How do you pronounce Lafayette?

[Király]

I'm combining the discussion in two different threads here for a wider audience. Help me out here—I've spent a grand total of 6 days of my life in Detroit so I have no personal experience in how to pronounce Lafayette. You good DY folks are all I have.

Eastside Al told me it's La-FAY-ette
kanfar says he's never heard it pronounced that way.
The State of Michigan says it's lä-fā-ET [[laugh-ay-YET), but I realize that things may roll a little different in Detroit than what Lansing may believe.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

I agree with Al

[catch22]

I've never heard it pronounced any way other than with the stress on the last syllable [[your second example).

West sider here, if that matters.

[cla1945]

La fe ette

[clubboss]

In Lafayette, Indiana, which I called home for 5 years, I would go with your state of Michigan pronunciation example.

[Scottathew]

I'm not contending that I'm correct, but I pronounce it La-FI-et.

I've lived in the northern suburbs all my life and have worked downtown for the last 7 years.

[dtowncitylover]

I actually think you're reading too far into this and that Eastside Al and State of Michigan's pronunciation are close to the same.

I put the "f" on the "fay" not the "la" part. But it hardly changes the pronunciation.

[jcole]

If you want to base it on the pirate, it's La-FEET; the Marquis was La-fie-ETTE;
mostly for the street in Detroit, I've heard La-fee-ETTE.

[Wesley Mouch]

For bookish moments, referring to the historical person, la-FAY-et, as 48307, but don't overdo the stress on FAY.

For the street, laf-ee-et... so that its almost two syllables -- with la and fee almost one... think a New Yorkers saying coffee ka-fee-et.

More as to the street, after about 300 tries, I'm uncertain about where the stress should be placed. La... or et? Most certainly isn't on the 'fee'... not when said normally. Like a lot of words, when we dissect, we change how we say it. For a non-native speaker, I'd avoid placing stress anywhere and be as quick as possible -- no pauses whatsoever.

[Király]

I actually think you're reading too far into this and that Eastside Al and State of Michigan's pronunciation are close to the same.

I put the "f" on the "fay" not the "la" part. But it hardly changes the pronunciation.

The difference between the two is which is the stressed syllable, the second or the third. Capitalize the accented syllable. Answers like cla1945's La fe ette don't tell me anything.

I was once told that Macomb is pronounced muh-comb. That doesn't tell me anything; is it MUH-comb [[rhymes with suck 'em) or muh-COMB [[how I now know it's really pronounced). The stressed syllable makes all the difference.

So far there's no consensus on how to say Lafayette...

[3d123]

Living adjacent the street for a few decades, it was pronounced as jcole said: La-fee-ETTE -- with only the barest emphasis on the ette.

correct French pronunciation is as noted by the State.

[southen]

I live in the neighborhood and I always here La-Fi-et or La-Fee-et.

[Király]

I live in the neighborhood and I always here La-Fi-et or La-Fee-et.

WHICH IS THE STRESSED SYLLABLE?

LA-fi-et
la-FI-et
la-fi-ET

La-Fi-et doesn't tell me anything!

[3d123]

Love for eggs: I don't think there's a strong emphasis put on any syllable, locally. I've heard it pronounced as southen stated -- with an emphasis on the FEE -- but generally feel like there is a lingering and slight emphasis on the ETTE.

[dtowncitylover]

WHICH IS THE STRESSED SYLLABLE?

LA-fi-et
la-FI-et
la-fi-ET

La-Fi-et doesn't tell me anything!

Just say out loud: La-fay-ette in one breath and you'll be fine.

[jcole]

Just say out loud: La-fay-ette in one breath and you'll be fine.

Actually,all words with two syllables always have one stressed. In words with three or more, there is often more than one stressed but one with major stress.

[Király]

Actually,all words with two syllables always have one stressed. In words with three or more, there is often more than one stressed but one with major stress.

This.

There is no equal stress on all three syllables in any three-syllable word like Lafayette. One of them gets more than the other two, no matter how subtle. There may be variation and and regional differences on which one of the three gets the stress; that's what I'm trying to find out.

[Calltoaction]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxYU...PronounceNames

[canuck]

I'm not contending that I'm correct, but I pronounce it La-FI-et.

I've lived in the northern suburbs all my life and have worked downtown for the last 7 years.

That is the correct French pronunciation, that is if your FI is pronounced like Fi in Fee FI Fo Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman.

