Ask Doc Knox:

The Correct Pronunciation of "Suttree"

Dear Dr. Knox,

Do you pronounce Suttree as sue-tree or sut-tree? I've noticed people from "up north" say "sue" and most Southerners typically say "sut."

Just wondering,

bran


Dear bran,

It's simply Sut-tree. I've referred to it by that pronunciation with the author and, more often, his brother, and have never been corrected.

The other pronunciation, which I've also heard frequently, has always puzzled me. If it were spelled Sutree, with one T, I can see that--but the double-consonant after a vowel almost always indicates a short vowel. 

He's often referred to by the nickname, Sut, in the book. And it's presumed that the character is a riff off the old George Washington Harris character, Sut Lovingood, which I've always heard pronounced only with a short vowel.

Yr. Obt. Svt.,

Z. Heraclitus Knox

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Come one, come all! Dr. Knox answers your questions regarding the history of the Knoxville metropolis.