Mispronunciations

Add Lima Locomotive Works, located in Lima, Ohio, i.e. NOT "Lima, Peru"! 

How about "gon-dough-la" vs. "gondulah?"

The grammar police are at it again. Unfortunately, I am one of them...

MELGAR

Reading Railroad?  John

Monon.

Not long after the breakup up of Conrail; I can recollect a conversation with a former NS account manager who referred to the “Juanita” shops in Altoona.  Of course; it’s spelled Juniata and pronounced “joo-nee-atta.

In a similar vein and relevant to this topic only because it involved a railroad man; I had several Canadian Pacific people in Carlsbad, NM for a potash mine visit.  While having dinner that evening; the waitress asked if we wanted dessert.  One of the guys from Montreal said he’d like a piece of (and I’m spelling this phonetically) - peecan pie.  The waitress looked at him and said “huh”?  He repeated “a piece of peecan pie please”.  She said “hold on” and came back with two other waitresses; asking him to repeat his order for their benefit.  When he did; all three started laughing and our waitress told him “hon; around here it’s pronounced (again phoenetically) - peekahn.”

Curt

Try "Ouachita" (Mountains)

Andre

Just be nice guys...already have had an alert....

Alan; you’re kidding I hope.

Curt

juniata guy posted:

Alan; you’re kidding I hope.

Curt

I agree! What could possibly have been offensive in the few posts above?

OGR CEO-PUBLISHER posted:

Just be nice guys...already have had an alert....

Really, some people need to give it a rest and you can report me if your that vain.

How about Worcester Mass.   Is it WOR-Cester or is it WO-R-cester.  Only us who live in mass know for sure and the end of the line on the old B&A now CSX.

MELGAR posted:

The grammar police are at it again. Unfortunately, I am one of them...

MELGAR

Well, in my opinion, this thread is really not about "grammar". Note that the title is about proper pronunciation.

An "alert"??  What I see posted is very innocuous.

Surely someone hit the "Alert" button by mistake.

Andre

Hot Water posted:

Add Lima Locomotive Works, located in Lima, Ohio, i.e. NOT "Lima, Peru"! 

You mean as in the bean!

" Berkshire Mountains"

Only you Americans would forget that it's pronounced "Barkshire." . As in a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square.  We English toffs can always find something to feel Lake Superior about.

Some people study linguistics at the graduate level.  Funded studies provide expenses for students to travel parts of the US of A with a list of words and a voice recorder.  People from various parts of the US are asked to read aloud the words on the list in what could be referred to as their native colloquialism.  Those audio tapes are then reviewed at the end of the semester.  John in Lansing, ILL

Sometimes it depends on your local dialect as well. Here in Northern Illinois we used to have a horse farm / park called ShIreland.

We also add the letter "S" to every grocery store even if it doesn't have an "S". I'm going down to the Jewels to pick up some grocery.

Just don't pronounce the "S" in our state name.

The Soo Line = comes from the phonetic spelling of Sault, as in Sault St. Marie.

Gary, I pronounce Worcester "WOO-ster" like boogie.  Andre, I have always said "WASH-i-ta".  Are those correct?

Railroaders on the D&RGW used a long I in Rio Grande: RY-oh-Grand.  Never pronounce the silent e in Grande.  Here are a few other local pronunciations for railroad locations:

Dalies, NM  =  Dal-EEZ     Waynoka, OK  =  Wye-NO-kuh or One-OH-kuh       Gallup, NM  =  Gallop (like a horse's gait)

RoyBoy posted:

Monon.

I'll not sit here and be called a Monon! Where's the uh-lurt button???

So, how does one say Monon?

superwarp1 posted:

How about Worcester Mass.   Is it WOR-Cester or is it WO-R-cester.  Only us who live in mass know for sure and the end of the line on the old B&A now CSX.

Huh. I thought it was something along the lines of WUH-stuh? Anyway, that's how I remember my college roommate saying it. Unless he was talking about some totally different place? I kid from Mizzuruh can have trouble with some of these things!

Tom:

Quite good!

"WASH uh taw" is the local pronunciation. I live in the Quachita Mountain region... in the town of (are you ready for another one?): Poteau.

Worcester:

Way back in my dark ages (when my hair was dark... yup, I had hair once) I was driving a truck headed for Armpit, MA or someplace. Was wondering how far I had to go, so while at a truck stop on on the western edge of MA I asked a local how far it was to "Wore ces ter". The guy looked at me funny... asking... "Where??". I pronounced it again "WORE CES TER". He explained there WASN'T such a place. I countered there was... so I produced my map Atlas and pointed to the place.

He burst out laughing at my hillbilly dialect and said "Oh! You mean WUSter!"... well WUSter is only about another (how ever many miles)!"

Guess I gave him a good laugh.

Andre

nickaix posted:

superwarp1 posted:

How about Worcester Mass.   Is it WOR-Cester or is it WO-R-cester.  Only us who live in mass know for sure and the end of the line on the old B&A now CSX.

Huh. I thought it was something along the lines of WUH-stuh? Anyway, that's how I remember my college roommate saying it. Unless he was talking about some totally different place? I kid from Mizzuruh can have trouble with some of these things!

Nickaix, you're correct. If you lack a Boston accent, as I fortunately do, then WUH-stir is allowable.

To Melgar's comment, grammar does not equal pronunciation and/or dialect.

And to Alan's comment, surely you're joking.

The once great Bill Cosby had a good bit comparing Europeans' ability to speak multiple languages vs. Americans'. "I speak Mississippi."

juniata guy posted:

Alan; you’re kidding I hope.

Curt

nope...for real....

OGR CEO-PUBLISHER posted:

nope...for real....

