Spadina

[courtly]

The TTC evidently has a computer-generated voice for some system announcements. (Or perhaps the man on the mic today has a bummer of an accent).

But this is the first time I've ever heard a voice over a PA pronounce Spadina the way I understand the man being referenced pronounced his own name. (Spa-DEE-na rather than Spa-DYE-na)

Today, incidentally

Comments

[courtly]

Thanks to Wikipedia I am confirmed in my pronunciation, but corrected on my origin.

Not a man, but an Ojibwa word.

[nicolaa5]

Spadina House is pronounced the correct way.

[sabotabby]

OMG that happened yesterday. So weird.

[courtly]

What did, hearing "Spadina", or the switch to the computer voice?

[olletho]

My Grandmother alway pronounced it that way. The pronounciation shift happened in about the 60's when a wave of I think Italian emigrated into the city. My Mother told me of buses announcing it both ways for years when she was young. (or should I say yonge?)

[eliskimo]

Just for reference, I'm coming my comments from the FB edition of this post over here:

Spadina was derived from the Ojibwa word "ishpadinaa" meaning "high hill" and refering to the hill Casa Loma sits on.

The DYEn/DEEn difference was historically a class marker in the Toronto, with the upper classes using the latter and everybody else using the former.

[utsi]

this is what i was brought up with. everytime it got said the wrong way my mother cringed and went on a talk about it. i wish i remembered half of what she said about the subject

[eliskimo]

I'm betting the issue had to do with the fact that English assigns at least two sounds to every vowel, with rules that govern which sound is intended in a written word, but lacks a reliably standard form of syllabification

[utsi]

i almost wish i knew someone who spoke ojibway now to talk to them on their language. most folk i know speak cree iirc, it's been a while.

language - how it evolves & corrupts is endlessly fascinating

thank you for more insights :)

[fox_sejant]

I heard that too.
My thought was "If that recording stands then over time more and more people will assume that is the correct pronunciation and we will see a shift in how Spadina is said by Torontonians.