Also, there is no stress on a particular syllable in normal speech. In declamatory speech though, stress can be put on any of the three for varying effects.

[jcole]

That is the correct French pronunciation, that is if your FI is pronounced like Fi in Fee FI Fo Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman.

Also, there is no stress on a particular syllable in normal speech. In declamatory speech though, stress can be put on any of the three for varying effects.

Look any dictionary and you will see at least one syllable of any multi-syllabic word is stressed. In some with more than 2, you will see a secondary stress. In languages other than English, stress may be equal on all syllables.
These are the basic stress rules.

1. Stress the first syllable of:
   
   • Most two-syllable nouns [[examples: CLImate, KNOWledge)
   • Most two-syllable adjectives [[examples: FLIPpant, SPAcious)
   
   
2. Stress the last syllable of:
   
   • Most two-syllable verbs [[examples: reQUIRE, deCIDE)
   
   
3. Stress the second-to-last syllable of:
   
   • Words that end in -ic [[examples: ecSTATic, geoGRAPHic)
   • Words ending in -sion and -tion [[examples: exTENsion, retriBUtion)
   
   
4. Stress the third-from-last syllable of:
   
   • Words that end in -cy, -ty, -phy and -gy [[examples: deMOCracy, unCERtainty, geOGraphy, radiOLogy)
   • Words that end in -al [[examples: exCEPtional, CRItical)

[EastsideAl]

I stand by my pronunciation. Call me tone deaf [[you won't be the first), but I also think that my pronunciation doesn't vary significantly from the one on that Michigan website [[perhaps I have a bit more enunciation of the Y).

I don't mean to pull rank too much here, but with my grandfather having been born in a house on Field just off of Lafayette [[back when it was still called Champlain), my grandmother born in a house at Meldrum and Lafayette, having lived within a few blocks of the street for all of my Detroit life, and having gone to middle school a block away for a few years, I've had occasion to say "Lafayette" a lot. And this pronunciation has been consistent in my family and throughout my life.

While I do maintain that my pronunciation of "Lafayette" is the same as I have always heard from my [[white) family of very longtime eastsiders, for the sake of completeness I should note that I find that many of my pronunciations of local names have been somewhat shaped by having grown up in, gone to school in, and lived and worked in primarily African-American settings for much of my life in Detroit. I'm aware that I may be wading into some sensitive waters here, but I do find that there are some variations in pronunciations of streets etc. among our local racial groups, particularly as relates to syllable stress. It's really an interesting study in how these things evolve with time and changing populations [[as indeed they did from their original French pronunciations). Since African-Americans have now long been the majority of residents around Lafayette [[and indeed in the city itself, for that matter) I would argue that theirs really are now the prevailing pronunciations of such local features.

[Scottathew]

house on Field just off of Lafayette [[back when it was still called Champlain)

Do you know when and why the name was changed?


In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and EastsideAl

[3d123]

I’ve heard it pronounced laFAYette by some broadcasters from out of town as well as some others in the neighborhoods – but that always seemed antagonistic, to match their demeanor. The vast majority of people in the Elmwood area where I spent my younger years pronounced it lafee-YETTE – the e-sound rolling into the y to give it softer emphasis, the first two syllables run together.
As too much time has been spent over-thinking this, today, I’ve considered it as over-emphasized, as if frustrated explanation to someone who wasn’t understanding where they should be going, and putting excessive emphasis on the syllable of emphasis, as in, “Down on lafee-YETTE, man.” It still sounds more accurate to what I’ve heard than, “Down on la-FAY-ette.”

Everyone I know pronounces it like Kimberly Craig -- but listen to the way Jeff Vaughn pronounces it:




Clearly, he's wrong! Though, I never heard it called VAN dyke, either, until I met my wife. I guess, as long as we all know where we’re going, we shouldn’t worry too much about putting the emPHAsis on the wrong sylLable.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Eastside Al's got it right. La-Fay-ette.

[night-timer]

English [[or Michigan) and French pronunciation are different to each other.

I pronounce it Luh-Fay-Ett, even if that's wrong.

In any case, there are streets passing through/past the Lafayette area whose names I struggled more with than Lafayette itself:

Antietam Street [[Ann-Tee-Tum) and Gratiot Avenue [[Grah-Shuht).

And I always pronounced Chene Street as 'Cheen' until I overheard someone call it 'Shayn'.

PS. Wherever you're from, Michigan is always pronounced 'Mishigan', LOL.