Quote:
Originally Posted by BobC
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All Patrick's ecclesiastical records show Bronte, he was baptised as Brunty and his father was Hugh Brunty Names morph over time and I would imagine that when Patrick arrived at Cambridge the spelling Brunty became Bronte, though he still pronounced is as one syllable - Brunty.
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The change from a "y" to a "ė" looks to be an attempt to convey a pronunciation but to disguise the more "earthy" origin of the name, the reference to an umlauted "i" also seems to point in this direction.
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BobC
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I assume just there you mean "two syllables", Bob? I don't see how Brunty could ever be pronounced as a single syllable.
I'm sure you're right about the perceived earthiness of "Brunty". Our Victorian relations really didn't seem to like being reminded of their agricultural roots. I lived near the South London area now called "Peak Hill": the 1818 map shows it as "Pig Hill".
And I find it curious that the words "gentrify" and "gentrification" weren't used until the 1960s, given the longer history of the phenomenon.