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XGM
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| Joined: | Tue Feb 6th, 2007 |
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Posted: Tue May 6th, 2008 04:18 pm |
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This morning I was listening to one of Springfield's stations and heard something that made me cringe. One of their well known announcers mis-pronounced our state's name. He said "Missouruuh".... When I ran KT there was only one way to pronounce it... "Missoureee". That's the only one we allowed on our air. I know about 1/2 of the state goes with uuuuh. I say you can't get uuuh our of ri. And you would'nt say Missouriuuhns for a plural.
But then again you can't get "saw" out of sas, either...tell our neighbors to the south about that Arkansas. Of course in the state of Kansas, the Arkansas river is pronounced Ar "kansas" river... not Arkansaw.
Does your station have any rules on how to say our state's name?
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Doug Cannon
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Posted: Tue May 6th, 2008 09:27 pm |
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I've always heard that people from the western (Kansas City) side of the state pronounce it "Missour-uhhh" while the eastern folks say Missouri-eeee. Kit Bond says "Missour-uhhhh", and it bugs the hell outta me. This topic has been dissected in depth:
http://missourifolkloresociety.truman.edu/Missouri%20Folklore%20Studies/THE%20PRONONCIATION%20OF%20MISSOURI.htm
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XGM
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Posted: Wed May 7th, 2008 12:22 am |
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Usually I will vote for a candidate who pronounces it correctly AND does NOT have the backing of the NRA. But, I suppose that's not for here.
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Kent Clark
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Posted: Wed May 7th, 2008 04:02 am |
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XGM wrote: This morning I was listening to one of Springfield's stations and heard something that made me cringe. One of their well known announcers mis-pronounced our state's name. He said "Missouruuh".... When I ran KT there was only one way to pronounce it... "Missoureee". That's the only one we allowed on our air. I know about 1/2 of the state goes with uuuuh. I say you can't get uuuh our of ri. And you would'nt say Missouriuuhns for a plural.
But then again you can't get "saw" out of sas, either...tell our neighbors to the south about that Arkansas. Of course in the state of Kansas, the Arkansas river is pronounced Ar "kansas" river... not Arkansaw.
Does your station have any rules on how to say our state's name?
According to Walter Schroeder, my former Geography of Missouri professor at MU, both are acceptable, but neither is the way the state was pronounced originally by the Indians for whom the state (and the river) was named. The correct pronunciation would actually be "Missourih" (as in the vowel sound that starts the word "is"). By the way, no one knows exactly what Missouri's namesake is. However, it's pretty well agreed upon that it doesn't really mean "big muddy" or anything to do with mud. More than likely, it has to do with the canoes that the native population used before the territory was settled.
So, logic would say that "Missouruh" was actually used originally by the white men who first settled in the state. Historical data also tends to support that point. While both pronunciations have been used throughout the state for all of its recorded history, the number of citizens who have pronounced it with an "ee" sound has grown tremendously over the last 100 years or so. If you go back to the turn of the 19th century to the 20th "Missourah" was more common. That's not the case now. There are several theories about why. Some say it's because more southerners have settled the state, and they were known for pronouncing an "uh" sound like "ee," such as "Nebrasky" for "Nebraska." Another is that the "ee" sound is more appropriate under English grammar. So, those who have moved into the state are more likely to use the long "e," not unlike how younger generations of the South have had their accents transfomed and are now saying, "You guys" and "You people" while their parents say, "Y'all."
Schroeder, by the way, is a Jefferson City native, and he says, "Missourah." He also encouraged all of his students to say it that way, though he didn't take issue with those who said, "Missouree!"
Last edited on Wed May 7th, 2008 04:04 am by Kent Clark
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