A lot of lighthouses have names that are REALLY hard to pronounce. I myself have often been embarrased in front of grocery store checkout clerks, post office workers, and, of course, the people who run the lighthouse by making myself sound as much from another place as possible.

So why don't we help each other out by giving lessons on how to pronounce these lights. I, for one, would like to know Scituate. One post person/day.

I'll start:

Contrary to popular belief, Currituck Beach Light is pronounced:

CURRY-tuck. NOT CUR-ih-tuck. Also, it is located in KUH-rah-lah, not COH-roll-uh. We're talking lighthouses, not Toyotas.

Let's see how to say all those lights!

Scituate - SIT-chew-it

[Fort] Gratiot GRA[SS]-shut (starts off like GRASS, but drop the SS)

Greg, actually, I don't think I've ever heard it pronounced any other way than CUR-ih-tuck.

KUH-rah-lah is definitely correct for the area, Corolla where the Currituck lighthouse is located. Since you are a frequent visitor there, I expect you've heard many residents and business owners in the area refer to the lighthouse as the Corolla Lighthouse. Can't tell you how many times I've heard that!

Judy

Bodie Island Lighthouse, NC

BOD-ie, NOT BO-die

The original name was BODY Island Lighthouse and most likely came from the name of the family who originally owned the land where the lighthouse is built. Then there are other folklore stories attached to this.

Judy

I've heard it "Curry" alot on the TV commericals in the area, as well as from the locals. I figured that if that's how they say it, that's how they say it.

How about this one...my favorite (not) light:

HUR-fird instead of HERE-ford. As in, Hereford Inlet Lighthou$e.

Could be the same locals that also give visitors directions to the "Corolla Lighthouse".

Don't think I've ever heard anyone at the OBC,Inc, the owners of Currituck Beach Lighthouse, ever say CURRY-tuck.

Maybe it's the difference between my southern ears and your northern ones. Us southerners tend to slur over "R"s.

Judy

Re: Minot's Ledge

How you say in America?

Minnows? or My not's?

I believe it's the latter Sandy. I used to say it some other way but my son-in-law (from Quincy, MA) corrected me.

Which reminds me of a funny story. A few years ago I.O. and I were in Canada, lighthousing of course. At the motel where we stayed we met up with some fellow lodgers and had a nice conversation. One young man was from a South American country, don't recall which one. He told us the story of why he was where he was but said he was going to be leaving soon for Boston. When I asked him why he was going there he responded, "To learn better English". LOL

Here's a good one that I learned about a few years ago when I visited the Charlotte-Genesee lighthouse. I had always thought it started out SHAR-let (just like the woman's name) until the colleague I was working with in Rochester corrected me and told me the true pronunciation of the first word was actually sha-LOT...no "r" and accent on the second syllable.

However the second part of the name is indeed pronounced just like the beer...or river... depending on how your mind free associates

DocJohn,
Any chance your colleague was from Boston--they always drop the "r", i.e., pak the ca in Havad yad.
Sandy

DocJohn,

I've never heard it pronounced your way...and I've lived here all my life. We do pronounce the "r" ~ shar-LOT. The emphasis is on the last syllable. Was confusing growing up because I had an Aunt Charlotte and was always misprouncing her name.

Patty

Some years back you frequently ran into the old High Tiders (Hoy Toiders) who lived on the NC and were decended from the original Elizabethan English settlers of the area and the lower Chesapeake area. It was said their style of English was the closest to that originally spoken in the colonies. They would pronounce it as "Cape Hatress," not "Hat-er-ras." Since I learned about the cape from them, I still pronounce it that way myself. Similarly, it came out as "Oak-re-coke," not "Okra-coke." Lots of very round o's.

Growing up in NC I always heard it as Cape Hatress myself, it was only latter that I started hearing it pronounced Hat-er-as. Now as for Ocracoke, I have always heard it as Okra-coke, even when I lived on the Outer Banks as a kid.

But of course my favorite was always correcting people who mispronounced Bodie Island. I still correct people to this day.

I've heard the two listed below pronounced different ways, so which is right?

West Quoddy

Sankaty

In regards to Charlotte-Genesee, the guy I worked with was from Brooklyn originally but has been at Strong Memorial for over 25 years and he is a big local history buff. Since I was only a transplant for 10 weeks, I will leave the "r" up for debate among the natives , but here is a link that gives the pronunciation as I was told without the "r"...but with the accent on the first syllable:

http://www.frontiernet.net/~mikemay/

Patty & Doc, my husband too is from Rochester and that was his beat are when he was in the Sheriff's office (a long long time ago )He does pronounce it Sha-lot. Who knows what is correct.

Randy,
When I went on the USLS Cape Cod tour, Wayne Wheeler pronounced Sankaty as being SAN-kah-tee...as opposed to what I had previously thought...san-KAY-tee.