Speaking 'properly'

[cubfanbudwoman]

Sue W.:
> I grew up in southeastern Pennsylvania, very near the
> city of Reading (Redding), which was the county seat
> of Berks (burks) County.  One of the main shopping
> centers in Reading was the Berkshire (burk-sheer)
> Mall. (A side note is that nearby was Bucks county.)
> 
> So apparently we kept some of the old pronunciations
> and lost others, or perhaps retained some that shifted
> back in the country of origin.


SSSusan:
We have absolutely *butchered* some of the original pronunciations in 
Indiana.  There is a town named Versailles, which of course any self-
respecting person would WANT to pronounce in its French form ("vehr-
sigh" is the best I can come up with for phonetics).  But, OH no.  
Here Hoosiers feel compelled to call it "vehr-SALES."  There is also 
a tendency to pronounce Brazil, Indiana, as "Bray-zil." ::shudder::

Siriusly Snapey Susan