{I haven't read all the replies, yet, on this topic}

My, this is a bit of ongoing social education (it should never stop). I'll
be "up front" and say that I'm something of a social recluse, although
when out in society, I tend to find it easy to be congenial. Apparently,
by consensus, adding a vowel (as in "duh-voar-zhahk")
is often the social norm, and a damyankee who should know better :) has a
bit to learn.

A couple of examples from upstate New York (state): Nunda rhymes with
"Sunday", and "Chili" is not too different from"jai-alai"; both "i's" are
"long". (My apologies for not knowing the IPA, either the original or
ASCII representation.)

Btw, is "Peirce" pronounced almost like "purse"? (I did spell that name
carefully, with Chas. Sanders P. in mind; it's not "Peirce".) It looks
like an Irish spelling.

Finally, the last name of the composer Leos Janáček is apparently
universally mispronounced in the classical music community in the USA; we
accent the first syllable.

Regards,

--
Nicholas Bodley /*|*\ Waltham, Mass.
Opera 7.5 (Build 3778), using M2