Summary: When our French-Canadian ancestors left Québec and came to America, they began to generate records in an English-speaking system. Many clerks wrote their names phonetically. As a result, the names in American records often don't come close to the actual spelling and can often be unrecognizable to an inexperienced eye. In episode 3, we discuss different strategies for solving this dilemma. Language Tip #3 looks at the importance of knowing the native pronunciation as a way to locate missing records. In the main segment, we note both human and technological resources that may provide us with a proper surname pronunciation. Also, the recently published Dictionary of Americanized French-Canadian Names: Onomastics and Genealogy by Marc Picard might hold some clues. Be sure to check out the show notes at MapleStarsandStripes.com/3. Within the next week, Maple Stars and Stripes should be available on iTunes. I'll send out a post when that happens. Happy and genealogically prosperous 2014 to all!
