Date:  Thu, 16 Mar 1995 22:38:22 CST

From:  "Donald M. Lance" <ENGDL[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MIZZOU1.BITNET>

Subject: Re: /kup/'s in Detroit



And who would cringe at what the French (later Americans) did to

Marquette's 'MOINGOUENA' placed beside a couple of tipis on his map?

Later maps had 'des moines' with no -g- in French. What's there to

cringe about? Cringing itself? DE-troit follows the Germanic Stress

Pattern, and D[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]-TROit follows Romance. Is that the quibble, or should

Americans have retained the French rendering of -oi-? The people in

Versailles, Missouri, are chastized for not following the French pronunciation,

but their forebears named the town for Versailles, Kentucky -- so I guess

it's the Kentuckians who're to blame, unless there's also a Versailles,

Virginia, to carry that burden. Place names are fun.  DMLance