Lord help the tourist who goes into Eastern Virginia and pronounces Staunton
or Wytheville as they are written.  You will quickly learn it is "Statton"
and "WITH ville."

Mildred "Mickey" Fournier
1730 SE County Rd 252
Lake City, FL 32025-1703

-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of John Frederick Fausz
Sent: Sunday, January 07, 2007 12:02 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: William & Mary Quarterly

"CORRECTLY" is exactly the issue.   Local traditions, regional dialects,
and outright ignorance all play a role, but who really "OWNS" pronuncia-
tion, and need it be "exclusive"?  Who decides?  Must a national network
news anchor based in NYC and educated at an Ivy League university
research every local placename pronunciation that the citizens of one
state embrace but that would seem odd indeed to the rest of the U.S.
population?

In Kentucky we say LOOLVLE for Louisville, in Maryland, they say
Balmer for Baltimore, and there are multiple versions for New Orleans
and St. Louis across America. Even Missourians can't agree whether
it should be a long E sound or an AH for the final syllable of Missouri!

Historians are attuned to regional variations and differing points of view,
but this discussion has convinced me that WRITING rather than
SPEAKING is the preferred method for conveying comprensible
information to the largest possible audience!

Fred Fausz
St. Louis

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