Spoken like a native!

I've been reading with interest Bill West's series of posts entitled "Speak Like a Native New Englander" over at West in New England. Bill, who hails from the Boston area, is giving us an introduction to interesting pronunciations of names around New England.

Thought you knew how to pronounce "ham"? Think again.

You've heard of Milan and Berlin, I'm sure, but you may not know that they have namesakes in New Hampshire. And guess what: they are not pronounced Mil-AHN and Bur-LIN.

Leominster looks easy enough to say, but you might be surprised how the locals pronounce it.

So far Bill has posted three editions of his series with more to come. You might also be interested in a few other posts he has written about New England names. Take the one on the lake called Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, for instance. Now that's a name only a native could love!