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Northeastern Pennsylvania Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pocono area
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View Poll Results: How Do You Pronounce The Name of the Diamond City?
Wilkes-Berry 50 58.82%
Wilkes-Bear 27 31.76%
Wilkes-Bear-Uh 8 9.41%
Voters: 85. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 11-19-2007, 06:37 PM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,620 posts, read 77,624,272 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WasPA View Post
Bah.
Moo?
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Old 11-19-2007, 06:48 PM
 
30 posts, read 148,151 times
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SWB Yes! That is where Barre Vt is! Beautiful country!
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Old 11-19-2007, 11:48 PM
 
1,005 posts, read 1,891,132 times
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I love hometown history. Here's some interesting info.

This tongue-in-cheek article & the linked sources at the end state the correct pronounciation is "Barry", although we all know sources which/who disagree. Funnier still is many sources offer Paul's poll's 3 choices (& not a 4th choice of "Barry"), yet take no stand on which is correct.

The Daily Apple: Apple #261: Wilkes-Barre, PA

American Heritage Dictionary also reports "Barry" is correct:
Wilkes-Barre. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

Cool dude, that Barre... Apparantly, Issac Barre was born in Dublin, IR to a FR refugee father & attended Trinity College, entered the army & took Quebec before being elected to Parliament. Barre, MA & Barre, VT (both also pronounced "Barry") are also named for him. Being a vigorous opponent of US taxation, he coined the phrase "Sons of Liberty" in one of his speeches to the colonists Re: the Stamp Act, was appointed Treasureship of the US Navy from which he retired after 8-yrs due to blindness & died at the age of 76 in 1802.

That being said:

1. I'm originally from W-B (back in the days when Barre was but a lad!) & always prounced it "Barry". Most of my local friends did, too, that I recall. Perhaps "Berry" doesn't come naturally as it's not spelled Berre.

2. Me da', also born in Dublin, IR, always said "Berra" a la Yogi Berra, with a brogue however. I noticed as a kid that local oldtimers favored this way. Not sure what most Dubliners would say now, except "Your still bloody talkin' about that, then, are ya?"

3. Every person I've ever met who is not from the area, bar none, pronounced it "Bar", pun intended. But, aside from Bostonians (I now live in Boston), most I've met who are not from PA also say "A-mish" rather than "Ah-mish", so... Although in all fairness, Bostonians like the letter "h", as in the words park "paahk", car "caah" & yard "yaahd". Note: The accent over the "e" in Barre would indicate 2 syllables & the pronounciation "Bar", perhaps we can all agree, is incorrect. One down, three to go...

4. This raging battle shall forge ahead (okay, perhaps not rage & forge, but scamper & scurry), but... up until I was in my 20s, no one I'd met ever heard of W-B. Now, at least people know about "us", however they pronounce it. Mostly they know about us because we can't agree on how to pronounce our town, but that's beside the point... (Yes, I'm kidding!)

5. My best friend is from Paris. Since the articles say Barre is a FR name, the next time I speak with her, I'll ask her how she'd pronounce it. She's also the most extraordinary history buff I've ever met, so it wouldn't surprise me if she knows a great deal about him.

6. Although I've lived in 6 states, 5 countries & on 3 continents, when asked where I'm from I always answer "Wilkes-Barre". IMO, relatively speaking, NEPA is still a safe, clean-aired, not overly-crowded place to live with genuine, good-hearted folks.

7. Yes, Paul, I know I'm supposed to be "gone"... Exit, stage left...

Happy Thanksgiving, All... VV
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Old 11-20-2007, 12:02 AM
 
1,005 posts, read 1,891,132 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nepawoods View Post
The correct pronunciation is WILK-eeze BAR. Yes, there are a lot of people, even who live there, who don't know that.
They don't make Wilkeeze Bars anymore, especially those coconut ones. Gone the way of the Charleston Chew, Bonomo Turkish Taffy & green licorice.

Never could warm up to that green licorice anyway. We only bought it when they were out of black & red...
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Old 11-20-2007, 05:15 AM
 
Location: Black Hammock Island
4,620 posts, read 14,989,061 times
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I've enjoyed this thread! As a short-term PA resident, it was alway Wilks Barry (also because of growing up knowing Barre VT as Barry VT.)

I'll bet every state has a controversial pronunciation of a city -- Louisville KY (Looeyvil/Looisvil/Luavil), Gloucester MA (Glosta/Glouwster) or Peabody (Peebidy/Peebawdy), Ponte Vedra FL (Ponta Veedra/Ponteh Veddra), and so forth.

It's the same thing that some midwesterners and maritime Canadians warsh their clothes. Dialectal diversities get traditionally passed along somehow someway, and I honestly don't see pronunciations as either wrong or right - I just purely enjoy the fascination of their existence and wonder how some came to be!!
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Old 11-20-2007, 05:39 AM
 
Location: Pocono Mts.
9,480 posts, read 12,115,981 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nepawoods View Post
The correct pronunciation is WILK-eeze BAR. Yes, there are a lot of people, even who live there, who don't know that.
I do not agree, I'm sorry. That sounds like a very Pa Dutch pronunciation.
I reiterate: John Wilkes (wilks) Isaac Barre (berry)
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Old 11-20-2007, 07:02 AM
 
414 posts, read 1,779,994 times
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Isaac Barre was of French descent, with roots in Canada. His name had a French accent aigu above the last 'e' and as such, would have been pronounced with an accentuated 'a' sound or similar to the 'et' in the word 'beret'.

In my years in the area I never heard 'Barre' pronounced as above; nor did I ever hear "Berry". ...at least remarkably few times. I typically heard 'Wilkes-Barry' or 'Wooksb(p)bare' when slurred in ordinary speech......even when somone said "Wilkes" said together with "Barre", they typically did not form the full "il" sound as much as they might when saying Wilkes College (now University).

Try an experiment. Ask any native (without saying why) to quickly say 'Wilkes-Barre', then to quickly say 'Wilkes College'; listen for the difference in the 'il' sound; guess you'll have to write the words down so as to not influence the result......anyway, fun for the feeble minded......
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Old 11-20-2007, 07:07 AM
 
414 posts, read 1,779,994 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre View Post
Moo?
you are such a tonic.......
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Old 11-20-2007, 11:29 AM
 
Location: Scranton
2,940 posts, read 3,968,689 times
Reputation: 570
Another question I have is the proper pronounciation of Mundy Street? I always thought it was supposed to be pronounced "MUN-DEE." Even Tommy Van Scoy in his commercials pronounced it "mun-dee" (Mundy Street, Mundy Street, on Mundy Street!). Yet now that I work down here, I hear the Wyoming Valley locals seem to pronounce it MUN-DAY street, like the day of the week....
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Old 11-20-2007, 12:10 PM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,620 posts, read 77,624,272 times
Reputation: 19102
Quote:
Originally Posted by conorsdad View Post
Another question I have is the proper pronounciation of Mundy Street? I always thought it was supposed to be pronounced "MUN-DEE." Even Tommy Van Scoy in his commercials pronounced it "mun-dee" (Mundy Street, Mundy Street, on Mundy Street!). Yet now that I work down here, I hear the Wyoming Valley locals seem to pronounce it MUN-DAY street, like the day of the week....
It's most DEFINITELY "Mun-Dee," as in State Rep. Phyllis Mundy of Kingston. Anyone who pronounces it "Monday" Street must have a speech impediment.
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