Date:  Wed, 8 Jan 1997 08:05:51 -0500
From:  Wayne Glowka <wglowka[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MAIL.GAC.PEACHNET.EDU>
Subject: Re: "Atlanta"

>[Sorry--I sent that last message before I was done]
>
>Bethany Dumas writes:
> >When I moved to Knoxville (1974), my
> >UT students told me that I could say
> >either /[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]lanta/ or /[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]tlana? -- I could
> >say either "t" but not both.
>
>It seems to me that the alternatives are [aetlaen(t)uh] or
>[uh?laen(t)uh]--where [uh] = schwa, [?] = glottal stop, and the second [t]
>is optional in either case.


There is some joking about a pronunciation that would be spelled
"Atalanta," but I've never actually heard anyone say the word this way
outside of a joking context.

For example: There was a church group on a bus going to Atlanta arguing
about whether the name of the city was pronounced as spelled or as
"Atalanta." To solve the dispute, the bus pulled into a Burger King where
representatives of the church group asked the person at the cash register,
"What's the name of this place?" The cashier replied, "Burger King."


Wayne Glowka
Professor of English
Director of Research and Graduate Student Services
Georgia College & State University
Milledgeville, GA 31061
912-453-4222
FAX: 912-454-0873
Office: Arts & Sciences 3-04
wglowka[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]mail.gac.peachnet.edu