Marc, Thanks for the Zer - Isaiah reminder. That is one little quirk that I forgot to explore. I can see the reasoning now. I live in the mountains of NC now (orig. a flatland Marylander) =;o) Some of the old pronounciation is still here, tho the majority of the inhabitants have become northern retirees. <g> Warm regards, Carolyn > Carolyn, > > Fresh out of college, I spent about 8 months traveling throughout the south, > which for me was anything south of Morgantown. When I found myself waaayyy > back in "deep" Appalachia, the accents and dialects were sometimes almost a > foreign language to me. The "a" or "ah" at the end of a word frequently > became "er", as in Eliza or Liza becoming Lizer. Isaiah is stretching it a > bit, but if you say it quickly....Isaiah becomes Iza-er. Zar, with a long A, > or Zer could have been a nickname or abbreviated form of the name. > > Incidently, if you ever go to a deli in the Bronx and order some of that > Starkist product with a little mayo, celery and onion on a bagel....The guy > behind the counter will tell you you're eating a "tuner" sandwich. I'll only > go back there with an interpreter! > > Marc > >