"Stuck on the Van Wyck"? New York dialect

[Paul Johnston]

When i moved back east in 1964 as a kid, I instinctively said "Van Wike" (because I'd already heard of the painter Van Dyck), only to be corrected--by locals (well, Jerseyites, who were locals to me).  "Howston", of course, I got wrong, despite parents from NYC (and when I moved to Scotland, got it wrong again--it was a strain to call Dougie Houston, the Partick Thistle football player "Doogie Hooston", but that's what it is over there, and so is the Renfrewshire town "Hooston").  I would have guessed "Vee-zee", though.

Paul Johnston
On May 31, 2011, at 9:28 PM, Joel S. Berson wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      "Stuck on the Van Wyck"? New York dialect
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Is it "Van Wick" or "Van Wike" Expressway?
> Is it "How-ston" or "Hew-ston" Street?
> Is it "Vee-zee" or "Ves-see" Street?
>
> Get the answers from:
> "Van Wyck Expressway Also Snarls Pronunciation"  [titles vary]
> NYTimes, May 26, 2011
> http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/26/nyregion/van-wyck-expressway-also-snarls-pronunciation.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=stuck%20van%20vyck&st=cse
>
> Joel
>
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