Uh, Alan, AP style calls for a space before and after the ellipsis (space period period period space), therefore:
"nope ... for real ..."

(FWIW, the Chicago Manual of Style calls for: space period space period space period space, therefore: "nope . . . for real . . ." Since you're in the publishing world, I assume that you use AP style.)

:-)

Back to the original topic. Tripoli Road in northern New Hampshire is pronounced "triple-eye," because it is named after the mineral Tripoli—again, triple-eye—which is also known as diatomaceous earth. If you follow that link you will see that the Livermore Tripoli Company was service by the Woodstock and Thornton Gore RR.

Matt_GNo27 posted:

OGR CEO-PUBLISHER posted:

nope...for real....

Uh, Alan, AP style calls for a space before and after the ellipsis (space period period period space), therefore:
"nope ... for real ..."

(FWIW, the Chicago Manual of Style calls for: space period space period space period space, therefore: "nope . . . for real . . ." Since you're in the publishing world, I assume that you use AP style.)

:-)

We use "FREE Style" GHEEEZZZZ. 

As a kid, I lived in the town of Hockessin Delaware that was a stop on the old Wilmington and Western RR. The locals called it Ho-ckess-in, but you could tell an outlander when they called it Hock-ess-in. Nobody ever figured out what the name meant.

Worshington DC.

Well, if you've studied languages and traveled, and want to find a restroom, a hotel, or restaurant, where the language or even accent is different you hope you are intelligible, and are disposed to be polite to visitors in your home area.  I remember stopping for gas in the early 1960's in Vicksburg, Miss. , and could not understand a word the pump jockey

And in Mass don't forget Peabody and Woburn.

said.  I missed my stop at that English town that made the news for the Russian poisoning (the closest railstop for Stonehenge) because the Cockney accent of the conductor might as well have been Swahili.  (I have also heard Stonehenge argued as ponounced "stone HEDGE") Those local yokel waitresses should have been politer to Canadian guests in our country.  Although l got rude treatment at a Quebec visitor center back in the "French power" era.

What's the correct pronunciation for the Monongahela Railroad?

How did JFK get Cuber out of Cuba?  John in Lansing, ILL

Tom:

i went to college in “Picksburg” as some of the locals called it so I’ll try to give you Monongahela phonetically.

Muh-non-ga-haaluh 

Curt

Long Island Rail Road stops can be butchered too!  Shinnecock Hills...Massapequa... Islip (pronounced I-slip).  I heard someone in Penn station ask for the train to Ron Kon coma once!

Jon

rattler21 posted:

How did JFK get Cuber out of Cuba?  John in Lansing, ILL

Rattler:

I’ve been on Delta flights where the captain referred to Atlanta as Atlanter.

But; my favorite Atlanta pronunciation - and this has to be spoken with a heavy Southern accent - is AH-lan-uh.

Curt

One mangled pronunciation is Gratiot, as in the street in Detroit, or the (now torn down) interlocking tower in St. Louis, MO. Very often you hear people unfamiliar with the name pronouncing it Gra-tI-ott, with an extra syllable, but it is properly pronounced Grash-it.

Jeff C

Non train, midwestern that I noticed lately: tour = too wer 

One of my personal favorite accents are the C&NW guys from, say Cheboygan,  talking about their "railroad brudders  from udder railroads".  I'm not making fun of them...I really like that.  If they could hear me, they would probably  chuckle right back.

juniata guy posted:

Tom:

i went to college in “Picksburg” as some of the locals called it so I’ll try to give you Monongahela phonetically.

Muh-non-ga-haaluh 

Curt

Muh-non-ga-hay-luh    which meets the Ohio and Yock-uh-gainey rivers at Picksburg.   Where you can get a bottle of pop, tie things up with gum bands and one time they painted up the jolly trolley in purty kellers.    And when you spill pop in the Frigidaire  you wipe it up with towel papers. 

There is Bogota, NJ ( bo-gota)  sandwich between the NYC West Shore line and Susquehanna RR. Not to be confused with Bogota Columbia ( bo-go-ta)

Binghamton ( bing-ham-ton) NY (NO"P") 

Dusquene ( Dyoo-KANE)

Too few people understand that the sounds come first and the spelling--often imperfectly--comes afterwards.  For one thing, there are 40 or 42 discrete phonemes in the English Language, but there are only 26 letters in the alphabet (and 3 of them are more-or-less useless).  For another, pronunciation changes as the years pass, but spellings tend to fossilize.  Finally, the vocabulary of Modern English stems from a large variety of languages, many of whom have entirely different phonetic/phonemic patterns.  And the icing on the cake is that different dialects of English change in different ways at different times (though modern broadcast media are leveling the process somewhat).

Well let us not forget these: 

Bucyrus... built in Bucyrus Ohio...

And the Cuyahoga RR

And Schenectady NY...

Worcester Massachusetts: 

Kissimmee, Florida:

And let us not even talk about Towns and cities in Hawaii !

superwarp1 posted:

OGR CEO-PUBLISHER posted:

Just be nice guys...already have had an alert....

Really, some people need to give it a rest and you can report me if your that vain.

How about Worcester Mass.   Is it WOR-Cester or is it WO-R-cester.  Only us who live in mass know for sure and the end of the line on the old B&A now CSX.

I always thought it was: 

Paak da ca  in Wooosta, 

Take da train ta Havad Yad.

J Daddy posted:

Well let us not forget these: 

Bucyrus... built in Bucyrus Ohio...

And the Cuyahoga RR

And Schenectady NY...

 

Worcester Massachusetts: 

Kissimmee, Florida:

 

And let us not even talk about Towns and cities in Hawaii !

 

I am sorry JDaddy, but your post is not helping me to correctly pronounce the words correctly.

