Why do locals say it this way?

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Restless

New Member
I've lived here in St. Mary's for almost 28 years. Every area has its little quirks. One thing I noticed when working with lots of locals over the years is that they call the Amish here "aimish". Why do they say it this way? I bit my tongue every time I heard it said that way. I asked an Amish friend if I was saying it wrong or if they were. He said they were and laughed. Said he had no idea why they said it that way.

Just a pet peeve of mine. Carry on...lol
 
b23hqb

b23hqb

Well-Known Member
Restless said:
I've lived here in St. Mary's for almost 28 years. Every area has its little quirks. One thing I noticed when working with lots of locals over the years is that they call the Amish here "aimish". Why do they say it this way? I bit my tongue every time I heard it said that way. I asked an Amish friend if I was saying it wrong or if they were. He said they were and laughed. Said he had no idea why they said it that way.

Just a pet peeve of mine. Carry on...lol
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What's with people everywhere saying "Warshington" instead of "Washington"? Carryin' on.......
 
R

RidgeChick

New Member
Its a geographical dialect kind of thing. I looked it up once, and both pronunciations are acceptable.



Restless said:
I've lived here in St. Mary's for almost 28 years. Every area has its little quirks. One thing I noticed when working with lots of locals over the years is that they call the Amish here "aimish". Why do they say it this way? I bit my tongue every time I heard it said that way. I asked an Amish friend if I was saying it wrong or if they were. He said they were and laughed. Said he had no idea why they said it that way.

Just a pet peeve of mine. Carry on...lol
Click to expand...
 
B

bilbur

New Member
Restless said:
I've lived here in St. Mary's for almost 28 years. Every area has its little quirks. One thing I noticed when working with lots of locals over the years is that they call the Amish here "aimish". Why do they say it this way? I bit my tongue every time I heard it said that way. I asked an Amish friend if I was saying it wrong or if they were. He said they were and laughed. Said he had no idea why they said it that way.

Just a pet peeve of mine. Carry on...lol
Click to expand...

It is just the way we say it. Out of all the quirky little ways we say a lot of different things I am surprised the pronunciation of Amish is the one you focused on. Have you ever listened to someone born and raised in Seventh District talk? If you are not around them regularly you would never understand them. I was actually shocked that I have a discernible accent, I had no idea until I was on travel to New Mexico and more than one person told me.
 
B

BernieP

Resident PIA
RidgeChick said:
Its a geographical dialect kind of thing. I looked it up once, and both pronunciations are acceptable.
Click to expand...

Not sure where you looked it up, but I have never seen or heard (outside of St. Mary's county) any other version than Amiah, or Amisch in the Swiss/German.
The name is derived from one of the founders of the movement, Jakob Ammann.
 
R

Restless

New Member
bilbur said:
It is just the way we say it. Out of all the quirky little ways we say a lot of different things I am surprised the pronunciation of Amish is the one you focused on. Have you ever listened to someone born and raised in Seventh District talk? If you are not around them regularly you would never understand them. I was actually shocked that I have a discernible accent, I had no idea until I was on travel to New Mexico and more than one person told me.
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I have heard people in the seventh district talk, and it is different. I have to listen very carefully to understand what they are saying. My parents lived in Laurel, DE and had a neighbor who was born and raised on Smith Island. The watermen there talk just like our seventh district folks do too.
 
R

Restless

New Member
b23hqb said:
What's with people everywhere saying "Warshington" instead of "Washington"? Carryin' on.......
Click to expand...

Yep, have heard that one too. Also have heard people on the show House Hunters say "house" funny. I'm not sure how to spell it to make it sound like the way they say it. Sort of would sound like saying "hose". Not sure where that dialect came from.

Someday I'm gonna right a book on the different names people call objects in different parts of the country. For example, in NJ the toilet is called the toilet, in England it is the loo, in Missouri it is the stool, also called the john and the head in various places as well.
 
T

Tigerlily

Luvin Life !!!
Never had a problem with the word in my house. My son has called them Pilgrims since he was four. So in our family we call them pilgrims.
 
DEEKAYPEE8569

DEEKAYPEE8569

Well-Known Member
Restless said:
I've lived here in St. Mary's for almost 28 years. Every area has its little quirks. One thing I noticed when working with lots of locals over the years is that they call the Amish here "aimish". Why do they say it this way? I bit my tongue every time I heard it said that way. I asked an Amish friend if I was saying it wrong or if they were. He said they were and laughed. Said he had no idea why they said it that way.

Just a pet peeve of mine. Carry on...lol
Click to expand...
A quick and dirty answer is, the word begins with "A." If it were spelled A-h-m-i-s-h, it MIGHT be pronounced AH-mish.
 
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