An interesting question crossed the Humboldt Herald inbox, one that has piqued the Heraldo neurotransmitters on more than one occasion. Perhaps readers of this humble blog can provide the answer.
What is the correct pronunciation of Wharfinger? That lovely building on Humboldt Bay where we celebrate and argue and roll our eyes at the Harbor Commission — how do you say it? Some call it “War-finger.” Rio Dell city manager Nancy Flemming calls it “War-finjer.” Who’s right?
December 1, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Noooooo! I’m not done trashing Arkley yet.
December 1, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Merrium-Webster says jer
December 1, 2008 at 8:11 pm
I saw that but pfft — what does Merriam-Webster know? I want to know what Humboldt County thinks.
December 1, 2008 at 8:25 pm
I voted for “grrrr” but all of the online dictionaries say “jerr”. I have to go with their pronunciation. I didn’t know it meant “keeper of the wharf” and now I do. I have always said Whar-finger, probably because of the familiarity of the word “finger”, but will probably change now!
December 1, 2008 at 8:32 pm
I advise you to stay away from that book learnin’ Anony.Miss. Go with your gut.
December 1, 2008 at 8:46 pm
I don’t know why, but I always thought it was someone’s name.
December 1, 2008 at 8:48 pm
My husband says it the “wrong way” too. like “finger”.
December 1, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Is this “mob mentality?” It seems most people say “finger.”
The poll says “finjer” is winning.
December 1, 2008 at 8:55 pm
It’s physically easier to say “finger”.
December 1, 2008 at 8:57 pm
“Finjer” sounds like “plunger.”
December 1, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Right. The “finjer” pronunciation is the soft G as is “giraffe”. The other one- “finger” is the harder G as in “go”.
December 1, 2008 at 9:12 pm
I recall John Matthews (on KSLG) called and asked once… but now I don’t remember what they said. hah.
And really, it is all about local pronunciation… Buhne, for example.
I still refuse to pronounce that one with an “r.”
~Monica~
December 1, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Capt. Buhne sternly insisted there was no “r.”
December 1, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Don’t you think it started out as an “uh”? I think the German pronunciation is a unstressed “uh” at the end. (Buhne) instead of the R?. I have to say “booner”, can’t help it, growing up near it.
December 2, 2008 at 7:09 am
I would put a little Chowd in my pronunciation.
Whaaahfingaaaah.
As if I am from Boston.
-boy
December 2, 2008 at 7:32 am
Finjer. I can’t stand Nancy. Were’s my leather pants?
December 2, 2008 at 8:06 am
I once knew a guy who was one, he said finger.
I laughed at the job, sounded like easy work.
I said it should be called loaf-finger…
December 2, 2008 at 8:35 am
It’s BOONER, Dammit! And, I say Wharfin-Jer.
December 2, 2008 at 8:57 am
I agree with ekovox. And I am switching to Wharfin-JER, which I believe to be the standard use of that word.
December 2, 2008 at 9:45 am
Try WHARF-IN-GER– Oh the heck with it , I’ll stick with River Lodge I know I am safe on that one.
December 2, 2008 at 9:58 am
I suppose this may be consider off-topic, but that’s never stopped me before!
Am I the only person who has noticed all the RUST on the metal parts of the structures around the Wharfinger Building?
Why build so close to salt water with RUST-PRONE-METALS?
How long before they FALL DOWN?
December 2, 2008 at 10:09 am
Captain Buhne may pronounce his name without an “R,” but all us natives know it’s Buhne(r) Street. Wharfinger means manager of a commercial wharf, from wharfage, so the g is pronounced like a “J.”
December 2, 2008 at 10:50 am
I’ve been pronouncing it as -gggrrrr because I thought that is the proper German pronunciation. I just looked it up, and it turned out I was correct. “g” followed by a vowel is a hard g.
http://userweb.port.ac.uk/~joyce1/abinitio/pronounce/consong.html
But now I find out it’s an English word. Kind of embarrassed but I’ve had more embarrassing mispronunications as part of my speech in the past.
December 2, 2008 at 10:51 am
Jeez yuz guys is learned! It’s Warfinjer for me now that its etymology is substantiated. I never dreamed it was a weird word, not a weird family name.
Boonie became Booner because people ‘heard’ a dropped r at the end–that’s how folk etymology is supposed to work. Yet the mighty Heraldo can’t even repress Merriam-Webster! How will the Humboldt Supreme Soviet rule if this keeps up?
