free variation in pronunciation

[Mark Odegard]

>From: "James A. Landau" New orLEANS versus New ORleans versus New ORle-ans
>(3 syllables).  I've never
>been there so I have no idea if these are free variations.

The natives, so I gather, are partial to N'awlins, something like
/n@:'a:l at nz/.

As I recall, the Montreal phone book translates it as Orleans Nouvelle.

I think place names are excluded from consideration here. What the locals
say is always correct (even when they say it two or more different ways);
what others say is also correct, but only from the point of view of their
own dialect (Cologne vs Koeln).
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com