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 To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html