Talk:Faneuil Hall

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More information, October 19, 2006. As luck would have it, there's a high-visibility event tonight at Faneuil Hall; a candidates' debate. The name "Faneuil Hall" is being said all over the airwaves in town today and this evening. I monitored two radio stations and five television stations, and kept a tally of how people pronounced Faneuil Hall. This is a count of different people, ignoring how many times they said the name. Here's my non-scientific tally, listed by what they rhymed with:

18 panel
11 Daniel
5 manual
0 Manuel (English pronunciation)
0 Manuel (Spanish pronunciation)

WBZ-AM, WBUR-FM, WBZ-TV, WCVB-TV, WHDH-TV, NECN-CTV, WFXT-TV

Contents

[edit] Pronunciation and pitfalls

Here's an example of the pitfalls of Wikipedia ...

The proper pronunciation of Faneuil Hall is has long been a subject of discussion in Boston. I was born in Boston, and have lived in the Boston suburbs all my life. I have always rhymed it with "panel", and was taught to do so by my mother, who was born in Cambridge and has lived almost all of her life in the suburbs. Both of her parents, born in Boston, rhymed it with "panel." Veteran newsreaders in Boston, including Natalie Jacobsen, Chet Curtis, and Tom Ellis on television and Gary LaPierre on radio, as well as Frank Avruch, Boston television personality, all rhyme it with "panel".

This pronunciation is considered by many to be the only correct one, but younger people often disagree. For a lifelong resident of Boston to claim to have never even heard this older pronunciation, in view of its prevalence among older media announcers and other public figures, would seen to indicate that they have not been observant enough to be credible on the subject. And to completely delete any reference to the long-preferred pronunciation is absurd; it smacks of petty wikivandalism.

The answering machine at Faneuil Hall Marketplace's phone number rhymes it with "Daniel," not "manual," and clearly not "Manuel." Rhyming it with "manual" is uncommon among native Bostonians, but not unheard-of, but claiming that Bostonians rhyme it with "Manuel" is absurd.

Here's someone who agrees: " ... every Bostonian knows it's fannel like flannel ... and no Bostonian would ever pronounce it wrong." http://www.davidalexandersmith.com/movies/QuiAme030416.html Not decisive, but still, evidence that the "panel" pronunciation should be mentioned.

Yes, I am a native Bostonian, and have done business as a customer at Faneuil Hall Marketplace, and I have done business inside Faneuil Hall itself on several occasions.


I have fixed the IPA, but I'm not sure whether the French pronunciation should be:

  • [faˈnøjl]
  • [fa.nøˈil]
  • [faˈnøɥl]
  • or something else...

Can someone

Dave 17:15, May 25, 2005 (UTC)

Why is this linked to South Street Seaport? Besides being touristy waterfront projects, the two don't have a whole lot in common, design- or function-wise. MMZach 12:44, 17 October 2005 (UTC)

I agree with the guy below me entirely. I've lived outside Boston for my whole life and I've always heard it refered to as ['fænˌju.əl] hall (rhymes with manuel), so I'm thus going to change it accordingly. Retroviseur 22:29, 17 August 2006 (UTC) Edit: I think the correct French pronunciation is [fã'nøj].

It is quite obvious that a native Bostonian did not write this entry. I am born and raised in Boston, and have never in my life heard the pronounciation "Fanel Hall." The pronounciation used most frequently is a combination of rhyming with Daniel and manual. In fact, it is not only the most common, but pretty much the only way it is said by anyone, be they Bostonian or out of towner.
I lived in Winthrop most of my life, and actually worked in Faneuil Hall at the defunct Strawberries in the North Market building. All workers there that I knew, as well as security guards, pronounced it rhyming with "manual." I resent that someone stated pronouncing it this way in the article was clearly a non-Bostonian. Because the statement is not neutral and is in fact biased towards one pronunciation, I will remove it.
Although rare, some people in Boston do pronounce it "Fannel". This might have been closer to the original French pronounciation but I'm not sure. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Tjcoppet (talk • contribs).

The problem with the suburban gentlemans opinion is, he is suburban. I am a fifth generation inner city Bostonian and have also worked in Faneuil Hall- The majority of Bostonians pronounce it rhyming with manual. This is not to say that it is the correct pronunciation, just to settle the argument on how most natives pronounce the name. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.154.238.18 (talk) 14:09, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The Grasshopper

I believe the grasshopper "spy detector" was used during the war of 1812, not the Revolution. I'll look for more definitive sources, but I hope it isn't a case of urban legend. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Tjcoppet (talk • contribs).

I flagged that for a citation. It doesn't make much sense, because there were lots of Americans on both sides of the revolution (often families split down the middle), so a Boston-born spy from the royalist side could know about the grasshopper just as easily as a Boston-born spy from the patriot side could. I recommend removing it if no one comes up with a credible source in the next few weeks. David 17:15, 2 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Factual discrepancy?

From the article:

In 1806, the hall was greatly expanded by Charles Bulfinch, doubling its height and width and adding a third floor.

And yet I note that an image, allegedly from 1776, shows the Hall with three stories. It would seem either the date of the addition of the third floor must be incorrect as written, or else the image does not show how the hall truly looked in 1776. The information on the image describes it as dating to 1830. It would seem likely that the artist in 1830 was not aware that the third floor did not date to 1776. I suggest the caption of the image be altered to "1830 imagining of Faneuil Hall in 1776 with anachronistic third floor." Cheers, Kasreyn 19:58, 4 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Page Needs Work

I will be editing this page and re-writing it so that it is more Wikified. Any help or suggestions would be helpfull. The subject deserves a better page. Dough007 (talk) 02:53, 22 February 2008 (UTC).