Re: OT: False River and Toad Suck, Etc.

From: Bill Shear <BILLS@hsc.edu>


>	Bill, when is the pronunciation 'ville,' and when is it 'vuhl?'
>I have noticed that nearly all of the ville ending towns are pronunced
>'vuhl' in the South with the exception of a a two, three syllable root
>word preceding ville.
>
>	Greenvuhl
>	Colleyville, Mechanicsville....never Colleyvuhl, etc.
>
>	Is your town pronunced Farmville or Farmvuhl?

Good question, Walter.  I think it is probably regional.  Locals or
residents of long standing say "Farmvuhl" while newcomers say "Farmville"
(if they're from north of here).  One of our local radio station announcers
pronounces it "Furl."

I suppose if you're a Cajun, the additional wrinkle of French pronunciation
comes in, too.  How do locals say "Abbeville?"  Is it Abbey-ville, Ab'fuhl,
or Ahbeh'vee'(l)?

By the way, I have it on good authority that the second word in HOLDEN
CLOUGH is pronounced "cluff", not "clew" as I have heard done so often.
Although exactly what a clough is, I do not know.  Probably some aspect of
the British bent to name every small feature of the landscape.  I recall
showing an English visitor a modest local waterfall, and he remarked that
if it were in Britain it would be a national park.

Bill Shear
Department of Biology
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney VA 23943
(804)223-6172
FAX (804)223-6374
email<bills@hsc.edu>

If a tin whistle is made out of tin, what is a foghorn made out of?
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