<p>When I lived in Pittsburgh (went to Pitt) we pronounced it: See Em You. :)</p>
<p>Good one, binx. Simplify, that’s the word.</p>
<p>Unless you’re from Long Island, and then “the city” is, of course, Manhattan. It took me while in Northern California to think of San Francisco as “the city.”</p>
<p>My MIL, who’s lived in Las Vegas for 20+ years, still calls it “Vegas.”
That shows her Chicago roots, I guess.</p>
<p>You know, Garland, it’s been 33 years since I lived in Philadelphia. (Thank heavens.) The accent might have changed. (I only lived on the Main Line until I was 12; after that, I lived in Center City. A whole different world, that. I’m not sure that makes me a Main Liner–although I was born in Bryn Mawr Hospital.)</p>
<p>There was also (when I lived there) a south-Philly accent that was very nasal and came out “gnu joirsey”… </p>
<p>In general, it seems that regional accents have severely lessened under the influence of national newsbroadcaster.</p>
<p>yeah, could be…the only people who talk like that now watch the Sopranos too much.</p>
<p>I grew up down the shore (as we say in New Jersey), and now live in the Northeast part of the state, where you might be most liable to think you’ll hear that accent, but I never have in either place.</p>
<p>Mawr: :“more”/“mar” – sorta like Maureen?</p>
<p>“Mawr: :“more”/“mar” – sorta like Maureen?”</p>
<p>Sorta, but with a Philly accent. In the part of the city where I grew up, there wasn’t a whole lot of difference betweer “mar” and “more” and the first part of “Maureen.” When I said it was between “mar” and “more” I was trying to give non-Philadelphians an idea of the way we used to say it. While Boston residents pahked their cahs, we porked our cores.</p>
<p>We always pronounced Bowdoin as “bow-dwin” not “bow-din”, and it was bow, as in what’s on top of a present, not bow like the sound a dog makes.</p>
<p>but jym, that’s… wrong.</p>
<p>Well, jym did get the first half right. :)</p>
<p>I didn’t say it was right, I said that’s how we pronunced it 
I went to our college counselor’s presentation the other day and they prounounced “Willamette” as Wil-LAM-ette rather than Wil-la-METTE. That isn’t correct is it?? (ie its Wil-la-METTE, yes?)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.stevensauke.com/say/northwest.html[/url]”>http://www.stevensauke.com/say/northwest.html</a></p>
<p>Wil-LAM-et according to the above, which is how I always heard the river pronounced. Can’t vouch for the site, just popped up on Google. Two other googled sites gave the same.</p>
<p>Well, I’m glad my older s. goes to a school with one syllable! No confusion there!</p>
<p>As far as I’m concerned, as the parent of a high school senior, all colleges are pronounced the same - “ek spen siv”</p>
<p>Ok-- change of subject. Barnard-- is prounounced more like Barn-erd, not Barn-ard (to rhyme with barnyard-- which has been the source of a few unkind comments from time to time about the student population)</p>
<p>And, on a tangentially related topic, when I was in college, U of Illinois was in Champaign-Urbana, not Urbana-Champaign. If memory serves me correctly, from a back-channel discussion about this with a UIUC grad, it has something to do with how much of the school was in Urbana and how much was in the neighboring town of Champaign? Maybe Urbana is a nicer town, but Champaign sounds prettier. :)</p>
<p>jmmom-
Great link! I found particularly helpful the explanation that the city of “Yaak” , Montana is pronounced “yak”. Duh. :)</p>
<p>Any takers on the correct pronunciation of n’-WOL-ins (New Orleans)?</p>
<p>N’aw-lee-anns is how my southern relatives say it, and it’s closer to the French pronunciation of the eponymous city of Orleans (or-lay-onh) than the other pronunciation used here: New Or-leens (rhymes with jeans).</p>
<p>As for Bryn Mawr–Most around here say “Brin Mahr,” if that helps. The true oldies, from the Katherine Hepburn era say “Brin Mah.”</p>
<p>new orleans:</p>
<p>nawlins (most native NOLA people say that, i think?)
new or-lins (that’s how i say it)
new or-leen (no s)
new or-leens</p>
<p>i’ve never heard n’aw-lee-anns
and i’ve lived in the south my entire life</p>
<p>Well, I’m glad my older s. goes to a school with one syllable! No confusion there!</p>
<p>Here too.</p>