Q: Actual Factual Georgia has had more requests asking how to properly pronounce place names around the state. Anne Christian of Douglasville wanted me to explore the pronunciations of “Ponce de Leon” and “DeKalb,” and Southern Polytechnic computer science professor Bob Harbort wanted everybody to know the correct way to say “Coweta,” as in Coweta County. We’ve tracked down some answers.
A: There's no way Georgians would ever use the correct pronunciation of Juan Ponce de Leon, the Spanish explorer who supposedly obsessed over the Fountain of Youth. He didn't find it because he never visited Buckhead. Anyway, Ponce de Leon Avenue, that long and sometimes too narrow road that challenges many Atlantans' Explorers and other SUVs, winds its way from Midtown, through Decatur and ends in Stone Mountain. It is pronounced Pohnce duh LEE-on by the locals, not Pohns deh leh-OHN, as the Spanish might say it. Of course, you can always take the easy way out and just call it Ponce. Everybody will know what you're talking about. Ponce takes drivers from Atlanta into DeKalb County, which was named after Baron Johann de Kalb, a German who fought on the winning side in the American Revolution, before dying of wounds in 1780. Forget about that "L" in DeKalb, because according to Georgians, it's as silent as a mime. If you ask somebody about something in De KALB, you'll likely get a strange look. Instead, pronounce it Duh KAB and you'll fit in just fine. Several folks took the time to help with the pronunciation of Coweta County, and they were all adamant in their explanations. "I love the question. It is one we hear all the time," county public affairs director Patricia Palmer wrote in an e-mail. "And we're happy to answer because nothing is worse than hearing your home called co WET ah – it's just not right! My answer is always COW eat ah – with only a slight emphasis on the cow," Lifelong resident Norma Haynes said, "It is COW eeta. Anything else is blasphemous," and county historian Elizabeth Beers wrote, "We natives and old timers call it Cow e ta, with the reason being, "Did you ever see a Cow eat a cow?"
Q: Is there an Anne Frank exhibit in Sandy Springs?
A: If you've always been curious about Anne Frank or if you've read "The Diary of a Young Girl," make sure to check out an exhibit called "Anne Frank in the World: 1929-1945," which is being sponsored by The Georgia Commission on the Holocaust. There are more than 600 photographs and a 28-minute video called "The Short Life of Anne Frank," which includes the only known footage of the Jewish girl who hid from the Nazis in Amsterdam during World War II before being captured and dying in a concentration camp in 1945. The ongoing free exhibit is in the Parkside Shopping Center at 5920 Roswell Road, Suite A209. Call 770-206-1558 for more information.
What do you want to know?
If you’re new in town or just have questions about this special place we call home, ask us! E-mail Andy Johnston at q&a@ajc.com.
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