Open-and-shut question: how do you pronounce “Ashokan,” as in “Ashokan Farewell” and the Ashokan Reservoir?
I’ve never seen the word before. I’d pronounce it ‘a-show-can’.
The writer of *Ashokan Farewell *pronounces it “uh-SHOW-kun”
More info from the songwriter’s website:
I lived up that way briefly in 2004. We pronounced it Ash-oh-kan. Equal emphasis on each syllable. It is indeed very beautiful, and the deer will let you get almost within reach of them.
I thought you were talking about the early Indian Buddhist period. . .
You weren’t the only one. I was all set to weigh in, then thought: “reservoir? I don’t know of any reservoir named after Ashoka.”
I live nearby, that’s more or less how I hear people say it. A lovely spot.
I’ve heard both a-SHOW-kan and uh-SHOW-kun but the stress has always been on the middle syllable. No ASH-o-kan.
Obligatory Monty Python reference.