When I was a child, our family often would vacation in Berlin
and Milan.
No, not the cities in Europe. These are in New Hampshire and
as you might expect, we in New England pronounce them
differently than the way the original cities are pronounced.
Milan(where some of my Ellingwood ancestors were born)
sounds like "My lan". Berlin sometimes is pronounced the
same way as the German city(mostly by reporters from
down here in the "flatlands") but when my Dad or my Aunt
Flossie and her family up in Milan said the name it was
"Burlin" as in "Merlin".
Think of it this way. Merlin from Berlin is stylin' in Milan!
3 comments:
Bill
Sometimes I think the town names are intentionally pronounced in a way as to separate the locals from the visitors.
In upstate New York we have several - one being Cairo. Of course, I know it is pronounced like the syrup KAY-RO.
And I always laugh when passing through northern New Jersey and seeing the sign for Bogota. No, not like in the Columbian capital. It is BO-GO-TA like Abe Vigoda.
I didn't have any trouble with those two places. There's a Berlin in Ohio that is pronounced the same way, and Milan is pronounced that way all over the South!
Lori,
A lot of New Englanders moved out to Ohio in the early 19th century so
if it wasn't founded by German
immigrants it might be some homesick
settler named it after the berlin in Massachusetts or New Hampshire.
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