Tuesday, May 01, 2007

LOCAL PRONUNCIATIONS: Durango is truly a tri-ethnic community. Native American, Hispanic and Anglo blend together and create a community environment not commonly found in today's society. As a result of our rich heritage many of our towns, streets, lakes and rivers are names from these diverse cultures and proper pronunciation is sometimes strange to the out-of-towner. Here's a primer:

* Saguache - suh watch' (for most folks, its a wide spot in the road on the way to Denver.

* Towaoc - toy' yock (Ute Mountain community south of Cortez)

* Florida (river, road, mesa) - flo ree' duh (please; not as in Miami)

* Ouray - yoo ray' (ooh ray' may be more correct, but to sound like a local say it with a "y")

* Silverton - sil' ver tun (please, not sil' ver "town")

* Mancos - man' cuss (not man' coes - if you want to sound like a local)

* Goeglein Gulch - gig' line

* Ignacio - ig nash' shee oh ( maybe ig naw' see oh is ok but locals use the nash)

* Kroegers - kray' gers (not kro' gers)

* Olathe - oh lay' thuh (don't forget the "thuh")

* Toh-Atin - toe' un' tin' (kinda equally spread with each syllable)

* Notah Dineh - noe' taw dee' nay

* Jicarilla - hick' uh ree' uh ( an Apache tribe)

* Animas - ann' ih muss (awn' ih moss is correct only when saying Rio de las Animas Perdidas)

* Escalante - ess cuh lawn' tay

* Mesa Verde - may' suh vurd ey

* Vallecity - vye uh see' toe (saying "val" is a dead giveaway you're a tourist)

* Arboles - ar' bow lezz'

* Piedra - pee ay' druh

With a little practice we'll have you talking like a local in no time. Come to see us!

http://HomesInDurango.com / http://DurangoRealEstate.biz

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