seems to have a local accent on PA'M...er...ston....Emphasis added on PAM...
I don't ask why...I just pronounce it the way they do....
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
If you think its bad getting an occasional location pronounced wrong try being an ailine pilot with passengers requesting where you are. Then you announce the places you are traveling over and sure enough at the destination someone will correct your diction. Boy is that humbling !!
blue streak 1 If you think its bad getting an occasional location pronounced wrong try being an ailine pilot with passengers requesting where you are. Then you announce the places you are traveling over and sure enough at the destination someone will correct your diction. Boy is that humbling !!
I thought that all airline pilots tried to affect a West Virginia accent a la Chuck Yeager.
When I was a kid my mom told me I was a human bean. She made me drink prume juice and eat my samwiches. My sister liked hard boiled aigs, but I was disappointed when my cold slaw as only cool. I couldn't figure out where the Volts Wagons plugged in either. It was nice to be a kid, even I couldn't pronounce things right.
When I was a kid in grammar school we would all stand, put our right hands over our hearts and say "I led the pigeons to the flag."
mudchicken ....and then squawk like a parrot (at least that is what I'm reminded of...)
....and then squawk like a parrot (at least that is what I'm reminded of...)
Should we ask them about "Saguache" next?
There are two cities on the Mississippi Gulf Coast that have names that are mysteries to the uninitiated: B'luxi (Biloxi) and Pass ChristiAN (Pass Christian). Again, my mother corrected my pronunciation early on.
Johnny
Tree should help us on the lake and town near Syracuse that I really butchered;
Skaneateles Lake ---
Skinny-at-a-less. But with the I in skinny leaning slightly toward an E, and more of a hint of the A between "at" and "less" than an actual syllable. "Skinny Atlas" isn't quite there...
One of those words it's easier to say to illustrate than to spell out...
A small town near Rochester, NY always sorts out those who know and those who don't.
Chili is pronounced with long I's - Ch[eye]-Lye.
It's not far from Irondequoit (Irondequoy).
tree68 Skinny-at-a-less. But with the I in skinny leaning slightly toward an E, and more of a hint of the A between "at" and "less" than an actual syllable. "Skinny Atlas" isn't quite there... One of those words it's easier to say to illustrate than to spell out... A small town near Rochester, NY always sorts out those who know and those who don't. Chili is pronounced with long I's - Ch[eye]-Lye. It's not far from Irondequoit (Irondequoy).
Hey, Larry {tree68}!
Is it true you went to being an Engineer so you would not have to call the station (Remsen,NY) on the ASR ?
( Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch )
My cousin's wife is from 'Skinny Atlas', and my wife's family was from McConnellsville [ Love our Hardin Cherry Table!], gotta love the Finger Lakes Region!
In Michigan you can cross the Mackinac Bridge over the Mackinac Straits, spotting Mackinac Island. But when you get to Mackinaw City you will be in the only place that spells it like it's pronounced.
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