Only in Beaufort: South Carolina place names can tangle the tongue

Few things copyrighted in 1983 have held their relevance.

A possible exception is the book "Correct Mispronunciations of South Carolina Names" by Claude and Irene Neuffer.

It's still available at local bookstores and on Amazon.

Name pronunciations, apparently, never go out of style.

The book examines the history and pronunciation of a mix of family names and locales around the state. Several entries relate to Beaufort, including the most obvious -- that of the town itself. We've heard it all before -- "Beaufort as in Beautiful." No doubt that would please the Duke of Beaufort more than the North Carolina pronunciation of "Bow-fort" since the same English title is responsible for both names.

We next come across Carteret. Not much time spent on that one since it sounds just like it's spelled.

Coosawhatchie presents more of a problem. As the book kindly points out, "the unknowing sometimes put the w in the third syllable (KOO-sa-WAHTCH-i)." It's almost as hard to say as it is to find on a map.

The unknowing might also have issues with DeTreville with its emphasis on the "debt" of the first syllable. Richard DeTreville was a 19th century representative of Beaufort in both the state house and senate.

The confusion over how to pronounce "Helena" (HEL-e-nuh) has likely been around since its naming by the Spanish settlers here in the middle of the 16th century. You still hear a lot of people call it "HelEENa," possibly because of Santa Elena. With the anglicized addition of the non-silent "H" at the beginning, it brings a totally different pronunciation. You'll find more locals who pronounce it with the emphasis on the first syllable.

It's easy to see how "Keyserling" could be mispronounced with the "kee" at the beginning, but the family has done enough to distinguish itself in Beaufort that the correct interpretation doesn't even bear mentioning.

Another puzzling entry in the book is "Lady's," as if there is more than one way to say it. Further reading tells us that it is included "not to correct the pronunciation so much as its too frequent misspelling as Ladies." It's singular, as if owned by a proper, imaginary lady.

Legare is a common French name throughout the state, and like all French names we have ended up shortening it to the simple "Luh-gree." It just rolls off the tongue better.

You could borrow someone else's tongue and still have trouble with the area known as Pocataligo. My grandfather used to tell a lame joke about it being named for a mule, though I've also heard it applied to a cat and a turtle. Regardless, Pocataligo (POKE-uh-TAL-li-goe) is a Native American word meaning "gathering place."

Finally, perhaps most controversially, the entry for Ribaut has three different pronunciations, all of which we hear and none of which are labeled as absolutely correct. The book does note that the "preferred" pronunciation is "ree-BOE," which is often is used to straighten out those who say "ree-BOAT" or even "ree-BAWT." Perhaps old Jean Ribaut himself could have left us a clue buried in a box on how he wanted his name to be said.

Since there has been no note unearthed, we rely on oral histories passed down along with books like the Neuffer's.

We'd probably read it wrong anyway.

Ryan Copeland is a Beaufort native. He can be reached at rlcopeland@hargray.com.

This story was originally published January 27, 2016 at 1:51 PM with the headline "Only in Beaufort: South Carolina place names can tangle the tongue."