Pronouncing local place names! (San Antonio, Alamo: courthouse, certificate, pronounced)

[huckster]

I am a San Antonio native and people , yes, Yanks, do indeed refer to Hispanics as Spanish, Slowpoke.
Which is what the word hispanic refers to anyway. Yanks are generally good people.
AMARRIYO . It reminded me.....of an experience I had "up north" one time.

I was in working in Zilwaukee ,Michigan the year was 1987, Autumn, at the huge Zilwaukee Cantilever Bridge over the Saginaw River being built so as to relieve the congestion of interstate; I-75 this highway runs completely from Lake Superior south all the way to Miami , Florida- all the way across the U.S.
Still only a drawbridge was being used 125 feet below across the highway there in Michigan and the congestion of traffic would reach for many miles north and south on the interstate while a ship full of Taconite iron ore , from Minnesota would come slowly through up the Saginaw River . A freighter would appear so the operator would raise the drawbridge and then suddenly... everyone happily tearing along in their car at 80 mph down the interstate would have to come to an immediate and lengthy stop right on the freeway , this happened all of the time. Underway for the great G.M. iron foundry in Saginaw was a heavily loaded freighter just off from Lake Superior slowly chugging its' way through. Always I thought of the ship and song about the Edmund Fitzgerald by when up there.

I, a San Antonio native, casually mentioned the "Battle of the Alamo" to a couple of Michigan locals there one time , when uttered back to my ears was a response that included two situations that I never thought possible to be confused- one situation with the other. So completely and totally uninformed was this opinion that- I was caught unawares. Astonished really. Befuddled. I could only stand there sort of speechless. Stunned.

"Yes, I have heard of the Alamo." they said, " Wasn't that a part of the Spanish Inquisition?" was the reply my ears heard. Imagine what was going through my head at that moment. These two events happened on different continents. My mind rushed with the reality of the statement for an instant. I knew I was a long way from home.

Never mind.

SO I paused for a few seconds and then quietly replied back --- " Yes, that is exactly what the Alamo was."

Originally Posted by Slowpoke_TX

I grew up near there, so I can provide some insight here.

Am-uh-RILL-uh

Primary emphasis on Rill, secondary emphasis on Am (sounds like "ham", not like "on").

Or if you're from around there and really country (and I am both), then it's am-uh-RELL-uh (as in yellow, ironically).




One thing I noticed growing up in that area is everybody (including the Hispanic folks) pronounce it the same way, but the Hispanic people switch to the proper Spanish pronunciation when saying "yellow" in Spanish.

Another difference between there and here is that up there, the white and black people refer to the Hispanic people as "Spanish," regardless of national origin. I think it's just a shortened form of "Spanish-speaking."

[Slowpoke_TX]

Originally Posted by huckster

I am a San Antonio native and people , yes, Yanks, do indeed refer to Hispanics as Spanish, Slowpoke.

I know you're not referring to West Texas folks as Yankees...

[huckster]

Anyone from north of Austin is a yank. Just kidding.

Originally Posted by Slowpoke_TX

I know you're not referring to West Texas folks as Yankees...

[vgonzales]

Thanks for your help with Gruene and Boerne! You need a correction though. Helote is Spanish, and so the H is silent. So the pronunciation would be E-lo-te. Helote means corn!

[huckster]

Believe Helotes means ears of corn.
Maize means corn. As in creamed maize.

Originally Posted by vgonzales

Thanks for your help with Gruene and Boerne! You need a correction though. Helote is Spanish, and so the H is silent. So the pronunciation would be E-lo-te. Helote means corn!

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by huckster

Believe Helotes means ears of corn.
Maize means corn. As in creamed maize.

A quick google of "helote" comes up with "green maize." So it's plural for green maize.

[ranchodrive]

I always believed that Helotes was Spanish for corn,
So I Checked online Google translation & this came up...

From English to Spanish








Spanish to English






Also there's this link below that suggests that the origin for "Helotes"
was from the word "wahelotes" (not correct spelling) according to an
old cowboy.
I'm not a cowboy but I did grow up saying "wahelote" for turkey.
I have been informed that the correct word is pavo !

Go to "Founding Fathers":
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...,d.aWw&cad=rjt

[huckster]

Rancho, that seems plausible enough of a perversion of the pronunciation of Wahelotes.
Wahelotes anglicized into and shortened into Helotes. Perhaps there was a large population of wild turkeys there at one time in the past so it was called Helotes, or Turkeyville.
However, the most common usage is to call raw corn, helote ; so it seems doubtful that it was a slip of the tongue. Especially since elote is also the Catalan word for corn. Probably its' name origination has been lost to history. There is quite a bit of the slurring of speech that goes on around here.

The Pedernales River is pronounced the "Perdanales River" or even the Perdnalice River.
I have heard HEB called Hayshebee and Nacodoches Rd. called Nocodeeches Rd.

[ranchodrive]

Originally Posted by huckster

The Pedernales River is pronounced the "Perdanales River" or even the Perdnalice River.
I have heard HEB called Hayshebee and Nacodoches Rd. called Nocodeeches Rd.

San Peeedro

And what is the correct pronunciation for Gruen ?

[huckster]

In the word Gruene, both " e-e's" are silent. Nearer New Brunsfeldt it is, as I heard my father in law call the small city one time when he was visiting from "up north"...I could not believe he'd said this. I never said a word to him about this, he was a good person and had traveled a very long way to see us.
He is also a person who in place of saying Washington D.C. pronounces it just, "Warshington".
It must be that all the "R's" the British leave out of words float up in the air , and eventually land here
where they are put to good use.

Actually Gruen is pronounced Gruin.

Originally Posted by ranchodrive

San Peeedro

And what is the correct pronunciation for Gruen ?