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Size: 6 x 9
Pages: 168
Illustrations: 1 map

Literary Studies
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Correct Mispronunciations of South Carolina Names

Claude Neuffer and Irene Neuffer

Paperback
978-1-64336-060-7
Published: Jan 23 2020

$16.99

Hardcover

Published:

Ebook
978-1-64336-061-4
Published: Jan 23 2020

OA Ebook
978-1-64336-061-4
Published: Jan 23 2020

$0.00

The inclusion of this book in the Open Carolina collection is made possible by the generous funding of

Americans have a fine tradition of spelling words one way and pronouncing them another. While every region of the country has contributed to this tradition, South Carolinians have elevated the practice to an art. A classic South Carolina example is the name Huger, which is pronounced YOO-JEE by natives.

This dictionary includes some 400 South Carolina names, their peculiar pronunciations, and brief stories about their origins. Many folks hailing from other parts may consider these pronunciations just plain wrong, but rest assured South Carolinians will roll their eyes when those folks ask for directions to HUE-GER Street!




Claude Neuffer (1911–1984), professor of English at the University of South Carolina, and Irene Neuffer (1919–2004) lived in Columbia, South Carolina.

"A fascinating collection of Palmetto State place-names, people, and events. In one sense, it might be described as a generalized genealogy, but it also serves as an entertaining accumulation of South Carolina history, geography, religion, culture, economy, and humor."—Southern Partisan

""All of this sort of thing, of course, could come off in less skilled hands as merely ponderous or pedantic. But there's a wonderful lightness of tone about the Neuffers and reading their explanations is just plain fun as well as informative. The aim of their book is to see that the traditional pronunciations of names in South Carolina will be carried on, even when they may represent several hundred years of mispronunciation."—"—State (Columbia, S.C.)

""How do you pronounce names such as Huger, Legare, Mellichamp, and Abbeville? Unless you are a native of the state, chances are that you will not pronounce them like the people who live there. Here is a highly entertaining, witty guide to the right way of saying a large number of names.""—Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle

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