Pronunciations?

[Rain Man]

Just gave a "trail magic/angel" ride from Hot Springs, NC to Knoxville, TN on Sunday to a Yankee section hiker. Very nice fellow. We told each other trail stories all the way!

Anyway, when he said "Daicey Pond" I gave a little twitch, as I've never heard it pronounced, and never assumed it was pronounced, the way he pronounced it, but assume he'd know much better than I!

So, how is "Daicey Pond" pronounced?????

What about any other AT names, like Benton MacKaye, that are pronounced "funny"???

RainMan

.

[The Old Fhart]

Rain Man-"What about any other AT names, like Benton MacKaye, that are pronounced "funny"???"

Hell, I'm still trying to get you to say "Appalachian" (apple-lay-shun) correctly!

Try day-see

[veteran]

I thought it was Appa-latch-e-an.

[Cuffs]

Try: Appalachian Trail Names (small soft cover book)

I dont know if the book has the pronunciations... (checked it out at my local library over a year ago) If anything, it gives a great history of all the place names on the trail (Chunky Gal, Blood Mtn...)

http://www.booksamillion.com/ncom/bo...sbn=081172672X

[The Old Fhart]

ALHikerGal-"I dont know if the book has the pronunciations..."

I just checked my copy and it does not. With all the various pronunciations of place names, it would probably double the size of the book!

[Cuffs]

I just checked my copy and it does not. With all the various pronunciations of place names, it would probably double the size of the book!

Figures!! That explains the odd looks I got when I first said ka ta din years ago, before I was set straight!

But I do like that book because of the history behind the names.

[Creek Dancer]

Figures!! That explains the odd looks I got when I first said ka ta din years ago, before I was set straight!

But I do like that book because of the history behind the names.

The only way I have ever heard it pronounced is "Ka·tah·din". Is there another way?

Cool book! I will have to look for that.

[Cuffs]

I had the syllables broken correctly, but had the emphasis on the last and not the middle one...

[SGT Rock]

OF, it is:

Apple-At-Chin.

Dang Yankees.

[D'Artagnan]

Is is MACK-uh-fee or muh-KAFF-ee Knob? (McAfee )

[RITBlake]

OF, it is:

Apple-At-Chin.

Dang Yankees.

I thought people done South couldn't read OR write! Good job Rock!

[jlb2012]

humm this would be an interesting addition to the AT Database - add links for the words of interest to .wav or whatever sound bite files of "correct" pronunciation of the words by natives of the area in question. As for "Appalachian" one possible approach would be to show how the pronunciation changes with location.

[The Old Fhart]

Originally Posted by SGT Rock
OF, it is:

Apple-At-Chin.

Dang Yankees.

SGT Rock, The "official" tee-shirt I bought from Adventure Damascus spells it:

"Appuhlatchin"

Dang Rednecks.

[SGT Rock]

You know the Appalachian chain was discovered by white men at the southern end

That means we named it down here. Y'all just get it wrong, just like oil, car, and drawer.

I found a good explanation about pronunciation in a book once. I will see if I can dig it up.

[SGT Rock]

One of my favorite authors is Sharyn McCrumb. She is originally from around Boone, but she normally writes about a fictitious town around east Tennessee called Hamlin which is based on Erwin according to her. In one of her books “The Songcatcher” there is a scene where an AT hiker is at a hostel up on the NC boarder (sounds sort of like Hot Springs) and the hostel owner Baird is talking to a yankee AT hiker with the trail name Eeyore and the subject of pronunciation comes up. It is one of the best ways I have ever seen the subject presented:

Quote:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">“Interesting part of the country. Lots of stories.”

“Lots of Celtic bloodlines in the people here. Stories is what we do.”

“Well, I’ll he interested to hear some stories. This is my first visit to Appa-lay-chia.”

Baird said gently, “Well, folks in these parts call it Appa-latch- a.”

Eeyore shrugged, as if the information did not interest him. “In New York we say Appa—lay-chia.”

Baird had this conversation rather often, too, and in this round he was less inclined to he charitable. The statement We say it that way back home sounded like a reasonable argument unless you realized that it was not a privilege Easterners granted to anyone other than themselves. If a Texan visiting New York pronounced “Houston Street” the same way that Texans pronounce the name of their city back home, he would he instantly corrected by a New Yorker, and probably derided for his provincial ignorance. But here in rural America, the privilege of local pronunciation was revoked. Here, if there was any difference of opinion about a pronunciation, Eastern urbanites felt that their way was the correct one, or at least an equally accept able option. One of Baird Christopher’s missions in life was to set arrogant tourists straight about matters like this.

“You know,” he said to Eeyore, gearing up to his lecture in genial conversational tones. “Over in Northern Ireland once I visited a beautiful walled city that lies east of Donegal and west of Belfast. Now, for the last thousand years or so the Irish people who built that city have called it Derry, a name from darach, which is the Gaelic word for ‘oak tree.’ But the British, who conquered Ireland a few hundred years back, they refer to that same city as Londonderry. One place: two names.

“If you go to Ireland, and you ask for directions to that city, you can call it by either name you choose. Whichever name you say, folks will know where it is you’re headed and most likely they’ll help you get there. But you need to understand this: When you choose what name you call that city--- Derry or Londonderry- -you are making a political decision. You are telling the people you’re talking to which side you’re on, what cultural values you hold, and maybe even your religious preference. You are telling some people that they can trust you and other people that they can’t. All in one word. One word with a load of signifiers built right in.

Now, I reckon Appalachia is a word like that. The way people say it tells us a lot about how they think about us. When we hear somebody say Appa-lay-chia we know right away that the person we’re listening to is not on our side, and we hear a whole lot of cultural nuances about stereotyping and condescension and ethnic bigotry, just built right in. So you go on and call this place Appa-lay-chia if you want to. But you need to know that by doing that you have made a po-li-ti-cal decision, and you better be prepared to live with the consequences. Friend.

Eeyore blinked at him anti took a deep breath. “Appa-latch-ah?” he said.

“That’s right,” said Baird. “Appa-latch-ah. Say it a tune or two and you’ll get the hang of it. Pretty Soon any other way of saying it will grate on your ears.”

Another long pause. Eeyore peered at his smiling host, who had gone back to shelling peas and humming an Irish dance tune. “Who are you?”

Baird Christopher smiled. “Why, I’m a cosmic possum.”
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

McCrumb, Sharyn.” The Songcatcher”. New York, NY, Penguin Putnam, 2001.
<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

[The Old Fhart]

SGT Rock, You could try the hillbilly dictionary that allows you to translate back into english words like "Tar arn" = Tire iron.

Another good book, "How to Talk Yankee" by Downeast press, teaches people from away to speak correctly. Most will never really master THE word "ayuh", which has 27,000 meanings depending on inflection.

[eric_plano]

I felt pretty silly saying Nantahala the first time and being told the actual pronunciation.

[Outlaw]

I guess the moral of Sarge's selection is, "when in Rome, do as the Romans!"

Near where I live upstate New York there is a town named "Coeymans." Non-upstate New Yorkers pronounce it, Ko-e-mans. Locals pronounce it Quee-mens.

[Michele]

Well..I feel like the weird morph of both worlds. Lived in Northern NY, where I learned how to talk as a kid for 5 years, then moved to Oklahoma, and there was a HUGE language barrier. I can say, I did finally realize that there was only a need to use about 3 of the 7 vowels...as Sgt. Rock demonstrated...."far" can be fire, for, fur, or far....you just have to listen to the rest of the sentence to figure it out!

[saimyoji]

Learned to talk in Boston, moved to Australia, picked up that accent then took it all to Japan. No one could understand me.