What's with the pronunciation of Louisville by Louisville local media? (Lexington: zip codes, estate)

[KY_Transplant]

Originally Posted by lvmensch

That is pretty much nonsense. I grew up there though I left 50 years ago. The educated class called in Looievil. Fact of life. In fact the nuns in our Catholic grade school (I went to St. George and St. X) made a fetish out of correcting the other pronunciations.

As I said before the other pronunciations were fine as well. We would use them depending on who we were talking to.

For a couple of years I was in an Army Reserve Unit that was in fact a propaganda radio station directed toward US troops. All the leadership were local Radio and TV players. The discussion there also favored Looievil.

I have been living in Louisville for over a year now, and I have never heard anyone call it Loo-ey-ville. It has always been pronounced Luhavul or Luhaville, even by the folks at the Frazier History Museum. The only people that call it Looeyville are people who have not lived in the city or visited it enough to know the local pronunciation.

[EddieOlSkool]

Dropping the tensing on the I doesn't make the pronunciation less educated. It just makes it English instead of French. One of the phonological features of the English language (and I do mean of England) is to not tense final place short I vowels. This means a word like "happy" is pronounced "happeh". The phenomenon is called "happy tensing" and varies across English dialects. However there are many educated English speakers who will not tense the final vowel.

This isn't a lack of education, it just is the way English works. And last time I checked, English is the language spoken in Kentucky and not French.

[Waiting to Leave]

Originally Posted by KY_Transplant

I have been living in Louisville for over a year now, and I have never heard anyone call it Loo-ey-ville. It has always been pronounced Luhavul or Luhaville, even by the folks at the Frazier History Museum. The only people that call it Looeyville are people who have not lived in the city or visited it enough to know the local pronunciation.

I'm a sixth generation louisvillian, all the way back to the old country in the 19th century, and I say "lou-E-Ville" not the supposed "native" pronunciation, and not the groteque way the majority of the local television and radio media (including most of Louisville Public Media) says it, which is positively nauseating to me. Don't expect to become a world class city while dictating that all transplants say the name of the city as if they were illiterate yokels. When even those and the folks at the Frazier museum say it the way that those such as yourself insist is the "correct" pronunciation, I feel like whatever hope I had for Louisville (not to mention the rest of Kentucky) has worn thin nearly to the point of wearing through.

[Waiting to Leave]

Originally Posted by EddieOlSkool

Dropping the tensing on the I doesn't make the pronunciation less educated. It just makes it English instead of French. One of the phonological features of the English language (and I do mean of England) is to not tense final place short I vowels. This means a word like "happy" is pronounced "happeh". The phenomenon is called "happy tensing" and varies across English dialects. However there are many educated English speakers who will not tense the final vowel.

This isn't a lack of education, it just is the way English works. And last time I checked, English is the language spoken in Kentucky and not French.

Half of the metro area is in Indiana, Louisville is not in the middle of Kentucky, and the english language as spoken in North America has had centuries to evolve seperately into multiple dialects." English is the Language Spoken in Kentucky, not French" reminds me of something Wallace Wilkinson said decades ago (I can't remember the exact quote, but it was basically a redneck and xenophobic view towards those who spoke languages other than English.)

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by Waiting to Leave

Half of the metro area is in Indiana, Louisville is not in the middle of Kentucky, and the english language as spoken in North America has had centuries to evolve seperately into multiple dialects." English is the Language Spoken in Kentucky, not French" reminds me of something Wallace Wilkinson said decades ago (I can't remember the exact quote, but it was basically a redneck and xenophobic view towards those who spoke languages other than English.)

Well, only about 30% MSA in Indiana but point taken....Louisville is as Midwest as Southern. Louisville is a great city....long time natives and expats are too harsh on it.

[flashfearless]

Originally Posted by Guineas

I grew up in Lexington and have always pronounced Louisville as "Lou-uh-vul" and always thought that's the correct local pronunciation.

But why do Louisville TV anchors and radio stations pronounce it as "Lou-ee-ville"? It sounds disturbingly weird, like an occupation regime mispronouncing local names. But then local ads come up, and they pronounce it as I do.

Because they’re stupid enough to hire people from out of state. The pronunciation is the pronunciation. They’re showing a lack of local knowledge by saying it phonetically.

[Waiting to Leave]

Originally Posted by flashfearless

Because they’re stupid enough to hire people from out of state. The pronunciation is the pronunciation. They’re showing a lack of local knowledge by saying it phonetically.

You know a city is provencial when it sits on the border edge of a state that it has a preference for migrants from (and traditionally, especially after mass immigration from Europe ended in the early 20th century, most migrants into Louisville and Jefferson county have come from out in Kentucky.) Whenever I hear a local media person say "Lou-E-ville" (the majority, sickeningly, do not) I consider it a breath of fresh air.

[Space_League]

the way he says it at 0:14 sounds right to me

[Waiting to Leave]

Originally Posted by Space_League

the way he says it at 0:14 sounds right to me

Agreed. Great band too, doesn't get enough attention.

[celtblood]

Bingham was right, the city is named after King Louis XVI, so the only correct pronunciation is ”Loo-ee-ville”. ”Loo-vul” is just silly, it sounds like you have a mouthful of cotton or peanuts and can't talk. We have out of state residents who visit and literally make fun of the news anchors, it's embarrassing. ”World Class City” my butt.