December 2, 2008 at 10:54 am
I go with the hard “g” because that’s how I’ve heard most people around here pronounce it. And because it’s essentially a Proper Place Name, and the rule for those is to follow local custom, whatever the dictionary or phonics might dictate. (Such as how they pronounce the town of Worchester in Massachusetts at “Wus-tah”.)
December 2, 2008 at 4:54 pm
I don’t believe that one who does not pronounce the r in Buhne is entitled to say they are from or are a resident of Humboldt. It is just that simple. It is one of the greatest remaining nonsensical humboldtsm’s. And I don’t think the Wharfwhatever has been there long enough for there to be a correct mispronunciation.
Now to me an annoying thing is the phrase “Humboldt crud”. When I was a kid, I clearly remember it referring to an ailment that afflicted someone who consumed too much weed, or perhaps moldy weed. Even as late as my first run at college in the early 90s I remember an instructor at CR saying that he had the Humboldt crud and the class snickering under its breath at the apparent admission that he was a stoner.
Now a days, it seems that the Humboldt crud is used to simply refer to a light cold or cough. this is disgraceful. You can get a mild cold or cough anywhere in on the continent. But you can only get the Humboldt crud here.
Do you feel me on this, people?
December 2, 2008 at 6:28 pm
I appreciate your sensitivities on the finer points. The crud thing is way over done. So is the “redwood curtain,” IMHO.
December 2, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Only in Humboldt do you get anti-Humboldt folks upset by Humboldt-inspired vocabulary.
“Crud” is a common word for sickness and some communities tack on their place name as a prefix for “crud.” When I lived in Abilene we called it “Texas crud.” Maybe it’s a sign of loathing the place you live in.
December 2, 2008 at 7:37 pm
“…all us natives know it’s Buhne(r) Street. Wharfinger means manager of a commercial wharf, from wharfage, so the g is pronounced like a j…”
This is how I say these names. If I lived in Valdez, Alaska, I’d call it Vahl-DEEZ. Why argue about pronunciation? The local majority rules in these matters.
December 2, 2008 at 7:50 pm
-jer-
December 2, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Definitely soft “g” – jer.
I didn’t grow up in Humboldt County but have lived here long enough to adopt “Booner” over “Boone” and then revert back because pronouncing the “r” always felt awkward. So…it may take being HC native to really feel comfortable with that one.
What about pronouncing “creek” as “crick” – as in Willow “Crick?” That’s another one that threw me at first!
December 2, 2008 at 9:39 pm
how do you feel about people who prefix the number of a hwy. with “the”?
December 2, 2008 at 9:50 pm
“how do you feel about people who prefix the number of a hwy. with ‘the’?”
That’s definitely, totally, like southern California, man!
But I had a discussion about this with KHUM’s Cliff Berkowitz (who’s from the southland) because I objected that one of their ads referred to someplace being just off “the 101.” But he claimed that it was a mainstream usage. I beg to differ, being from the Bay Area where “101″ is “101″ – no “the” included!
December 2, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Definitely Southern California – I have spent a lot of time on “the 405″ recently…and “the 10.” I never thought about the fact that I’ve never said “the 101.”
December 2, 2008 at 10:00 pm
I agree. In my experience, only people south of say, Fresno use the “the”
December 2, 2008 at 10:04 pm
But the “the” folk are a valuable addition to the area because they know what CAN happen.
December 3, 2008 at 10:53 am
‘The’ is spreading. I myself have driven up the Briceland Road to the Alderpoint Road, something I wouldn’t have dreamed of doing 25 years ago. I swear to God I thought I was going native!
December 3, 2008 at 12:21 pm
i’m from the bay area, and i use both. you take the 280 to the 101, but i take 17 to santa cruz. so what?
also, is it “del NORT” county or “del nor-TAY” county? what’s right is not what’s common.
make up your own pronunciation, english is a living language.
December 3, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Del Nort is how the name was pronounced, even by Mexican-Americans there, at least up until ten years ago. Has there been an influx of non-Anglo people? Have they changed the pronuciation back to Del NortAY, as in the days of Father Juan Junipero Serra? Damned if I know!
December 3, 2008 at 10:58 pm
So…still wondering…what about “crick?” Is that regional or not?
December 3, 2008 at 11:53 pm
I vote no. There are “cricks” outside Northern California.
December 4, 2008 at 7:16 am
I’ve got a crick, it’s up in the back. Anybody got a paddle?
December 4, 2008 at 6:33 pm
No. But there seems to be no shortage of BS here!