Pronouncing 'Miami' (Belle Glade, Okeechobee, Tequesta: living, land, place)

[flyboytampabay]

The old timers called it Miama!

[nezlie]

just saw this one...

The name Miami comes from the Calusa word "Mayami," meaning "Big Water."

//www.city-data.com/us-cities/T...i-History.html

pronounced Ma-ya-mi.

[Sydney123]

Another first world problem.

[tallrick]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz_Ny_AC-Nw

This is where I want to go!

[nezlie]

Originally Posted by tallrick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz_Ny_AC-Nw

This is where I want to go!

He said, "........ a trip to the University of My-ah-ma."

[11KAP]

My-ah-ma sounds stupid. That's that old honky-tonk pronunciation.

[ElGuito]

Today, even in Spanish they pronounce it My-a-me

Although someone else said comes form the word Mayami, somewhere else I read that when the Spaniards arrived, the asked the natives (Tequesta?) about the name of the place, sounded something like Meeame, the Spaniards wrote it as it would sound in Spanish, Miami.
Of course nowadays the English pronunciation of that combination of vowels is what it is.

[mordovar]

Mayami = A place with sweet water

The first time, I venture, that the place was pronounced in Spanish was MAYAMI..in Spanish phonetics.

I venture that the name was transcribed into English as Miami, that sounds similar.

There are very similar transcriptions.

I assume so because the real name of Havana is MAYANIMA = A place with sweet Water, now a posh section in Havana. Mayanima just written like that. There are many similar names with the word "MAYA--" sweet water..

Mayarí
Mayabeque
Mayabón
etc.

As to the relation of Tequesta and Tainos, it seems they had a similar language. Tequesta died of pox, and the few ones left were brought to Cuba, they died there.


So Havana and Miami are really called the same, a paradox, or a parajoda.

[ray1945]

I've lived here for 65 years and it's always been My-am-me. When I was a little girl, lots of folks pronounced it Mi-am-ma.

[CapnTrips]

Originally Posted by mordovar

I assume so because the real name of Havana is MAYANIMA = A place with sweet Water.

By the real name I assume you mean the indian name, since the Spaniards called it La Habana? I didn't know that there was an indian village or landmark on that spot before the Spaniards settled there.