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Old 12-30-2013, 11:25 AM
 
15,793 posts, read 20,472,889 times
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Fan-U-eL here. 3 syllables. Life-longer here
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Old 12-30-2013, 12:55 PM
 
Location: West Roxbury, MA
289 posts, read 567,484 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bostonguy1960 View Post
Oh yes, I occasionally, but not often, here it "Fan-el," even by local radio or tv hosts, if I recall. Not sure if they're local or old timers...

Similar to how some said "Fih-lene's Basement" instead of Fy-lene's". BSeemed then to be some locals or some old-timers.

Sort of like my post a few months ago about pronouncing "Massachusetts." As I noted, some say it "Zetts" instead of "setts." Even since, I notice Joe Matthew (sp?) on WBZ 1030 AM on his 5 am shift seemingly calling it "MassachuZetts." And he's from the state, I think.
One of my pet-est of peeves is folks "reporting live from MATT-a-pan." I used to think stations educated out-of-towners on pronunciation, but I think that has gone the way of newspaper proof-readers and the AP Style Book.
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Old 12-30-2013, 10:03 PM
 
2,280 posts, read 4,512,068 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bostonguy1960 View Post
Hmmm...

I've heard different pronunciations over the years...

Didn't grow up here but have been local since 1978 save for small periods...

Anyway, I have always said "Fan-u-el. But I've noticed some real Bostonians (often 60-plus?) say "fan-el," as in flannel pajamas.

Is it two or three syllables? Does anybody really know or even care?

I understand it's named after the Faneuil family of Brighton?...

Tourists often mangle the word, not even coming close to the two examples I mentioned.
My mother's family goes back to 1660 in Massachusetts (Cambridge) and we had more than one generation who worked for many decades in the Custom House (not "Customs House"). Both of my parents said "Fan-el".

It is pronounced Fan-el. Not Fan-u-el. The older Bostonians have it right. I lived in Boston for many years and am over 60, too.
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Old 12-30-2013, 10:06 PM
 
2,280 posts, read 4,512,068 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bostonbarney View Post
"Real Bostonian" here, 60+, never heard **fan-el** until the carpetbaggers came to town. It's fan-u-el.

Sorry, you are saying it wrong. It is "Fan-el". I am a former Bostonian who is also over 60.

Let's go look it up <gg>. Maybe there are two equally valid ways to say it! <ss>
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Old 12-30-2013, 11:43 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts
6,301 posts, read 9,638,276 times
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To make matters more confusing, Merriam-Webster says all three are correct:

Fan-el, Fan-yule and Fan-u-el

Faneuil - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

The newscasters seem to favor the 2nd pronunciation.
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Old 12-31-2013, 08:18 AM
 
Location: Quincy, Mass. (near Boston)
2,941 posts, read 5,182,436 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bostonbarney View Post
One of my pet-est of peeves is folks "reporting live from MATT-a-pan." I used to think stations educated out-of-towners on pronunciation, but I think that has gone the way of newspaper proof-readers and the AP Style Book.
So...is it said "Matt -a-PAN with emphasis on the LAST syllable? It's not referenced much in the local news (except for crime at times) despite the large size of the area...
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Old 12-31-2013, 08:20 AM
 
Location: Quincy, Mass. (near Boston)
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Wow, Martha Ann claiming it's Fan-el, as in flannel pajamas...

Lots of differing opinions; it's getting exciting.
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Old 12-31-2013, 11:28 AM
 
Location: Quincy, Mass. (near Boston)
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Heard the DJ on 104.1 FM last hour mentioning three times in the promo about an event at Fan-yul Hall. Hmmm....
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Old 12-31-2013, 12:57 PM
 
Location: Medfid
6,805 posts, read 6,027,453 times
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I think I pronounce it "fan-yoo-al"
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Old 12-31-2013, 09:13 PM
 
Location: New Hampshire
2,257 posts, read 8,168,736 times
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The pronunciation of 'Faneuil' has changed throughout the generations in Boston. Today, you are most likely to hear "FAN-yul" (rhyming with "Daniel"), followed by "FAN-yoo-ul", and sometimes "FAN-ul" (rhyming with "flannel").

But guess what? According to the old timers (most of whom are now dead), we're all saying it wrong. Once upon a time, Bostonians pronounced the name like funnel!

To make things even funnier, all of these options are basically a massacre of the original French pronunciation. In French, the name Faneuil sounds like this.
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