Illinois town names vs. The originals

[Whirlibird]

Thanks to our politics, Illinois is already a pretty strange duck compared to the rest of the country. One of our quirks is apparently mispronouncing town names in a deliberate fashion. This was again brought to my attention when someone gave me a town name that sounded way out of the ordinary.

For example:

"Athens" is pronounced as "Ay-thens" unless you're talking about "New Athens" then "Athens" is pronounced normally.

"Berlin" is pronounced with emphasis on the first syllable and the last syllable has that lovely muddled "schwa" sound (for linguistics sticklers out there.) So it's pronounced like "BER-luhn." Unlike New Athens, the "Berlin" in "New Berlin" is pronounced in the Illinois manner.

"Cerro Gordo" isn't pronounced as it would be in Italian. It's "Serro Gordo" instead.

"Gillespie" isn't pronounced like the name of the famous jazz musician. It's pronounced "Gellispie."

"Milan" is pronounced to rhyme with "Nylon" with the emphasis on the first syllable. "MY-luhn."

"Vienna" is pronounced with a long I sound like "vital."

And of course, "Hell" is pronounced "the Bridgeview neighborhood of Chicago."

You forgot "cheeca hites" (Chicago Heights)
and
"Sss-Ollnd" (South Holland)

I'm so glad I don't visit anymore.

Illinois, another name for sphincter.
Illinois, even the Norwegians kept going.
Cook County, Illinois; further proof the crap ends up at the center of the vortex.

[Windy Wilson]

I knew about Cairo, Illinois, but I was told that it was New May-drid, Missouri.
I was also told that among old-timers it's Mi-ZURR-ah, the long "I" was to make it rhyme for the song.

In California the locals call Del Norte county, north of Eureka "Del Nort", and in Los Angeles the neighborhood where the Port of Los Angeles is located is called San PEEdro.
And something that newcomers seem to regularly mispronunce, the street Sepulveda is Se-PUL-veda not Seppulveeda.

[SoupOrMan]

Oddly enough, San Jon, New Mexico is pronounced just like it's spelled.

[esa5444]

I find that it is really funny to hear some of my professors pronounce French names with a Texas drawl.

[Windy Wilson]

My friends from high school who took French laugh at my attempts to say French names. I took German and apparently pronounce the letters as if the words were German -- unless I know how the word is supposed to sound.
What's really cute is to hear an anglophone South African imitate a southern drawl.
Which makes me wonder; a friend of mine picked up the Georgia drawl from around Atlanta in about 3 years, so I'm wondering what Mr. Dutoit sounds like now that he's lived in Texas about that long!

[Vonz90]

I knew about Cairo, Illinois, but I was told that it was New May-drid, Missouri.
I was also told that among old-timers it's Mi-ZURR-ah, the long "I" was to make it rhyme for the song.

I've always heard it as "Mad-rid".

As for the "Missouri or Missourah" question, it depends on whether you are from north or south of the stupid ditch. For TV commercials for statewide office, some politicians in MO have been known to record two versions of them, one with the "ah" for the southern part of the state and one with the "i" for the north.

Of course St. Louis is full of old French names that are pronounced as if they were German. It drives French visitors nuts. (Example, "Gravois" pronounced "Grav-oys") or for that matter the name of the city (which everyone there pronounces as "Saint Lew-is").

[Windy Wilson]

As for the "Missouri or Missourah" question, it depends on whether you are from north or south of the stupid ditch. For TV commercials for statewide office, some politicians in MO have been known to record two versions of them, one with the "ah" for the southern part of the state and one with the "i" for the north.

That's too much!

Of course the Greazey/ Greecey distinction crosses state lines (about midway between the Ohio river and the Great lakes, IIRC, which is also the line for Dived/Dove as in ** off a diving board).

Edit to add:
Souporman, in So Cal there is a Cerro Gordo southeast of Bishop, which is pronounced Cerro, except by the Anglos who learned Spanish. Similarly, San Jacinto is pronunced as if the J were a Y, as in German, mostly by Anglos.

[Weetabix]

As for the "Missouri or Missourah" question, it depends on whether you are from north or south of the stupid ditch. For TV commercials for statewide office, some politicians in MO have been known to record two versions of them, one with the "ah" for the southern part of the state and one with the "i" for the north.

That's too much!

{snip}

Edit to add:
Souporman, in So Cal there is a Cerro Gordo southeast of Bishop, which is pronounced Cerro, except by the Anglos who learned Spanish. Similarly, San Jacinto is pronunced as if the J were a Y, as in German, mostly by Anglos.

Where's the "stupid ditch?" Is it the Missouri River? I'm in SW MO, and I don't run into too many people who insist on the "ah."

And San Jacinto Blvd in Houston was pronounced Juh-sin-toe by all the natives as opposed to Hah-seen-toe as I would have expected from Spanish class.

[Vonz90]

Where's the "stupid ditch?" Is it the Missouri River? I'm in SW MO, and I don't run into too many people who insist on the "ah."

The Mississippi River diversion canal that this south of Cape G. I picked up the phrase from some of my former coworkers who were from Cape G. Actually, it is a good marker. There is definately a big cultural difference in Sikeston and places like that verses Cape G. and north of that.

[Weetabix]

Yeah. In Sikeston, they have throwed rolls!