Number 90 posted:

What's the correct pronunciation for the Monongahela Railroad?

In Monongalia County you will find the Monongahela River that passes between Morgantown & Westover, West Virginia.

As stated above Monongahela is pronounced Muh-non-ga-hay'-luh.  Monongalia would be pronounced like Muh-non-ga'-le-a.  I live in western Pa., so I have a bunch of words that are messed up.

D.

rattler21 posted:

How did JFK get Cuber out of Cuba?  John in Lansing, ILL

The same way NBCSN's Leigh Diffey got Chiner out of China and NFL announcers get Jagwires out of Jaguar!

It's Newark (New- work) NJ but

Newark ( New-Ark) DE.

Can't believe this one has not come up yet: how is Norfolk and Southern pronounced?  

If somebody tries to spell Norfolk phonetically, we'll have ANOTHER alert!

Dieselbob posted:

If somebody tries to spell Norfolk phonetically, we'll have ANOTHER alert!

Now THAT is funny.

Juniata Guy:

Having been a Delta pilot for 39 years, our home base was simply called "Lana", unless you your physically there in town. Then you were "At-Lana".

Hartman posted:

Number 90 posted:

What's the correct pronunciation for the Monongahela Railroad?

In Monongalia County you will find the Monongahela River that passes between Morgantown & Westover, West Virginia.

As stated above Monongahela is pronounced Muh-non-ga-hay'-luh.  Monongalia would be pronounced like Muh-non-ga'-le-a.  I live in western Pa., so I have a bunch of words that are messed up.

D.

what're yinz talkin abaat?

hokie71 posted:

Can't believe this one has not come up yet: how is Norfolk and Southern pronounced?  

(Of course you know that there is actually no "and".)  I keep hearing it pronounced Nor-fork-n-Southern by my fellow Texan railroaders, including many who have a lot of education.

In Virginia, they surely pronounce it differently.

Number 90 posted:

(Of course you know that there is actually no "and".)

There used to be: History of the Norfolk & Southern

"Owners of the EC&N soon formed plans to extend the line southward. They changed the name of the company to Norfolk Southern Railroad Company on February 1st, 1883 to indicate this. The company entered receivership in 1889 and emerged as the Norfolk and Southern Railroad Company in 1891. At the same time, the Ablemarle and Pantego Railroad became part of the new company. That railroad ran from Mackey's Ferry, NC (now known as Mackeys) through Pantego to Belhaven, NC. It also operated a ferry service from Mackey's Ferry across Albemarle Sound to Edenton, where it connected with the N&S."

Lawn Guylynn.

Lawn doesn't end with a g and  Guylynn doesn't end with a d

rat

smd4 posted:

Number 90 posted:

(Of course you know that there is actually no "and".)

There used to be: History of the Norfolk & Southern

"Owners of the EC&N soon formed plans to extend the line southward. They changed the name of the company to Norfolk Southern Railroad Company on February 1st, 1883 to indicate this. The company entered receivership in 1889 and emerged as the Norfolk and Southern Railroad Company in 1891. At the same time, the Ablemarle and Pantego Railroad became part of the new company. That railroad ran from Mackey's Ferry, NC (now known as Mackeys) through Pantego to Belhaven, NC. It also operated a ferry service from Mackey's Ferry across Albemarle Sound to Edenton, where it connected with the N&S."

Yes, interesting history but, that doesn't have anything to do with the current Norfolk Southern, which was a result of the merger between the Norfolk And Western Rwy and the Southern Railway.

Try "Juniata"..have to use google to pronounce correctly

Everyone in MA knows Worcester is pronounced "Wistah".

Steam Crazy posted:

Everyone in MA knows Worcester is pronounced "Wistah".

Well... if that was aimed at my story you have two options:

1. Either the guy was wrong on his pronunciation.

OR

2. My memory ain't what it used to be.

Either way... you got a rough row to hoe!

Now what were we talking about?

Andre

willygee posted:

Try "Juniata"..have to use google to pronounce correctly

Had an Aunt & Uncle who lived in Holidaysburg, PA, just down the road from Altoona and on the Juniata River. The Juniata  that I always heard was Jun-e- at-ah

Hot Water posted:

smd4 posted:

Number 90 posted:

(Of course you know that there is actually no "and".)

There used to be: History of the Norfolk & Southern

"Owners of the EC&N soon formed plans to extend the line southward. They changed the name of the company to Norfolk Southern Railroad Company on February 1st, 1883 to indicate this. The company entered receivership in 1889 and emerged as the Norfolk and Southern Railroad Company in 1891. At the same time, the Ablemarle and Pantego Railroad became part of the new company. That railroad ran from Mackey's Ferry, NC (now known as Mackeys) through Pantego to Belhaven, NC. It also operated a ferry service from Mackey's Ferry across Albemarle Sound to Edenton, where it connected with the N&S."

Yes, interesting history but, that doesn't have anything to do with the current Norfolk Southern, which was a result of the merger between the Norfolk And Western Rwy and the Southern Railway.

I never said it did.

ratpak posted:

 

Lawn Guylynn.

Lawn doesn't end with a g and  Guylynn doesn't end with a d

 

rat

 

 

Wonder how many realize you're quoting Brooklynese for Long Island?

PRR is pronounced Pea Are Are, or by pirates, Pee Arrrr Arrrr.

ratpak posted:

 

Lawn Guylynn.

 

 

 

I thought it was one word, Lonkilin (Lonk-I-Lin). (I was born in Queens).

dkdkrd posted:

Richie C. posted:

And in Mass don't forget Peabody and Woburn.

Yepper.....and my Brother-in-Law is from Athol, Mass.!   

