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OP
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I don't recall that we have ever turned our attention to names which are pronounced in a strange fashion, or not as one would expect them to be from how they are written. (Of course, I could be wrong and we have been into this, given that I disappear from time to time and miss a good bit, especially since posts multiply faster than rabbits when you're not watching them, and I tend to whiffle thru them pretty fast when I have to catch up).
I suppose we have all heard of Cholmondely, pronounced Chumly; and Beauchamp, pronounced Beecham; and Grosvenor (Grove-ner). Surely we all have some to contribute. Here in Crabtown, we have two street names which always throw the furriners. Aliceanna Street is pronounced by the natives as Alice Ann (Street). Bentalou St. is Bent-low.
How about y'all? What gems lurk out there?
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Joined: Mar 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
This is embarrassing, but my own name has always confounded me a bit. (!) My parents spelled it Jacqulyn--no e after the u, like 99% of the other Jacque-lyns, -lines have. They pronounced it Jac-kwuh-lin, but it has always looked to me as though it ought to be Jackalyn. 
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Joined: Jun 2002
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
another oldie, but Worcester-wuster soory, no time to get out the IPA... 
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636 |
Kalamazoo has a street that always throws off the newcomers and it's the main drag north/south. Westnedge is pronounced Westnidge.
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
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One local favorite is Skaneateles. It got its fifteen minutes when the Clintons took a presidential vacation there. The NPR reporter, interviewing the mayor, asked how it was pronounced. The mayor responded with a carefully enunciated Skayn ee atlas and then, in normal speech later on, pronounced it the way it is really pronounced, Skinny Atlas.
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189 |
There's a town in New Jersey next to Plainfield where I grew up (Union County, Central Jersey) that has become legendary for mispronunciation, I've even seen jokes about it at the national level. Piscataway. It's an old Amerindian (Delaware) name...(pis-CAT-away). So why's that so difficult? I always loved saying it, has a nice rhythm and flow, simply mellifluous IMO. Then, of course, there were the intentional miscues like "piss-the-cat-away", and other variations.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156 |
I think this is technically a YART but I think things beyond a certain age shouldn't count as YARTs - no one can remember them and besides, there are usually enough new people who haven't discussed the subject!
My Newfoundland favourites are:
Baie D'Espoir: pronounced "Bay despair" (opposite of the true meaning, which is "Bay of Hope")
Pouch Cove: pronounced "Pooch Cove", like a small dog!
Quidi Vidi: we say "kiddie viddie" which is the usual pronunciation, although you do hear "Kw-eye-duh Veye-duh" from some folks
Argentia: it's "Ar-JEN-cha" and foreigners often try to pronounce the last syllable "tee-uh" instead.
LeMarchant Road: Newcomers often try to pronounce this with a French accent - pointless! Throw your French accents out the window when reading Newfoundland names! It's Luh-MAR-chent.
Others which people try to Frenchify (an easy mistake to make from the spellings) are Port-Aux-Basques and Baie Verte.
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 508
addict
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addict
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 508 |
Some Detroit-area street names that often throw non-natives: Gratiot - pronounced GRA-shit, not GRA-ti-ot Livernois - LI-ver-noy, not LI-ver-noiz Goethe - GO-thi (sorry, German-speakers) Schoenerr - SHAY-ner And of course di-TROYT, not DEE-troyt or day-TWAH I'm sure there are others, but they don't come to mind right now.
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Joined: Aug 2002
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2002
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I know this was on the Boston thread a while back but when we asked for directions of foreign student he had no idea where Massetchusets Avenue was but he did know Mass-av Street.
I shouldn't laugh, I grew up thinking that there were two similar girls names: Penelopy and Penelope (to rhyme with cantalope)
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Joined: Nov 2000
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veteran
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OP
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Nancy, your post reminded me of Legare Street in Charleston (SC), pronounced Legree (as in Simon).
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