Local pronunciations

[Wilson Gray]

On  TV today, there were some people from New Madrid, MO. Needless to
say, "Madrid" is not pronounced as in Spain. Rather, it's MAD drid. In
like manner, Hayti, MO, is pronounced HAY tie. Unfortunately, I've
never heard the local pronunciation of Houston, the county seat of
Texas County, MO. In East and, perhaps in all of Texas, people say
"YEW st at n." I say HYEW st at n, myself. But, when I talk to my mother,
I'm reminded of the "correct" pronunciation.

FWIW, my wife, who's from Northeast PA, shares some  pronunciations
with my mother

YEW st at n  YEW b at t ?^mpfrI / YEW b at rt ?^mpfri  YEW (= Hugh  hue)  etc.

How do professional dialectologists deal with this kind of thing? It
must really grow hair on your chest!

-Wilson Gray