Regional things a student should know

[bclintonk]

Originally Posted by quesadilla

How DO you pronounce Gratiot? I saw this strange group of people all wearing bright pink shirts that said "Gratiot County Service Trip" or something like that. I never even knew we had this county.

In Detroit, Gratiot is pronounced "GRASH'-ut." There is a Gratiot County out somewhere west of Saginaw, but it's also one of the main arterial streets in Detroit, named I believe after Charles Gratiot, a military engineer in the early 1800s who built a fort up near Port Huron that was later renamed in his honor, Fort Gratiot. Gratiot Avenue runs from downtown Detroit to the northeast, in the direction of Fort Gratiot.

The name is of French origin and would be pronounced differently in French, but like many old French names in Detroit (originally a French fur-trading outpost), the pronunciation has radically changed from the French. Even the name "Detroit" is from the French "d'etroit," meaning "the straight," a reference to the Detroit River where the Great Lakes-St- Lawrence system narrows into a mile-wide, fast-flowing current connecting Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie. In French it would be "day-TWAH' " more or less, but what I'm calling a W is actually that throat-clearing R sound the French make.

"Mackinac" as in the Island is pronounced "Mackinaw." Always has been, as far as I know; I believe that's how the French pronounced it, though it's an Indian name. Anyone who calls it "mack-in-nack" (and many do) is most definitely not from Michigan. I'm dating myself here, but back in my Ann Arbor days there was a bar in town called "Mackinac Jack's" which amused me to no end because I'm sure the proprietor thought he had come up with a clever rhyming name, when to a Michigander it didn't rhyme at all. Come to think of it, the place didn't last long.

Another big street name in Detroit is Livernois, pronounced "LIV'-er-noy", somewhat similar to how Illinois is pronounced "ill-a-NOY' " but with the accent on a different syllable. There's no "noise" in either, and no French "nwah" either.

Lots of old French street names in Detroit, especially on the near east side near the river; they're named after the French habitants who had farms there. A big one is Chene, pronounced "shane." The original French probably had an accent circonflex and would have been pronounced more like "shen." Also Dequindre, now pronounced "de-KWIN'-der"; I don't know how to transliterate the French pronunciation, but those of you who know French can figure it out.

One of my favorites in Detroit: there used to be an amusement park on an island downriver from Detroit. The island was named Bois Blanc, obviously a French name (meaning "white woods"). The French would have pronounced it "bwah blo[nc]" with the "nc" not quite silent but nasalized (maybe you need to know French to know what I'm talking about). Detroiters Americanized it to "Bob-lo," and they used to take the Bob-lo Boat to Bob-lo, the amusement park, which was actually spelled "Bob-lo." It was called that because it was on Bois Blanc Island, which of course they pronounced "bob-lo."

[maya54]

In Chicago Goethe is yep "GO-thee". I had a client in from England who asked for "Ger-ta" street and the cabbie was, luckily for him, an educated immigrant who laughed but at least knew what he was talking about. His colleague looking for the same address got "there is no such street"

And for those driving in snow for the first time there are three simple rules 1) slow down (really it shouldn't have to be said but it does) 2) don't follow at all closely (ditto) 3) brake then turn, don't brake during your turn (this will prevent many many skids).

[weatherga]

Here in Cobb County (metro Atlanta) there's a high school named McEachern, locally pronounced Ma-kee-churn. This is always disconcerting to my Canadian ears, where the name McEachern is not uncommon and pronounced Ma-keck-ern.

[quakerstake]

Ponce de Leon Ave. (a major street in Midtown Atlanta) is pronounced Pahntz da Lee On.

[Davidabb84]

DavidS..everybody I know says Win-git. Two of my best friends have kids who attend Win-git University .The President of Wingate U. spoke at my church last year. He called it Win-git. Anybody who says Win-gate just doesn't know.

Apparently the mayor doesn't know :P How do you say "Wingate"? - YouTube

I know that at my school, it is definitely App-uh-la-chun State. Anyone who says App-uh-lay-shun is bound to be tarred and feathered.

Also, don't forget about the towns of "Kang" (King), "Hick-ry" (Hickory), and "Wilt-sun" (Wilson)

I grew up in a suburb of Cleveland and we called the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street the "tree lawn."

