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#31450 06/08/01 01:11 AM
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Picataqua

We had a town adjacent to Plainfield (where I grew up) in Central New Jersey called Piscataway , pronounced Pis--CAT--a-way. You can imagine the mispronunciations, both intentional and accidental, that folks inflicted on that. But I'm wondering, wow, if it has any relation to Picataqua since the pronunciations are so similar? The tribe in this area was the Leni Lenape (more properly pronounced "Len--EYE LEN-uh-pee" not the commonly heard "Lenny Le--NAP--ee"...though many variations) of the Delaware Nation. Was Picataqua a Mohegan name? And were the tribal languages closely related thoughout the Eastern tribes? And was this the case (or not) in other regions of North America as well?

And, by the way, there is a small hamlet just "offshore" (which, in South Jersey dialect means "on the mainland"
not "out to sea," especially among us barrier-islanders) from our barrier island called Rio Grande. After over 27 years of involvement in this area I'm just finding out that once the locals pronounced it RYE-o Grande . No one seems to know why, or why and when the change was made either. Both forms pronounce Grande as "Grand."


#31451 06/08/01 12:38 PM
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of troy Offline OP
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Thanks David-I didn't have a decent map-- and couldn't remeber how to spell the Piscataway in NJ-- I think NJ has some of the most interesting (and strange ) place name in any of the states-- (not the NY or CT or even Maine are lacking strange place names...)
Mahwah
Ho-Ho-Cus
Hoboken
Hackensack (A riot at the 7-11?)
Matawan
Lackawana
Parsipany

I grew up visiting reletives in NJ and these place name still sound strange.. and at time comical.


#31452 06/08/01 07:17 PM
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a gratuitous S
Thanks for the gentle hint on Piscataqua, AnnaS. I went back and corrected it!
Of course I paid no attention to Spellwrecker ... ouch!




#31453 06/08/01 07:33 PM
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Of course I paid no attention to Spellwrecker

Oh, yeah! Like Spellwrecker is going to recognize Piscataqua.

(For the Record, Ænigma suggests Piscataway for Piscataqua and picayune for Picataqua)


#31454 06/08/01 07:34 PM
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This reminds me of an election in Vermont several years ago. The Republican Party had put an imported, career politician up against Dem. Pat Leahy for the US Senate seat, so some local Vermonters convinced Fred Tuttle, a 70-some-year-old dairy farmer to run against this scalawag (carpetbagger?) in the Republican primary. In one of their debates Fred handed this guy (I'll remember his name sometime) a list of Vermont cities and towns and asked him to read it. The list included:

Charlotte (pron. shar-LOT)
Barre (BEAR-ry (kinda))
Berlin (BER-lin)
Vergennes (ver-JENZ)
and Randolph (RAN-doff, no L)

The guy flubbed 'em all and Fred won the primary. He lost to Leahy (but no one really had a chance against him). You still see "Spread Fred" bumper stickers around. Just goes to show you how important being local is to Vermonters.


#31455 06/11/01 12:00 PM
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Great story, Flatlander. Charlotte, Michigan, is also pronounced "shar-LOT," and its pronunciation is one of the local screening devices. Others are "Okemos" (OH-kuh-mus), "Aurelius" (Au-REE-lee-us), and Onondaga (On-un-DAY-gah).


#31456 06/11/01 12:13 PM
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of troy Offline OP
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Re: Onondaga (On-un-DAY-gah).

another one of the place name in Michigan that is also found in NY-- Until you pointed it out-- i had never noticed. not that i have spent much time in Michigan--a weekend in Kalamazoo some 30 years ago-- and several hours in "lay overs" at airports is about it.


#31457 06/15/01 01:51 AM
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Here's some more New Jersey names I was going to add for you, of troy, before my software crashed:

Rancocas; Manasquan; Musconetcong; Metedeconk; Mulhockaway; Hopatcong; Kittatinny (Mountains--yes, folks, there are actually mountains in the Northwestern section of New Jersey!...now called the Skylands: Get off the turnpike!!); Piccatinny. Many of these are rivers and lakes I know well (I'm a trout fisherman...yes, folks, there are actually trout in New Jersey!...Get off the turnpike!!)

On the other hand, "Who wants a house out in Hackensack/Is that all you get for your money?" --Billy Joel


#31458 06/15/01 12:46 PM
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of troy Offline OP
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Whitman will have you believe that Jersey is the "garden state"-- Ha--
we all know NJ has more superfund sites than California has lawyers!

actually he is right-- there are some beautiful parts of NJ, and mountains, and rivers, lakes and streams


#31459 06/15/01 02:48 PM
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And then there are the other sections of NJ, such as Secaucus, which you always knew you were transiting in former times from the stench arising from the pig farms of Farmer Henry Krajewski, perennial presidential candidate of the Communist Party. Both Krajewski and the pig farms are now gone, the latter paved over for the Meadowlands Complex, supposed to be the final resting place of Jimmy Hoffa (plus ça change ...)


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