He has a lot of fun with that among his friends down in Foriduh ...where "Venice" (home) is, thankfully, pronounced consistently well....even by Canadians and Canadiens.

Actually, I was born in Athol about  - #$^())dh(*^$# - years ago (well, in the early '50's) and we moved out when I was 12.

Small world - was your B-I-L born there ?

willygee posted:

Try "Juniata"..have to use google to pronounce correctly

Juniata?  C’mon; how hard can that be?  😉

Curt

Up until my 30's I thought Juniata was pronounced "Wuu nee ta

J Daddy posted:

Well let us not forget these: 

Bucyrus... built in Bucyrus Ohio...

And the Cuyahoga RR

And Schenectady NY...

 

 

Worcester Massachusetts: 

Kissimmee, Florida:

 

And let us not even talk about Towns and cities in Hawaii !

 

Times up !

1) Bew Ci Rus  Ohio

2) KY- ya -HOH - ga    Ohio

3) SKa Neck ta ti  New York

4)  Wuu - ster Massachusetts

5) Kas sim mee  Florida

Gautier,Mississippi

Pronounced  -  Go  Shay

Living in a major metropolitan broadcasting area, what can be even more surprising is sometimes hearing tv and radio personalities who are obviously transplants to the area, mispronouncing some of our local rail lines commuter stops. As professionals, it's hard to believe they wouldn't check such pronounciations beforehand since they're most likely aware that not all names can be pronounced phonetically, especially since here in S.E. Pennsylvania, many are names derived from various American Indian tribes who populated the area. At times, even the voices in GPS units mispronounce some street names and towns.

juniata guy posted:

willygee posted:

Try "Juniata"..have to use google to pronounce correctly

Juniata?  C’mon; how hard can that be?  😉

Curt

Living in so cal for ten years..well the "J" goes silent

I live near Rolla, MO:  that's Rah-Luh, thankyouverymuch ;-)

It is actually named after Raleigh, NC, which, when some of the original settlers in this area departed there to come here, was pronounced the same way, inherited from the English (as in England English) pronunciation.  But they warnt gud spellerz.

Reminds me about the story of an Italian immigrant who arrived in Norfolk Virginia and asked "why".  

Nobody mentioned Arkansas - river and state spelled the same; pronounced differently.

willygee posted:

juniata guy posted:

willygee posted:

Try "Juniata"..have to use google to pronounce correctly

Juniata?  C’mon; how hard can that be?  😉

Curt

Living in so cal for ten years..well the "J" goes silent

As in El Cajon.  John

prrhorseshoecurve posted:

It's Newark (New- work) NJ but

Newark ( New-Ark) DE.

The helpful, but fast talking men at Liberty station asked is if we needed tickets to Newark or New York?

Yeah, we botched that one...

Andre, maybe I was wrong about Worcester.  It could be "Wister" instead of "Wistah".  As a lifelong Central MA resident, I can tell you for sure Worcester ain't pronounced "Wuuster",  "Wooster" or "Worchester" (at least, in "these parts").

Here's another brain teaser for you Forum members.  How do you pronounce the name of the town immediately West of Worcester, Leicester?

John

willygee posted:

Try "Juniata"..have to use google to pronounce correctly

I think it's pronounced like Deputy Barney Fife's squeeze up at the diner …. Juanita.

Steam Crazy posted:

Here's another brain teaser for you Forum members.  How do you pronounce the name of the town immediately West of Worcester, Leicester?

John

 Lester  

No sense in worrying about any of it! The millennials  will soon have it all translated into Texteez! OMG! LOL!

Simon

Big Jim posted:

rattler21 posted:

How did JFK get Cuber out of Cuba?  John in Lansing, ILL

The same way NBCSN's Leigh Diffey got Chiner out of China and NFL announcers get Jagwires out of Jaguar!

I watch a lot of BBC and note that the Brits pronounce Jaguar like "JAG-you-are". Common American pronunciation seems to be "JAG-wahr"

sxe60 posted:

ratpak posted:

 

Lawn Guylynn.

Lawn doesn't end with a g and  Guylynn doesn't end with a d

 

rat

 

 

Wonder how many realize you're quoting Brooklynese for Long Island?

Most New Yorkers (myself included, if I don't make a conscious effort to clearly enunciate my words) drop terminal consonants all together. Thus you get "a glass a watah" or a "hamburgah".  

The most common pronunciation I ever heard is all run together as in  "lawngilynn", but with the "g" in the middle barely sounded out.

In my experience, "LawnGuylynnD" was almost exclusively used by my Jewish friends and neighbors. They tended to emphasize all consonants when speaking. Note that the terminal D is also stressed.

KOOLjock1 posted:

When trains traverse varying regions, the pronunciations vary too.  How many ways are there to say "Kanawha"?  Only one.  But you almost have to be from there to know.  

Here in New England we have the Berkshire Mountains.  People from other parts of the country say "Berk-ShIre"... like Hobbits live there.  But it's pronounced: "BERKshear"  or "BERKshur".  NEVER "Berk-ShIre".

There's a railroad in the Midwest that was called the Pere Marquette.  I recently heard it called the Pierre Marquette!  WHAT?!

Pere Marquette was named for the French Jesuit missionary "Father Jacques Marquette".  There's no "Pierre" in there.  Anywhere.

"Pere" is pronounced like the fruit: "pear".

Jon  

I love the Notch 6 Podcast but he is guilty of this in almost every episode.  It drives me crazy. 

Nick Chillianis posted:

Big Jim posted:

rattler21 posted:

How did JFK get Cuber out of Cuba?  John in Lansing, ILL

The same way NBCSN's Leigh Diffey got Chiner out of China and NFL announcers get Jagwires out of Jaguar!

