PLACE NAMES
 

Although they don't follow me around <BR>all day like some songs do, there are <BR>those place names that reverberate a <BR>while. Among my favorites are Guatemala's <BR>Chichicastenango and the England's <BR>Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Got any of your own? <BR>(And yes, I know all about those risque <BR>names adorning the towns and cities of <BR>Pennsylvania.) <BR> <BR>Happy travels, <BR> <BR>Gerry K <BR>

One of my favorites for no particular reason , other than I love the sound and also the area, <BR>Sturminster Newton, Dorset

Since I was a kid and had the giggles over the guides excited pronunciation of it with my sister, Itaipu Dam, stranding the countries of Brazil and Paraguay in South America. (He kind of sang it). <BR> <BR>More will no doubt come as I think on it... <BR> <BR>

Gerry, <BR>Furfooz which sounds like it ought to be in the Middle East, Turkey perhaps, is actually a small town in Belgium,east of Dinant. Belgian town names are intriguing simply because of the two official languages of the country: Antwerp/Anvers, Bruges/Brugge, Bastogne/Bastenaken, Brussels/Bruxelles/Brussel, Gent/Gand, Kortrijk/Courtrai, Liege/Liuk and Louvain/Leuven. Confused?

I love to say Oaxahaca and Baja. <BR> <BR>I like the way the British pronounce Salisbury and St. Paul. <BR> <BR>In New England: Chicopee and Nahant. <BR> <BR>And the word for citizens of Monaco: Monegasque. <BR> <BR> <BR>

Some of my very favorites are British: Chipping Camden, Derbyshire, Leicester, Shrewsbury,,,,I can't even remember all the lovely sounding names! <BR>I also love Hawaii names such as Lahaina, Poipu, Halakela,,, they sound very interesting and exotic to me... <BR> <BR>And Gerry do you mean the town of Intercourse,Pa? &lt;g&gt;? Judy ;-)

Myabe this'll start a new thread about mispronouced names: My friend's grandmother went to visit him in Germany, and he took her to the picturesque town of Dinkelsbuhl. Later, when asked about her favorite part of the trip, she said, "Oh, I really enjoyed Bull's Dinkle."

The one I enjoy is the one I <BR>REFUSE to pronounce correctly: <BR>Phuket. <BR> <BR>Earnest

Forgot some Irish favorites: <BR>Ballybunion, Courtmacsherry, Tipperary, <BR>and the Kingdom of Kerry (can't resist <BR>the latter; it's my son's name in <BR>reverse). <BR> <BR>Happy Travels, <BR> <BR>(mr) Gerry Kingdom <BR> <BR>PS: Eight days, and I'm off to Holland <BR> (from NY), but who's counting?

<BR> <BR>I have to nominate the Firth of Fifth in Scotland . . giggle everytime I see it. <BR> <BR>Rich

I am from Newfoundland, a province in Canada and we are proud of our contribution to the world of interesting place names: theres Come By Chance and Big and Little Tickle and Bay Despair and Quidi Vidi (pronounced Kiddie Viddie) and Conception Harbour and, of course, you would never forget a visit to Dildo...

Rich, <BR>I thought that was the Firth of Forth. <BR>Pam

Horned Dorset Primavera. <BR> <BR>(A resort in the Caribbean.)

Ljubljana, Slovenia. <BR>In Munich: the German's make Herkimerplatz sound poetic. <BR>j.

Winterbourne Dauntsey and Nether Wallop

And how about that HUGE "town" in Germany called Ausfart? :-o <BR> <BR>Joke, joke!

There's a big elusive city named Ausfahrt in Switerland too. It's somewhere in between Tolochenaz and Niederbipp.

There must be thousands of towns named Ausfart in Germany..ever hihgway exit ramp names it...

Recently in Hawaii, having already been to Akaka Falls, we absolutely had to go and see Peepee Falls too. (Of course the Hawaiians spell it with a few apostrophes, which changes the pronunciation, but we like it better the other way!) I took a picture of the street sign because I knew nobody would believe me.

I got a charge out of some village names in the Ötztal of Austria. <BR>The names are: Hochgurgl, Obergurgl, and Untergurgl. When the snow melts in the spring, they have Gurglgurgl. <BR> <BR>

What about Saint Antony in Roseland in Cornwall? <BR>This reminds me of a nice Cornish story. A friend of mine asked an old josser the way to Mousehole, pronouncing it the way you spell it. He said, "Mouse 'ole, yew mean Mouzle moi maid!"

