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Old 07-24-2009, 03:18 PM
 
Location: San Antonio
2,260 posts, read 5,619,833 times
Reputation: 1505

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I always just called it "Bluemel", like the color and the guy from the Alice tv show, emphasis on the guy from the Alice tv show.

However, at church the other day a woman said the street was named for her family so I asked her how she pronounced it. She said her family name is pronounced "BLEEm'l". I'm sure her pronunciation is closer to the original German (or Dutch or whatever - can't remember what she said), but I don't want to go around pronouncing the street like that when everyone else is saying "blueMEL"

Anyone?
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Old 07-24-2009, 03:19 PM
 
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For 24 years, I've said Blue-Mel, like you. Not about to change it now! Just like people wanting me to say Hugh-bner for Heebner (Huebner)...not gonna do it!
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Old 07-24-2009, 03:23 PM
 
Location: Washington, DC & San Antonio, TX
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I worked at USAA way back in the dark ages and everyone there said "Blue (like the color) Mel (like the diner)". Just because it was named after someone's family many eons ago doesn't mean that public usage won't change the pronunciation over time.
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Old 07-24-2009, 03:24 PM
 
Location: San Antonio
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Ok, good. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't making some egregious rookie mistake in pronunciation despite living here for 12 years!
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Old 07-24-2009, 03:33 PM
 
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Well, if we all had to pronounce names like their origin, we'd all be speaking a lot differently.

It used to drive me insane to hear Lima, Ohio pronounced as "Leye-ma" instead of "lee-ma" and Berlin, Ohio as "BER-lin" instead of "ber-LIN." But I learned to accept the local way in time.....
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Old 07-24-2009, 03:36 PM
 
Location: San Antonio
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The BERlin thing came about during/after WWI. German names throughout the country were bastardized to sound less German. It was considered the American thing to do.

I grew up about 25 miles from New Berlin, IL and it was pronounced the same way: New BERlin. Prior to WWI, it was pronounced New BerLIN.
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Old 07-24-2009, 03:37 PM
 
Location: San Antonio
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Oh, and we DO say HEEBner, which is closer to the German than HUBEner. And we say Wurzbach like Bach, Beethonven, Brahms, rather than WurzBACK...

So really, Bluemel could've gone either way.
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Old 07-24-2009, 03:41 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LindaGrace View Post
Oh, and we DO say HEEBner, which is closer to the German than HUBEner. And we say Wurzbach like Bach, Beethonven, Brahms, rather than WurzBACK...

So really, Bluemel could've gone either way.
hah, my German friend who lives in SA pronouces Wurzbach very properly "Vurz-Bach" He can't help himself
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Old 07-24-2009, 03:43 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX via San Antonio, TX
9,853 posts, read 13,708,956 times
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This thread reminds me of //www.city-data.com/forum/san-a...ace-names.html I get a kick out of people pronouncing things in San Antonio. With such a mixed bag of cultures it's hard to tell what you're saying right and what you're saying wrong on any given day, time, or place.
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Old 07-24-2009, 03:43 PM
 
Location: San Antonio
2,260 posts, read 5,619,833 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chaka View Post
hah, my German friend who lives in SA pronouces Wurzbach very properly "Vurz-Bach" He can't help himself
Cute!

Of course there's the whole BLANK-o Road thing... I can never remember what is "correct" - BLANK-o or BLAHNC-o. I use them interchangeably and it always makes me laugh when my husband, who grew up in the Valley speaking Spanish, calls it BLANK-o, like any ol' white boy.
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