I watch a lot of BBC and note that the Brits pronounce Jaguar like "JAG-you-are". Common American pronunciation seems to be "JAG-wahr"

Brian Redman will say Jag-you-wahr, 95% of US sports announcers say Jag-wire. The Brits and Aussies seem to put the "r" on words ending in "a".

As for Juniata, my friend that lived there pronounced it Joo-nee-at-ah.

A good reason why locations and directions were/are spelled out when train orders were given out over the radio.  Plus the one receiving the orders have to repeat the order back to make sure the crew got it right.  Guess the DS and tower ops did the same using CW and telephone.

That's because Juniata is based off of an American Indian name and not a Latin based name... no silent J

Jag - that's the way we say it here in the motor city... non of the   jag - u - lar or shag - wire  stuff

Yeah Pierre is a buddy of mine but not the railroad that came through Plymouth Michigan when I was a kid...

Farmer Bill, you're the first to pronounce Leicester properly!  It is "Lester".

John

Steam Crazy posted:

Farmer Bill, you're the first to pronounce Leicester properly!  It is "Lester".

John

Good to know. I would have pronounced it "Lie-chester."

juniata guy posted:

Not long after the breakup up of Conrail; I can recollect a conversation with a former NS account manager who referred to the “Juanita” shops in Altoona.  Of course; it’s spelled Juniata and pronounced “joo-nee-atta.

In a similar vein and relevant to this topic only because it involved a railroad man; I had several Canadian Pacific people in Carlsbad, NM for a potash mine visit.  While having dinner that evening; the waitress asked if we wanted dessert.  One of the guys from Montreal said he’d like a piece of (and I’m spelling this phonetically) - peecan pie.  The waitress looked at him and said “huh”?  He repeated “a piece of peecan pie please”.  She said “hold on” and came back with two other waitresses; asking him to repeat his order for their benefit.  When he did; all three started laughing and our waitress told him “hon; around here it’s pronounced (again phoenetically) - peekahn.”

Curt

Southerners haven't come to a consensus about pecan pie depending on where you are from. The further south, it is peecan, closer to VA, it becomes peekahn. North Carolina, where I live, is split. I call it peecan, as they do in the east, but the piedmont and west prefer peekahn. Drives my wife crazy when I keep pronouncing it my way.

Another interesting NC town - Bahama, outside Durham. It is pronounced ba hame a. 

We say “puh-con” as in puhcon pie with budder puhcon eyes cream.

For help in Leicester, refer to the Monty Python cheese shop sketch - Red Leicester is mentioned (it's the first one Cleese asks for).

David

Everybody here says certain words in a way they were taught and the culture they grew up in. 

 I don't  care how I say a word, it may be correct or it may not but if your offended again I don't care, keep your thoughts to yourself.

Lets talk about trains not how somebody mispronounced a word.

Dave

Dave:

"Lets talk about trains not how somebody mispronounced a word."

Not a problem:

1. Click to unsubscribe if subscribed: Problem solved.

2. Don't click to read if not subscribed: Problem solved.

As for me, I do like to know how to regionally pronounce a name within a region I'm interested in. So, there has been some helpful stuff herein.

Obviously, one's mileage may vary.

Andre

Let us not overlook the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern.  The second city, which is also the South Dakota state capital, is pronounced "peer." The RCP&E also passes through the town of Belle Fourche, which is pronounced "bell foosh." Let us just observe that French pronunciations are rarely heard in South Dakota although the spellings remain.

Bill of the Paha Sapa Lines RR posted:

 Let us just observe that French pronunciations are rarely heard in South Dakota although the spellings remain.

Sacre Bleu!

Monsewer Simon

Dave, I'm sorry if anything I posted offended you.  I thought this thread was one of the most "light-hearted" I have ever read.  Just folks poking some fun at regional differences in dialect, no ill will intended.  Like some other members, I also have found this thread interesting and I like to pronounce words the way the locals prefer.  I think it's a sign of respect.

Wish I could count the number of jabs people have taken at my Yankee accent.  Gotta go now, to "pahk the caa" in the garage.

John

When we moved from NYC to NJ when I was a kid, I noticed in NYC it was stop at a "red LIGHT", and in NJ it was a "RED light". Then we have "NEWark", NJ and "newARK" Delaware.

So much for my Ohgeeare contribution for today.

david1 posted:

Everybody here says certain words in a way they were taught and the culture they grew up in. 

 I don't  care how I say a word, it may be correct or it may not but if your offended again I don't care, keep your thoughts to yourself.

Lets talk about trains not how somebody mispronounced a word.

Dave

Curmudgeon = cur·mudg·eon kərˈməjən/

Sorry, too easy.   All in fun guys.

 A proper Southern waitress once expressed, "A peeKahn is a delicious nut often baked into a pie.  A peeCan is what you keep under the bed for emergencies."

EBT Jim posted:

willygee posted:

Try "Juniata"..have to use google to pronounce correctly

I think it's pronounced like Deputy Barney Fife's squeeze up at the diner …. Juanita.

Nope, it is pronounced Joo-nee-at-uh.

FORMER OGR CEO - RETIRED posted:

EBT Jim posted:

willygee posted:

Try "Juniata"..have to use google to pronounce correctly

I think it's pronounced like Deputy Barney Fife's squeeze up at the diner …. Juanita.

Nope, it is pronounced Joo-nee-at-uh.

I'd put the n  in the first syllable.

Nick Chillianis posted:

Big Jim posted:

rattler21 posted:

How did JFK get Cuber out of Cuba?  John in Lansing, ILL

The same way NBCSN's Leigh Diffey got Chiner out of China and NFL announcers get Jagwires out of Jaguar!

