Becca’s Cyber Home

A friend recently had a question about a local restaurant. His spelling of the street in question made me laugh because I remember having a very similar reaction we when first moved here. When someone would give me the street name, I’d think, “Kirk-en what?” Now, and probably forever, I will chuckle when I’m driving on Kuykendahl, or to my friend, Kyrendahltikeengaard.

That street name has annoyed the ever-loving heck out of me ever since we moved here. I pronounced it “kook-en-doll” as that’s how it looks, yes? That’s close to what a German pronunciation would be, and this area had very strong German roots.

But no, people ’round these here parts say “kirk-en-doll.” I kept trying “kook-en-doll” but people looked at me like I was some crazy little retarded girl who deserved to be humored. My husband and I joked that there might as well be an X in the name, so the X could be silent. I kept telling people, “BUT THERE’S NO R!!!!!!” but finally I just gave in and started saying “kirk-en-doll.” I discovered it was a fruitless fight so I caved. I felt so dirty.
But then, this is the same city that pronounces San Felipe as “sain fill-ah-pee” and San Jacinto as “sain jah-sin-toe.” The Guadalupe River is the “gwad-uh-loop.”

Oh, and in the north part of town in our area, there are about a dozen differnt “Huffsmith” streets. Just on my husband’s way home from work, he drives on Huffsmith, Kuykendahl-Huffsmith, Huffsmith-Kohrville, and Dobbin-Huffsmith. You’re laughing, but I’m not joking!
So the moral of my story is that it’s easy enough to get around in Houston, as long as you remember the X is silent…