Article: UTAHAN OR UTAHN? NEW BOOK PUTS NAMES IN THEIR PLACES.(News/National/International)

Byline: James Kilpatrick Universal Press Syndicate

A resident of Spartanburg, S.C., is naturally a Spartanburger. One who lives in Pittsburgh is either a Pittsburgher (preferred) or a Pittsburger (accepted). Why, then, is a resident of Gettysburg, Pa., a Gettysburgian?

Beats me, but Merriam-Webster has just published Paul Dickson's Labels for Locals, a lighthearted glossary of place names that provides some answers. Like many reference works in the field of language, it may revive more controversies than it settles.

And controversies there have been. I dimly recall a furious altercation in Alabama 40 or 50 years ago over the proper name for one ...

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