I watch a lot of BBC and note that the Brits pronounce Jaguar like "JAG-you-are". Common American pronunciation seems to be "JAG-wahr"

We need to clear up the proper pronunciation of the NFL team in Jacksonville (2nd largest city in Georgia). The Jaguars is properly pronounced JAG’ - WIRES’ with strong accents on both syllables. If you have any doubts, visit Jacksonville and take a personal survey.

david1 posted:

Everybody here says certain words in a way they were taught and the culture they grew up in. 

 I don't  care how I say a word, it may be correct or it may not but if your offended again I don't care, keep your thoughts to yourself.

Lets talk about trains not how somebody mispronounced a word.

Dave

Actually, it is "you're" not "your". You're = you are.  Your = possessive pronoun such as "your book"

Steam Crazy posted:

Wish I could count the number of jabs people have taken at my Yankee accent. 

I've got all of you beat...born in NYC and lived there 'til I was 7, then lived in NJ until college. Spent rest of my life near Philly. People keep asking me "Where are you from?". 

Lank-caster is where people say they are going to see the horse and buggies.   The people who live around the Strasburg RR live in "Lancuster".  

Leb-a-non is a middle eastern country.  Leb-uh-nun is where the baloney comes from. 

Fun thread.  

C'mon Jersey folks!  Do you take the train into the city from Nork?   Do you live in south or norf Jersey?

Rule292 posted:

….. C'mon Jersey folks!  Do you take the train into the city from Nork?   Do you live in south or norf Jersey?

lol..... you nailed it.

Forty-five years ago, I took an intercity Greyhound bus from New York to Allentown, Pa for my first job interview. After seemingly stopping at every friggn’ gas station in Jersey I heard the bus driver call out that we were approaching what I heard to be ‘Easton’ Pennsylvania. Having been born and raised in ‘da Bronx, where the kind’s English is spoken, I thought that was an odd way to identify a locale, simply by its geographic place on a map. After all, is there a bus stop for ‘Southern California” or “Northern Illinois?”

Much to my surprise I looked out the window to see a sign that read “Welcome to E -A- S-T- O- N.” I had no clue there was a place called Easton. I suppose it was at that point that I realized there was an ‘r’ in ‘eastern’ and that the Pennsylvania Dutch tawked funny.  

None a yuins no how ta tawk!

Simon says: Oh no!

PS:

Lanc aster or Lan caster? How do them Brits say it? Is that what caused the war of the roses? Or was it York or Yawk?

Bottom line folks is that there are regional dialects all over America and each and every one of us, whether we're aware of it or not, has an accent. It's just that some accents are more recognizable and obvious to certain folks than others are.

sxe60 posted: 

Wonder how many realize you're quoting Brooklynese for Long Island?

 My Cousin Vinny

Traveling through North Carolina we never stopped in Fuquay-Varina since we didn't know how to pronounce it. 

TM Terry posted:

We need to clear up the proper pronunciation ofthe NFL team in Jacksonville (2nd largest city in Georgia). The Jaguars is properly pronounced JAG’ - WIRES’ with strong accents on both syllables. If you have any doubts, visit Jacksonville and take a personal survey.

Welp, if the folks in Jacksonville think they live in Georgia, then, they have no business pronouncing Jaguar at all! And neither do you!!! 

Big Jim posted:

TM Terry posted:

We need to clear up the proper pronunciation ofthe NFL team in Jacksonville (2nd largest city in Georgia). The Jaguars is properly pronounced JAG’ - WIRES’ with strong accents on both syllables. If you have any doubts, visit Jacksonville and take a personal survey.

Welp, if the folks in Jacksonville think they live in Georgia, then, they have no business pronouncing Jaguar at all! And neither do you!!! 

But I do live here and have for 67 years. Pretty much know the history and its roots. If we shouldn’t call them JAG’ - WIRES’ we’ll call them DUUUUVAL!

TM Terry posted:

Big Jim posted:

TM Terry posted:

We need to clear up the proper pronunciation ofthe NFL team in Jacksonville (2nd largest city in Georgia). The Jaguars is properly pronounced JAG’ - WIRES’ with strong accents on both syllables. If you have any doubts, visit Jacksonville and take a personal survey.

Welp, if the folks in Jacksonville think they live in Georgia, then, they have no business pronouncing Jaguar at all! And neither do you!!! 

But I do live here and have for 67 years. Pretty much know the history and its roots. If we shouldn’t call them JAG’ - WIRES’ we’ll call them DUUUUVAL!

The second largest city in Georgia is Columbus. But, since you live there, you knew that already...or do you really know where you live?

Big Jim posted:

TM Terry posted:

Big Jim posted:

TM Terry posted:

We need to clear up the proper pronunciation ofthe NFL team in Jacksonville (2nd largest city in Georgia). The Jaguars is properly pronounced JAG’ - WIRES’ with strong accents on both syllables. If you have any doubts, visit Jacksonville and take a personal survey.

Welp, if the folks in Jacksonville think they live in Georgia, then, they have no business pronouncing Jaguar at all! And neither do you!!! 

But I do live here and have for 67 years. Pretty much know the history and its roots. If we shouldn’t call them JAG’ - WIRES’ we’ll call them DUUUUVAL!

The second largest city in Georgia is Columbus. But, since you live there, you knew that already...or do you really know where you live?

Frankly, I find it disturbing that you relish in insulting the good rednecks of Jacksonville. DUUUVAL!

ogaugeguy posted:

Bottom line folks is that there are regional dialects all over America and each and every one of us, whether we're aware of it or not, has an accent. It's just that some accents are more recognizable and obvious to certain folks than others are.

Agree 100%.  However, back to the original post.  Berkshire is in reference to the Berkshire mountains, pronounced berk-sure.  If you want to find fault with the way they say it in New England, go ahead and say Berk-SHIRE in your own accent. 

