| Spelling and Pronunciation |
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I have encountered the following surname pronunciations (the most common pronunciation is highlighted): |
Pertus, Portas, Portass, Porteas, Porteaus, Portefs, Portehors, Porteis, Porteos, Porteous, Porteouse, Portes, Porteus, Portewis, Portews, Portheus, Porthiyas, Porthouse, Portice, Portieous, Portioues, Portis, Portish, Portous, Portouz, Portowis, Portows, Portris, Portues, Portuis, Portuiss, Portus, Portuus, Portuuss, Portwis, Pourtes
Additionally, the 'u' is sometimes interpreted as an 'n' when modern transcriptions are produced, giving, for example: |
The jury's still out on whether Porters and Ports are additional variations. |
Do these different spellings simply reflect the oral orientation of a pre-literate society? |
Today we pronounce names the way we read them; in the past people no doubt wrote names the way they heard them. |
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