Reading the Celtic or Celtic thread got me to thinking about the pronunciation of Roosevelt. Here in Chicago I often hear of people pronouncing to Roosevelt University as Ruesevelt University. Is this pronunciation wrong or am I just crazy?
It’s a variant pronunciation that is very common in Chicago. Dictionary.com lists both as acceptable, and I could never remember which is the more common pronunciation in the rest of the US (having grown up in Chicago.) It’s seems ROSE-evelt is. You’ll also hear us say “ROWT” for route, sometimes “roof” with the same “oo” as “foot” instead of the “oo” in “shoot.” “Throop Street” is pronounced “Troop Street,” “Goethe” is somehow “Gert-uh” or even “GOATH.” We’re funny that way.
FDR preferred Rose veldt – there were campaign posters using the rose as a rebus.
The university in question was, in fact, named after Eleanor.
For what it’s worth, as a Dutch name, the Dutch would pronounce it “Rose-e-felt” with the “o” dragged out a bit.
(I remember when I was writing a paper on early New York domestic architecture-- Dutch building types-- I ran into a book from 1910 or so that had a big intro blurb and picture of the then-leader of the New York Dutch historical preservation society or something like that, Mr. Franklin Roosevelt. Sort of striking, like seeing someone’s juvenalia)
This is how Ive always understood the pronunciation. Its especially strange hearing it pronounced any differently for me since I went to (Teddy) Roosevelt high school back in the day.