However, Pere Marquette is NEVER "Pierre". 

That has nothing to do with an accent.  It's simply incorrect. 

Bill of the Paha Sapa Lines RR posted:

Let us not overlook the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern.  The second city, which is also the South Dakota state capital, is pronounced "peer." The RCP&E also passes through the town of Belle Fourche, which is pronounced "bell foosh." Let us just observe that French pronunciations are rarely heard in South Dakota although the spellings remain.

There are a lot of Native American names of towns and streets in Minnesota. It's fun listening to out-of-towners mangle the pronunciations.

   They pronounce the city of Detroit a little differently tn France than Michigan. Would you say that North America"s change from the original pronounciation is a zombified horse or something 

  It's only "wrong" till it's esabliestab itself  

Of course names and titles are extremely resistant to change being "correct". It's possible to say any title translated is incorrect. 

Use of pere vs pier vs Pierre might easily be an "exuberant" spell check today.  I know pere means father. I know of Marquette's history in the region. I didn't always hear difference in the French my elders of the region spoke the two either and always assumed a shared origin, with pierre meaning father or elder "somewhere" as well.   My neighbors used pip vs pop vs pere

Mackinac & Mackinaw are the two most acceptable spellings used in the region.

, .. maybe Macinawwa, Macciniaw, etc.. I've seen more versions on old maps than I can recall correctly. 

Hey!  "De-twah & Mackinah"

Flows nicer and "acceptably" rhymes said in a French-ish jumble 

Nearby in SE Pennsylvania is Uwchlan township. Can anyone tell me how that is pronounced?

TM Terry posted:

Big Jim posted:

TM Terry posted:

Big Jim posted:

TM Terry posted:

We need to clear up the proper pronunciation ofthe NFL team in Jacksonville (2nd largest city in Georgia). The Jaguars is properly pronounced JAG’ - WIRES’ with strong accents on both syllables. If you have any doubts, visit Jacksonville and take a personal survey.

Welp, if the folks in Jacksonville think they live in Georgia, then, they have no business pronouncing Jaguar at all! And neither do you!!! 

But I do live here and have for 67 years. Pretty much know the history and its roots. If we shouldn’t call them JAG’ - WIRES’ we’ll call them DUUUUVAL!

The second largest city in Georgia is Columbus. But, since you live there, you knew that already...or do you really know where you live?

Frankly, I find it disturbing that you relish in insulting the good rednecks of Jacksonville. DUUUVAL!

 

 

 

I DID NOT insult the fine folks in Jacksonville, FLORIDA, you did! Go back and read what YOU  posted. You were the one that put them all the way up into GEORGIA!

I'm find it disturbing that you can't take some ribbing at your own mistake! 

beachhead 2, this New Englander has always pronounced Berkshire as berk-sheer.  I never heard it pronounced berk-sure.  Regardless of how we pronounce it,  I'm sure we all like Berkshire locos!

Joe Hohmann posted:

Nearby in SE Pennsylvania is Uwchlan township. Can anyone tell me how that is pronounced?

Hi Joe. Is that near Fulidelphia, where they used to read the Inkquirer? 

Big Jim posted:

TM Terry posted:

Big Jim posted:

TM Terry posted:

Big Jim posted:

TM Terry posted:

We need to clear up the proper pronunciation ofthe NFL team in Jacksonville (2nd largest city in Georgia). The Jaguars is properly pronounced JAG’ - WIRES’ with strong accents on both syllables. If you have any doubts, visit Jacksonville and take a personal survey.

Welp, if the folks in Jacksonville think they live in Georgia, then, they have no business pronouncing Jaguar at all! And neither do you!!! 

But I do live here and have for 67 years. Pretty much know the history and its roots. If we shouldn’t call them JAG’ - WIRES’ we’ll call them DUUUUVAL!

The second largest city in Georgia is Columbus. But, since you live there, you knew that already...or do you really know where you live?

Frankly, I find it disturbing that you relish in insulting the good rednecks of Jacksonville. DUUUVAL!

 

 

 

I DID NOT insult the fine folks in Jacksonville, FLORIDA, you did! Go back and read what YOU  posted. You were the one that put them all the way up into GEORGIA!

I'm find it disturbing that you can't take some ribbing at your own mistake! 

And likewise I find it humorous that you couldn't see that all I said was in jest.

A little history of the initial years of the pronunciation battles that persisted at the city's naming of the new NFL team in Jacksonville: Many with a strong southern accent would pronounce the team JAG' - WIRES' and they would get blasted when they did so. Some angered by the odd pronunciation would even complain to our talk radio sports station saying that those people made the rest of the country believe that we were a hick town.

It seems this thread was started to discuss mispronunciation of some railroad names. My post was to illustrate an example, a comic one IMO, where many people were extremely insulted when a name was mispronounced. 

BTW, when I was in school ('50's and '60's) a large number of my neighbors had moved from south Georgia to Jacksonville for work. (I lived on the north side of town.) The joke around here was that Jacksonville was the second largest city in the state of Georgia.

If you think a football mascot name is bad, the is a difference between the north and the south over the sound of "a" and "the".  You could start a nre "Great Rebellion" ovet it.

I’m from Nort Jersey. Sometimes I go to Sout Jersey. I worked in Iselin (pronounces Is-Lin - not eyes-Lin) and sometimes vacation in Absecon (pronounced ab-see-kin not ab-see-Kahn).

DKDKRD, It is Google spell check's version of "established".

Though off, it still tries to help many of us to evolve our language daily; jealous of it's sibling the original Google's role in all but outright replacing the word "search" all together.

