As early colonists employed odd spellings, so too they often brought unexpected pronunciations with them. This was particularly the case in Virginia, where the leading families had a special fondness for pronouncing their family names in improbable ways, so that Sclater became "Slaughter," Munford became "Mumfud," Randolph was "Randall," Wyatt was "Wait," Devereaux was "Deverecks," Callowhill was "Carroll," Higginson was "Hickerson," Norsworthy was "Nazary," and Taliaferro became a somewhat less than self-evident "Tolliver.
( Bill Bryson )
[ Made in America ]
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