Pronouncing Chowan
So I’m in Raleigh a couple years ago… I’m not a local. (I go back a couple centuries) I’m looking up stuff from Chowan County filmstrips…
A kindly old gentleman from the staff offers assistance… “What are you looking for?” he asked. “I’m looking for James Anderson in Chowan County in 1716, I says”. He looks perplexed… “you mean Cha Juan” he says. I looked at him and said “Well I’m not so sure now”. “I’m referring to Chow Ann County” I says. He seemed a bit miffed. He says the Cha Juan records are right over here. I says “Are you trying to talk like an indian or what?” He left me with the records… I drove them crazy getting quarters for those damn pay machines.
And yes, I’ve had a couple beers.
Andersons of Colonial N. Carolina 
And if you’re from Johnston County it’s Ch-O-juan. Now let me hear you say “Macclesfield” and “Conetoe.”
LikeLike
Traci Thompson
January 18, 2012 at 11:20 pm
OK but you have to excuse my Texas ack sent.
Macca field
Con uh toe.
LikeLike
anderson1951
January 19, 2012 at 5:18 am
LOL Edgecombe folk will tell you it’s “MaccUSfield” and “Cun-EE-tuh.” Johnston folk say their L’s and insert a few R’s – “Mackulsfield” and “Cun-EE-ter.”
LikeLike
traci thompson
January 19, 2012 at 10:27 am
Wow! I really am a foreigner. . .
LikeLike
pffischer
January 19, 2012 at 10:42 am
We have a river down here in my neck of the woods in Ft Myers, FL called the Caloosahatchee River. After the juke box quit bleating out old Patsy Cline tunes I turned to resume my dissertation of genealogy but my audience had moved to the other end of the bar…. except for a Seminole Indian. I says, “What do you think the indian pronunciation of Chowan is?” He says, “You know… you white people are funny.” “How so?”, I respond. He says, “You know that river up there?” “Yup”, I says. He says, “Well the ancient Caloosa Indian name for river was Hatchee… so you folks are calling that damn river the Caloosa River River.” I just dropped some quarters in the juke box.
LikeLike
anderson1951
January 19, 2012 at 5:11 pm