Say What?

[meaneyedcatz]

In a different thread the question was posed is Missouri pronounced missour-e or missour-a

IMOO it is Missour-ie.
Back when Missouri began there was no dictionary, everything was spelled phonetically based on how it sounded. If you read Lewis & Clarks journals they have the some words used multiple times but spelled differently since there were not any spelling or pronunciation rules.

In their journals it was spelled with an I or E at the end. To me that is proof in writing from someone who lived in that era.

Is your state pronounced in multiple ways and if so what is correct?

Or what about cities. Here in MO. Jefferson City is referred to as Jeff City or Cape Girardeau is simply Cape.

I have also noticed small towns in MO or IL are often mispronounced with the majority of vowels pronounced LONG.
In MO the town of Arab is A (long a) rab
Advance is ADD-VANCE.

In IL
San Jose is SAN- JOSIE
Rio is RYE-O

What is it in your neck of the woods?

 

[skrazo]

I pronounce it missour-e. My relatives call it missour-a. It seems like most of the 'old timers" said missour-a.

Some towns get "localized" also. Cairo, IL is called Kar-o(as in Karo Syrup). New Madrid is: New Mad-rid(as in 'rid'). Outsiders say New Madrid (as in Madrid, Spain).

Anyway, I got no answer!

 

[BobC357]

I always thought it was spelled: Misery

 

[boatme99]

No two ways about it. Where I grew up its still pronounced
"Taxachusetts".

 

[Bkreutz]

Fort Leonard Wood Missouri is commonly referred to as Fort Lost in the Woods in the State of Misery by anyone who was stationed there (I had that honor on 2 different occasions )

 

[Marshwheeling]

There are a couple of dead giveaways for somebody who isn't from around here. First, non-natives, especially TV news anchors, have a hard time pronouncing "Wayzata" (an affluent western suburb of Minneapolis) correctly.

Then there's Nicollet Avenue. We pronounce it NICK-uh-lut, or even NICK-lut. If I hear Nick-o-LET, I'll know you are not from around here.

 

[rwsmith]

Locals aren't bound...

The people that actually live in a area often have their own way of pronouncing it. How do you say Clinton? Like Bill Clinton, right??? Well, in Clinton, SC it is pronounced 'Clinnon' with no 'T'. "Nawlins" for 'New Orleans' is another one.

The English have the darnedest way of pronouncing places like Worchestershire "Wuh-sti-sure". Why give a name all those letters if they aren't going to be used???

Ah, here we have the Huguenot.... Huger, which is pronounced 'Hyou-gee' or sometimes even just 'You-gee". People go looking for a 'You-gee" street but they pass right by Huger Street. I call it 'Hugger' just to be different.

 

[RobertJ.]

I always thought it was spelled: Misery

Speaking as someone who has lived the vast majority of his life in between the bright, blue Pacific, and countless square miles of Douglas Fir, Sitka Spruce, and other evergreens, that's exactly how I'd pronounce it!

I flew over it once on a clear day in January. That was close enough for me!

I say this in jest, of course. I know there are some really cool places and very nice people there.

 

[arjay]

It's easy to identify the natives here.They totally mangle Hispanic street and place names.Zuni is pronounced Zoon-eye.Pueblo is Pooeebla,etc [emoji1]

 

[ralph7]

The worst offender is the lady that does the voice on my Garmin GPS.
For example she pronounces Fry Road as "Fairy".

How ironic is it to hire someone to pronounce proper names that hasn't the slightest clue??

 

[fideau]

Couple from New York were travelling thru NC and when they saw the sign for Charlotte got into a conversation about how to pronounce a Southern name. One said "Shar-loat" and the other said "Shar-lotti".
So they stopped at a fast food joint to eat, and after ordering, the husband said to the cashier, "we're not from around here. How do you pronounce the name of this place?".

"Uh, Bur-gur King."

 

[THE PILGRIM]

I know a Texican laddie who lives in Del Norte, CO.
He pronounces it 'Del Nort'.
Don't forget those Spanish Js' are usually pronounced as Hs'
But what about the town of Jal? It ain't Hal, it's Jal.
Ifs not Spanish, it's a cattle brand.

 

[gregintenn]

My grandmother used to speak of "Chicargo". For years, I had no idea where this mysterious city was located.

 

[Aticus]

I always thought it was spelled: Misery

This from a Californian? For shame, sir, for shame.

 

[klausinak]

Up here there's a lot of native & Russian names. Some of the ones that drive me crazy:

Kenai River: Kee-Nye
Knik River: Kuh-Nick
Kasilhof River: Kah-Sea-Loff