damnum absque injuria

November 22, 2009

How South Are You?

Filed under:   by Xrlq @ 2:34 pm

Here’s a simple pronunciation test. When referring to the North Carolina city bearing that name, how do you pronounce “Concord?”

  1. “Concord.”
  2. “Con-cord.”
  3. “Conquered”
  4. “Um, Charlotte, I think.”
  5. “Lowe’s Motor Speedway”
  6. Other (specify).

14 Responses to “How South Are You?”

  1. Bitter Says:
    November 22nd, 2009 at 2:40 pm

    Before I left Oklahoma, 2. After I moved to Massachusetts, 3. Most people in Massachusetts, 6: “Where’s North Carolina?”

  2. Tregonsee Says:
    November 22nd, 2009 at 3:15 pm

    Always fun to ask how to pronouce the name of the capital of Kentucky.

    Treg

  3. Joel B Says:
    November 22nd, 2009 at 6:35 pm

    Conquered

  4. PatAZ Says:
    November 22nd, 2009 at 8:32 pm

    Con cord As a used-to-be southerner, but further south than NC.

  5. McGehee Says:
    November 23rd, 2009 at 10:11 am

    If I don’t know how the locals pronounce it, I’d probably say #3, which is how the one in Contra Costa County, California is pronounced by its locals — one of which includes my wife.

  6. Marty Says:
    November 23rd, 2009 at 7:41 pm

    It’s still Charlotte Motor Speedway to some of us.

  7. zombyboy Says:
    November 29th, 2009 at 3:57 pm

    3

  8. Janet Says:
    November 30th, 2009 at 7:16 pm

    Ahh, the true test is the correct pronunciation of 1) New Bern and 2) Beaufort.

  9. Xrlq Says:
    November 30th, 2009 at 8:17 pm

    “NEWburn” and “BOW-fart,” right?

  10. McGehee Says:
    December 3rd, 2009 at 3:52 pm

    Depends on which Beaufort. There’s at least one (South Carolina, I think) that sounds kind of like Buford but ending with a T.

  11. Janet Says:
    December 7th, 2009 at 2:08 pm

    Correct, New Bern is pronounced as one word “newburn”. However, Beaufort is pronounced “buford” whether you are in North or South Carolina (there is such a city in each of the Carolinas). It was not uncommon during Reconstruction for Southern Towns to be named in such a way that the pronunciation of name was different from the spelling. This was done to identify carpetbaggers. Basically, if you were from the area then you knew how to properly pronounce the name of the town, making non-locals identifiable.

  12. Xrlq Says:
    December 9th, 2009 at 11:30 pm

    I’m aware that there is a “Beaufort” in each Carolina, but are you sure they’re pronounced the same? My sources tell me that Beaufort, NC is pronounced “bow-fart” but Beauford, SC is pronounced “Buford.” Kinda like the Arkansas River, whose name is pronounced “Arkansaw” everywhere except the part running through Kansas, which mysteriously becomes the “Our Kansas River.”

  13. Janet Says:
    December 10th, 2009 at 2:24 pm

    Let’s see. . . my husband is from Wilmington (NC), he says “Buford”, my mother (whose family includes anyone named “Meads” in Elizabeth City) says “Buford” and my father (who hails from Greenville (NC)) also says “Buford”, so I don’t know what your sources say, but I have generations who tell me “Buford”!

    See, it’s like the name of the town that gave us Brett Favre, Kiln, MS. If you are a potter (you know, making ceramics for a living) you would say “kiln” (because that is what you call the oven where your pots are fired) but if you are from there you would say “the kill”.

  14. Xrlq Says:
    December 11th, 2009 at 2:09 am

    There must be some dissension in the ranks even among North Carolinians. My main sources hail from New Bern, NC, and Jacksonville, NC, respectively. Both agree that Beaufort, NC is pronounced “bow-fart” while Beaufort, SC is “Buford.” Go figure.

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