Barre None

Will

Will writes from Washington, D.C. (well, Arlington, Virginia). You can reach him at willblogcorrespondence at gmail dot com.

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7 Responses

  1. Strange – everyone I know in the Jersey and Philly areas, which are pretty close to Wilkes-Barre, has always pronounced it more like “Berry.”Report

  2. Clint says:

    I believe it is pronounced “shithole.”Report

  3. Grunthos says:

    The natives appear to prefer “burra”, but pronunciation then gets distorted the farther from NE PA you get. As Mark notes, in Philly and Trenton it’s “berry”. In southern PA and Maryland, it is more frequently “barry”. I’ve also heard “barra”, possibly favored on another point of the compass. Then, once you get outside the region, most people default to “bar”.

    Clint, however, really has identified the definitive position. 🙂Report

  4. Will says:

    Grunthos –

    Fascinating stuff, and thanks for the phonetics tutorial. Clint’s take may be definitive though.Report

  5. lebecka says:

    Poor Wilkes-Barre! Clint, you sound like you might be a bit of a jerk. What has this poor little town ever done to you?Report

  6. Joseph FM says:

    I’ve always known it as wilksberra, myself…my family reunions in Scranton.Report