 But alas it's "originality" and tendancy to defy orders is hopefully also it's impending doom vs it's ticket on the fame train.

It took eight of the above words and changed them to totally different words.

ThoughTcorrected now hough "post" could change a few as well fyi.

(I've left the last sentence intact as another example of Google total failure producing anything decent other than search results.)

"Barkser" is closer to the correct pronounciation (lacking a font good enough to show it much better than that)

   I just happened to be watching S1E1 of Monty Python Flying Circus and noticed that. (Reminder there wasn't yet an U.S. accent when they were named )

Joe Hohmann posted:

Nearby in SE Pennsylvania is Uwchlan township. Can anyone tell me how that is pronounced?

YouK-Lan township, simple.

Dave

Having been born in NYC and having spent my first 46 years in Queens and Nassau counties I have quite the New York accent.

When these folks here in Georgia ask me when will I  lose my accent, I tell them never. If I feel it slipping I put on a couple of episodes of the Sopranos or watch Godfather I and II, Goodfellas or My Cousin Vinny. I use them for elocution practice.

Fughetaboutit.

I also have problems getting Siri to understand me. I have to speak slowly and enunciate each syllable carefully. She's from California, so I just assume that she's flaky to begin with. 

If you want to see something hilarious, go to YouTube and search for "Apple Scotland", but only if you are not offended by profanity. You've been warned.

I recently went home to "the Island" for my niece's wedding. She was married in Aquebogue (East of Riverhead on the North Fork).  It's pronounced ACK-wuh-BOG. It is a Native American name, like many place names in New York.

Nick,

Most Long Island Indian names are botched by the residents. There were 13 tribes on the island, and as a rule they put the accent on the second syllable.  So while Islanders properly pronounce Napeague, they never pronounce Patchogue correctly... which should be puh-CHAWG.  Same with Montauk... which correctly is said mun-TAWK.  Cutchogue should be pronounced cuh-CHAWG... but too many City People have screwed things up for too long.

Jon  

Sometimes the "proper" pronunciation is no longer the accepted pronunciation. In the history of Jacksonville, FL during the 16th century a significant figure was a French explorer and colonizer named Jean Ribault.  The proper pronunciation of his last name is Ree - boe'. In honor of Jean Ribault there a few things that were given his namesake, ex., the Ribault River and my high School, officially called the Jean Ribault High School. 

Jean Ribault High School was established in 1957 and was commonly referred to as Ribault High. There was much confusion about the proper pronunciation of "Ribault". All purest knew the proper pronunciation was its French pronunciation, but the "everyday folks" had other ideas. The original disagreement was between Ree' -bault and Rie' - bault. It wasn't very long before Ree' - bault won out. 

To this day the accepted pronunciation is Ree' - bault and not its French pronunciation. Is it correct? The folks of Jacksonville have decided to take their version as correct.

RJ Corman goes through Dubois, PA (DOO-Boyce)... while CSX goes through Versailles, PA (ver-sails).

Jon  

There's a Nicollet county (and street in Minneapolis) pronounced "nickle-it", but over in Wisconsin Nicolet National Forest is pronounced "nik-o-lay". (Both named after the same French explorer, apparently one "l" is the correct spelling.)

Pres. Jefferson lived in Monticello (Mon-tah-CHEL-low) in Virginia, but the city in Minnesota is "Mon-tah-SELL-oh".

IIRC Karo (kay-row) Syrup is named after Cairo, IL, using the local's way of saying it.

KOOLjock1 posted:

RJ Corman goes through Dubois, PA (DOO-Boyce)... while CSX goes through Versailles, PA (ver-sails).

Jon  

Interestingly, southern Illinois has both a Dubois and a Versailles. The first is close to the PA pronunciation - DOO-boys - but the second is Ver-SAIL-ees!

Every sound and form you use today in Modern English was once a mistake, a deviation from the correct sound or form.

How about what is probably the most famous model railroad name:  John Allen's "Gorre & Daphietid">

It is pronounced Gory & Defeated.   NH Joe

Here's one for you, a train station in Wales ... 

for help in pronunciation, see http://www.llanfairpwllgwyngyl...gogoch.co.uk/say.php

Is that John Cleese hiding behind the fence???

PS: Can't afford it.....my sign budget is only $3000.

Simon

Does the conductor get overtime when he calls out "Next station stop Llan-vire………."

Yea, easy for you to say!

Q. for the Noo Yawkas - I was told by a native that Long Island has the G on the wrong side of the space, should be Lon Gisland , since it's pronounced "Lawn GUY-land".

Lionel

Is it "LI-on-el" or "LINE-uhl"?

Neither.

It's "Liuh NEL".

You really should have known.

Andre

Alentown posted:

Joe Hohmann posted:

Nearby in SE Pennsylvania is Uwchlan township. Can anyone tell me how that is pronounced?

Hi Joe. Is that near Fulidelphia,

It's near Exton, not Fillydelfia.

laming posted:

Neither.

It's "Liuh NEL".

You really should have known.

Andre

Who remembers the Jackie Gleason Show and the character "Reggie Van Gleason" when he'd say "The drinks are swell on the Li-on-el" as a Lionel train would deliver them to him.

To a native Long Islander (14th generation), it’s pronounced Long I-Lind.  And going east to west is termed “going up Island”, west to east, “down island”.

Jon  

Kooljock1

 Congradjulashuns for the most edjukashunal thread! Lol

 Al

"Booze is swell with Lionel".   Page 210, All Aboard!  By Ron Hollander.

Farmer_Bill posted:

Here's one for you, a train station in Wales ... 

 I bet that they do not play scrabble there.

Joe Hohmann,

Uwchlan is pronounced " You'klan" (emphasis in the U). I have family there and I took me a few visits to get it right.