[meteorite-list] Pronouncing Willamette and other meteorite names

From: Michael L Blood <mlblood_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2008 02:45:25 -0700
Message-ID: <C4345345.160DE%mlblood_at_cox.net>

OOPS,
        The way I wrote it did not make it clear that the
"stress" is on the "A," not the "will" or the "met."
        As for Allende, someone said there is nothing wrong
With "Anglicizing" a word....You would have a VERY
Difficult time living in So. CA - going to El Cajon (el ca hone)
And La Jolla (la hoy ya) etc. Even in LA, they pronounce
It "row DAY oh" Drive, not rodeo drive, as it was the Spanish
Name place originally.
        I certainly don't feel comfortable butchering the French
Falls and always ask Anne Black for the correct pronunciation,
Though it may take saying it 20 to 50 times to get CLOSE,
Since my tongue is used to only the sounds of English and
A little Spanish. French utilizes entirely unique sounds I have
To learn and can only do so with repeated practice with someone
Patient enough to correct me gently - such as the gracious Anne.
        The problem with "Anglicizing" a word is two fold:
1) it assumes an ethnocentric approach to the word and
2) it ignores the fact that language, itself, is the SOUNDS made,
NOT the written symbols. The written symbols are actually
Symbols of symbols (the sounds). The sound is the actual word,
Not the written symbols - which cross culturally NEVER capture
The sound correctly, since one language speaker does not even
Know how to (initially) hear the sound correctly, let alone be
Able to correctly pronounce the sound.
        Anyway, of course, you can call your mother or father's sister
"ant" or "aunt" and people will understand.... But one is correct and
One is less so. If you WRITE it the two different ways, one is DEFINITELY
Incorrect - but that is because the written word is expected to more
Rigidly adhere to grammatical and spelling conventions than is the
spoken word.
        Personally, I find learning the correct pronunciation to be of
interest, a challenge to master and overall a positive thing. If it isn't
Your "thing" then to whom does it really matter? At least, who cares
If it matters to anyone other than yourself. So, like so many things in
Life, it is as important as you make it - not a whit more or a whit less.
(But don't move to San Diego and ask someone directions to "el ka john"
Or they will think you are totally nutso).
        Best wishes, Michael
         
        

on 4/23/08 2:16 AM, Michael L Blood at mlblood at cox.net wrote:

> I lived in Oregon a couple of years. It is pronounced
> As follows: will - A - met with the "A" as in am, at, as, etc.
> I have always been amused when people pronounce it
> Otherwise. I could be wrong, but I think even ET pronounces
> It the way most meteorite folks do, which astonished me, since
> He has lived in Oregon most of his life. None the less, the stress
> Is on the a or am.
> Best wishes, Michael
>
> on 4/22/08 9:07 PM, Michael Murray at mmurray at montrose.net wrote:
>
>> If you are from Oregon this is probably no big surprise... According
>> to one of the native Willamette residents, Willamette is not
>> pronounced will-a-mette, at least not by her anyway, and not
>> according to the the dictionary either. Totally unbeknownst to
>> hayseeds like myself, it is actually pronounced wi-lam-it, or you can
>> write that with the ligature ae in place of the a. My
>> confession...Besides having a difficult time with Allende for some
>> time, I had the name Willamette wrong too. This makes me wonder what
>> other meteorites names I am mispronouncing.
>>
>> Okay, I give up, who can help me with Berduc?
>>
>> Mike in CO
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>
> 'Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the
> attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way
> your mind looks at what happens.' --Kahlil Gibran
>
>
>
>
>
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'Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the
attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way
your mind looks at what happens.' --Kahlil Gibran
Received on Wed 23 Apr 2008 05:45:25 AM PDT