North Carolina and South Carolina both have towns named Beaufort. The one in North Carolina is pronounced BOH-furt and the one in South Carolina is pronounced BEW-furt.
Time Flies When You're Having Fun Department: Dick Van Dyke is 98 years old. Nancy Sinatra, Frank's daughter, is 82. Jerry Mathers of Leave It To Beaver fame is 75.
Despite her popularity, I have never heard Taylor Swift sing nor do I know what she looks like. I have not studiously avoided her career but neither have I made any effort to follow it either.
The city of Reno, Nevada is farther west than Los Angeles, California. It's true. The former is at 119°49'19" West longitude; the latter is at 118°15' West longitude.
Even though (a) the Atlantic Ocean is east of North and South America and (b) the Pacific Ocean is west of North and South America, the Pacific end of the Panama Canal is actually east of the Atlantic (okay, Caribbean) end. Look it up on a map.
When a well-known person dies, one would think that newscasters would know how to pronounce his or her name. But noooo. Rosalynn Carter, wife of President Jimmy Carter, died this afternoon and many of the people reporting her death over the telly said RAHZA-lynn (as in Rosalind Russell) but as all Georgians know, it's ROHZA-lynn (as in Rosa Parks).
Maybe I'm being overly sensitive because I lived in Boca Raton, Florida for seven years. People who weren't residents mispronounce it all the time. It's not Boca Ra-TAHN, people, it's Boca Ra-TOHN.
Today is the 160th anniversary of the day in 1863 when Abraham Lincoln went to an address in Gettysburg.
Keep those cards and letters coming.
I was sad to see that Rosalynn Carter had died. She and her husband always seemed such normal people to be living in the White House.
ReplyDeleteI've been so neglectful in replying to comments that Mrs. Carter is already buried in Plains. She was a true Southern lady in every sense of the phrase.
DeleteI too noticed the way Ms. Carter's name was mispronounced. I felt that it was disrespectful. She was a remarkable woman.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't disrespect so much as ignorance. One likes to think that residents of the U.S. would know the name of the president's wife.
DeleteMaybe it's because I'm Australian, I would never pronounce Rosalynn or Boca Raton with an "a" sound.
ReplyDeleteI'd probably get a lot of other things wrong though :)
But you got those two things right, accidentally or otherwise!
DeleteIt is indeed ROHZA-lynn and Boca RaTONE! When we moved to South Carolina in 2002, I mispronounced Beaufort (I said *BOW* (rhymes with slow)-FORT exactly ONE time! You will be upbraided swiftly with some iron fist in a velvet glove or other, when you so transgress . Likewise Columbia has a street named HUGER -- but it is NOT pronounced like you would think: as in, *HEW*-GER (hard G). No, you say YOU-*JEE*. And don't forget it. And we have a Horry County, but oh dear please do not pronounce that phonetically because if you do and you are in the presence of a female who is from there, she is like to slap you silly. Say OH-REE and you'll be fine. There is a charming map dot about an hour's drive from here named Yemassee. I ONCE said YUH-*MASS*-SEE to my daughter's mother-in-law, not long after I'd met her. Janie is a southern belle among southern belles but she nearly fainted and her eyes got real big and she said "It's *YAH* (a like apple) -MUH-SEE! That is a mistake I have never made again. Trust me: when it comes to Taylor Swift, you are not missing anything. Your geographic facts are fascinating and I will be looking at the map! Trust but verify. Happy Thanksgiving! xoxo
ReplyDeleteWith your help I am now prepared to travel in South Caroline without incident!. In Georgia we have Dahlonega and Dacula and don't forget Taliaferro County to keep visitors confused (duh-LAH-nuh-guh, duh-KEW-luh, Tolliver).
ReplyDelete