Last week, the City, County and Synergy Group Developers from Los Angeles were touting the new 162 unit housing project Battery Apartments at Gary and Streets. The list of attendees for the groundbreaking was impressive. Introductions of City, County and other notables was extensive. The spokesman for Synergy shared details of the project and spoke well…except for one not-so- little detail. He pronounced The County name as Del NORT-AY. It’s certainly not the first time (nor last) Nort-AY has been mispronounced, especially by those not so familiar with the North State. To this mispronunciation one might say, what’s the big deal about pronouncing Norte. Others have said mispronouncing N o r t e is akin to running a fresh stick of chalk down a very dry board...uncomfortable to the ear. The Synergy project is a huge undertaking with lots of partners, addressing the dearth of affordable housing in Crescent City and Del Norte County. In America, Portuguese communities are prominent in Providence, Boston, New York, New Jersey and Portugal, AND Del Norte County. Nearly 400,000 folks in California speak Portuguese.#placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');The correct pronunciation looks like thisDEL N O R T (no E)… The legacy is Portuguese, not Spanish. Del Norte’s history is steeped in the rich heritage of the smaller of the two countries on the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal and the Azores islands. Nonetheless, a very powerful seafaring country centuries ago. Iconic Portuguese explorers like Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Bartolomeu Dias, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, Ferdinand Magellan and scores more discovered the New World. The Portuguese left their footprint on the modern world. Portuguese is the spoken language in Brazil, Mozambique and Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe, East Timor, Goa and Macau.No disrespect is intended to the Synergy Group or the seemingly endless list of outside contractors who help to improve our community. The subtle suggestion is to kindly pronounce Del Norte with its deep Portuguese heritage.Del Norte appreciates those who pronounce her name correctly. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });