Folk Awareness oif Dialect

[sagehen]

The  mention of the Illinois/Ellinois distinction reminds me that a similar
division takes place up here in Northern NY.  Locals pronounce Syracuse
with a first syllable rhyming with 'air' while outsiders usually pronounce
it to  rhyme with 'ear.'  How extensive this local pronunciation is, I'm
not sure; the natives of Syracuse that I've known have all used the 'ear'
form, but my sample is not very big.
A. Murie