Not that there's anything wrong with European names, but . . . <BR> <BR>American Names <BR>by Stephen Vincent Benet <BR> <BR>I have fallen in love with American names, <BR>The sharp names that never get fat, <BR>The snakeskin-titles of mining-claims, <BR>The plumed war-bonnet of Medicine Hat, <BR>Tucson and Deadwood and Lost Mule Flat. <BR> <BR>Seine and Piave are silver spoons, <BR>But the spoonbowl-metal is thin and worn, <BR>There are English counties like hunting-tunes <BR>Played on the keys of a postboy's horn, <BR>But I will remember where I was born. <BR> <BR>I will remember Carquinez Straits, <BR>Little French Lick and Lundy's Lane, <BR>The Yankee ships and the Yankee dates <BR>And the bullet-towns of Calamity Jane. <BR>I will remember Skunktown Plain. <BR> <BR>I will fall in love with a Salem tree <BR>And a rawhide quirt from Santa Cruz, <BR>I will get me a bottle of Boston sea <BR>And a blue-gum negro to sing me blues. <BR>I am tired of loving a foreign muse. <BR> <BR>Rue des Martyrs and Bleeding-Heart-Yard, <BR>Senlis, Pisa, and Blindman's Oast, <BR>It is a magic ghost you guard <BR>But I am sick for a newer ghost, <BR>Harrisburg, Spartanburg, Painted Post. <BR> <BR>Henry and John were never so-- <BR>And Henry and John were always right? <BR>Granted, but when it was time to go <BR>And the tea and the laurels had stood all night, <BR>Did they never watch for Nantucket Light? <BR> <BR>I shall not rest quiet in Montparnasse. <BR>I shall not lie easy at Winchelsea. <BR>You may bury my body in Sussex grass, <BR>You may bury my tongue at Champmedy. <BR>I shall not be there. I shall rise and pass. <BR>Bury my heart at Wounded Knee.

further on mispronouciatiosns! A very dear fried had problems touring england with a group, she mispronouced just ablout every town name, Win Chelsea, Worcester, etc. Finally she thought she'd gotten the hang of it when they arrived in AS SHE SAID ..Burr- dis -Land.. till she was told by the tour guide, " I am sorry madam, we pronouce it Bird Island"

I've always been a big fan of "Oaxaca". Driving north from Phoenix up Rt 17 there are a lot of great names. My favorite nice one is Bumblebee, but there are also some pretty gruesome ones like Bloody Basin and Deadhorse National Park. A coworker told me a story about traveling to Deadhorse, Alaska. Now, would you rather your horse died from heat stroke or from freezing?

Two towns in North Carolina: <BR>Frog Level <BR>Booger Swamp

My favorite place name has got to be Firenze in Italy. Nothing really funny about Firenze, but as many of you know it is called Florence in American talk. <BR>A bloated, pompous man I know was in Italy. He collected art museums purely for the prestige he derived from saying he had been there. That is to say, he appreciated art about as much as my cat. So one day while in Italy he heard that the Uffuzi Gallery was a major place to be. So he headed out in his rental car for Florence. All he ever saw on the highway was signs Firenze. Never found the place. <BR>

Bastardo, Italy <BR>Two egg, Florida <BR>Sopchoppy, Florida <BR>

Oyster Bay, (Long Island) New York

This thread is getting addicting! <BR>There is a lovely st. in London ,Grosvenor Place, also an nice hotel, Grosvenor hotel. In Texas they also have a Grosvenor,, pronounced Gross-vee-ner. It's very near brownwood Tx which has a funeral home owned and operated by GROANER PITTS!!!!!!

<BR> <BR>By golly Pam. . you are right it is the Firth of Forth . . I never was much good with numbers. . . makes me giggle anyway! <BR> <BR>Rich

OK My all time 2 favorites are both in Australia... <BR> <BR>Dog on Tucker Box <BR>and <BR>Wagga Wagga <BR> <BR>Such a magical place!

Three of my favorites are in Nova Scotia and not far apart: Pugwash; Shubernacadie and Tatamagouche. (Just say "Shubernacadie, Nova Scotia" out loud. :o) Isn't that just delightful?!

Not a town, but a wine, named for a town. I like it because it trips off the tongue so nicely with the (hopefully) proper pronunciation: <BR> <BR>Montepulciano d'Abruzzo <BR> <BR>Whenever I see it on a wine list, I order is just so I can say it!

I like: <BR> <BR>Ouagadougou! <BR> <BR>Capital of Africa's Burkina, if I am correct. <BR>I just like this word. Have never been there though and will most probably never go, unless I should have a specific reason. <BR> <BR>.. and yes, I like yours too, Jim! ;-)

Oh, I forgot, Louise: <BR> <BR>Next time, go for: <BR> <BR>Vino Nobile di Montepulciano! <BR> <BR>It's even better than the Abruzzo one! <BR>And it sounds nice and it IS nice as well.

Within 50 miles of here (in Scotland): <BR> <BR>Quothquan <BR>Bonkle <BR>Buttock Point <BR>Moscow

Cumming, Georgia. <BR> <BR>No joke!

Ballinspittle, Ireland

We liked the concept: Paros and Antiparos <BR> <BR>In New England, we like to make life particularly difficult for non-natives, as we mix English town names in with Indian town names: Worcester, Leominster, Leicester, Barre, Woonsocket, Ogunquit, Housatonic, Scituate, Pawtucket, Barnstable. And the town that nobody can pronounce: <BR>Agaganquamasset. <BR> <BR>I like the way pronunciations change: Houston Street; Houston Texas. Berlin, Germany; Berlin, Connecticut. <BR> <BR>Two areas near where I grew up that I love: Indian Orchard and Sixteen Acres

Albania, Albania...It boarders on the Adriatic.... <BR>(Cheers fans can appreciate that) <BR>Ronkonkoma <BR>"All aboard the 5:22 to Raaaaaahhhn-konkoma" <BR>(Long Islanders can appreciate that)