A foaf (whom I have never actually met) hails from a tiny hamlet which goes by the name of Sligo, Pennsylvania, and I’ve done enough reading to correctly surmise that the new world Sligo must have been named after the Irish one. However, two questions arise:
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As you can see, dictionary.com gives a pronunciation that I believe goes something like SLY-go (as in English words–am I mistaken?). But casual Googling gives us some Irish folks saying that the g in the Irish Sligo is not pronounced as in English words. Is this so? What is, in fact, the proper Irish pronunciation of Sligo?
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My friend declares that this foaf says that the Pennsylvania Sligo is pronounced something akin to “skloan”–that is, one syllable, like the word “loan,” but with “sk” tacked onto the beginning. Now, what is all this business? How is the Sligo in Pennsylvania really pronounced? Am I mishearing my friend, or is she being unusually mendacious, or…?
Any clarification would be much appreciated.