I grew up in Cleveland as well and I've honestly never heard that. My favorite is in New Orleans, where they call the median in between a divided road the "neutral ground."

If you choose to eat out on a Sunday, realize there will be large after-church crowds from about 12-1.

Here in Winston post-church traffic is often as bad as regular rush-hour traffic.

[ucbalumnus]

Hawaii: writing and pronunciation of Hawaiian words:

Hawaiian language - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hawaiian Language
Hawaiian language, alphabet and pronunciation

Dictionary:

Nā Puke Wehewehe ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi

[lilmom]

I've been following this thread with interest since one of my kids is off to Kentucky this fall. We're from SoCal. What are typical meals in the small towns in that area? Will my kid be alone in wanting yogurt and granola or breakfast burritos?

[Consolation]

In Chicago Goethe is yep "GO-thee". I had a client in from England who asked for "Ger-ta" street and the cabbie was, luckily for him, an educated immigrant who laughed but at least knew what he was talking about. His colleague looking for the same address got "there is no such street"

Too funny.

My sister used to live at the corner of Goethe and Astor. When I was a grad student at the U of C, I used to take the bus up there. I always struggled with how to ask the bus driver to stop at Goethe. I'd fight my way to the front, time it, and say "Please stop at the next corner," or "Please stop at the corner after this one." I couldn't bring myself to say "GO-thay." (They all said thay, not thee at that time, except for the ones who called it Goat Street.) Finally, one day I gave up, and just asked the driver to stop at GOthay Street. She turned to me with a look of astonished hauteur, and said, "You mean Gerta Street?" I slunk off the bus.

[Soarer]

In Boston/New England, it's not soda or pop, but tonic.

I'm from New England, but I have NEVER heard anything other than "tonic water" referred to as "tonic".

[MizzBee]

Lilmom, although I didn't grow up in Kentucky I do know one thing to watch for once you leave CA for South (or sometimes Midwest). When ordering fish ask how it is prepared. Breaded or battered and fried is common in many restaurants and it is not identified as such on the menu (because it is a ususal preparation). It was a real problem for us after living so long in CA and coming back. If she likes fish prepared that way, all the better. Even if it says broiled it can still be breaded.

[jandjdad]

Originally Posted by Soarer

I'm from New England, but I have NEVER heard anything other than "tonic water" referred to as "tonic".

The Boston Globe wrote about this and how it's changing...Alas.....
In Boston, ?tonic? gives way to ?soda? - Boston.com

[Consolation]

Re tonic/soda: I'm from CT, and I never heard anyone say tonic except in reference to gin until I went to college in MA. And even then, it was pretty much only Bostonians, or people from the surrounding area, and only people who had lived in blue collarish neighborhoods, as the article suggests. Here in ME, I don't think I've ever heard "tawnic," as it is pronounced.

[Peabodie]

Lilmom, what part of Kentucky? Yogurt, granola, and breakfast burritos are not going to be common, but won't be impossible. Biscuits and gravy, eggs, bacon, sausage, grits, pancakes and my favorite country ham are the more typical breakfast offerings, along with the usual cereals and fruit. Think along the lines of a Cracker Barrel menu.

I'm going back home to Kentucky in a couple of weeks and will be taking some bagels along for my kids.

It's getting a little easier to get fish and seafood that is not breaded and deep-fried but that is the most common cooking method. Especially with catfish, which is also excellent for breakfast.

[mompop]

Lilmom, if you are talking about Northern Ky (near Cincinnati) or Louisville, you will find a wide variety of breakfast possibilities. However, the basic breakfast in Ky would be eggs, sausage/bacon, biscuits and gravy as mentioned above. I would imagine most college cafeteria offerings are about the same in the whole country.
I remember the first time I went to a grocery store in eastern Ky and saw huge containers of lard for sale. I'm not sure if that is still a staple on the shelves.

[mommamocha]

Lilmom- we are also west coast folks, my kid is in the south for school and her campus has Einstein's bagels. Which she really appreciates. Yogurt and granola is her favorite breakfast, it is available on her campus. One morning she asked what the white stuff next to the oatmeal was, and a look of disbelief came across her friends faces. "It's grits, you have had grits before, right?" "No, never even heard of them" "Have you ever had sweet tea?" "You mean with sugar? No" "Oh wow you're like an international student"

I think there has been a moment or two where she felt like one.

P.S. She loves the south.