So is Missouri finally called or not?

[Papageno]

In the Presidential Election, that is? Not that it matters, it's just my political OCD kicking in.

[LesJarvis]

I don't believe the results have been certified yet, and there are still a number of provisional ballots to be counted from what I understand, but it seems unlikely that Obama will officially win the state at this point. I think the reticence to make it official is due to the mere 5000 vote difference between the candidates.

[Uncle Larry]

It always irks me when people pronounce it Missooruh.

Because it's spelled Missouri, you see.

[Gordon Cameron]

Yeah but who says "pow-KEEP-see"?

[Gendal]

It always irks me when people pronounce it Missooruh.

I threw in the towel on my crusade to correct this when one of the governors pronounced it as such. "But the governor said it like this!' is apparently an unassailable position.

[Bahimiron]

Arkansas is spelled with an S at the end. As is Illinois. And Des Moines. STOP PRONOUNCING THINGS WRONG, YOU MIDWESTERN YOKEL FUCKS!

[BennyProfane]

Listen to anyone from more than 50 miles away pronounce "Ypsilanti" sometime...

[John Many Jars]

Arkansas is spelled with an S at the end. As is Illinois. And Des Moines. STOP PRONOUNCING THINGS WRONG, YOU MIDWESTERN YOKEL FUCKS!

Interestingly, people in Illinois pronounce Des Plaines "Dez Plains."

[Bahimiron]

To be fair, the vast majority of people I know pronounce Missouri with the long ee end. However, the majority of people I know aren't from Missouri. I'm from KC, KS and pronounce it with the long ee. However, the majority of people I know from Missouri pronounce it with the uh end.

Linguistically and etymologically there is no correct pronunciation. The tribe whose name was lifted for the river and then the state, ouemessourita, has an i that's actually pronounced as a short i, or 'ih' sound.


Interestingly, people in Illinois pronounce Des Plaines "Dez Plains."

Actually, I've met a lot of people in Massachusetts who pronounce the s at the end of Illinois. It makes me want to slap them.

[LesJarvis]

Pronouncing the name of the state as Missour-uh is hardly the greatest of our sins. Perhaps you'd like to visit scenic Ver-sales (Versailles), or make a pit stop in My-lun (Milan). Ox-vossee (Auxvasse) is also beautiful this time of year.

[triggercut]

If you live in St. Louis County, St. Charles County, or Jackson County, you pronounce Missouri correctly. Ditto if you live in Columbia. Everywhere else in the state they pronounce it like hillbillies.

Harry Truman pronounced the state correctly, with the long "ee" at the end. Discussion over.

[triggercut]

Pronouncing the name of the state as Missour-uh is hardly the greatest of our sins. Perhaps you'd like to visit scenic Ver-sales (Versailles), or make a pit stop in My-lun (Milan). Ox-vossee (Auxvasse) is also beautiful this time of year.

You forgot Vy-anna. (Vienna).

[Joel]

Pronouncing the name of the state as Missour-uh is hardly the greatest of our sins. Perhaps you'd like to visit scenic Ver-sales (Versailles), or make a pit stop in My-lun (Milan). Ox-vossee (Auxvasse) is also beautiful this time of year.

Peculiar. (Not exactly in theme, I know, but it's one of my favorite MO names.)

And you can say Missouri with whatever vowel sound works at the moment. Nobody from Missouri really cares.

[Gendal]

I like Rocheport myself.

[Lunch of Kong]

Warcesstershire

[Papageno]

You forgot Vy-anna. (Vienna).

No way. "Vy-anna" ? That's hysterical. It's not like Vienna is hard to pronounce.

Of course Vienna itself is not exactly the German "Wien" (pron. "veen"), which is how it's said there (in Austria, that is).

[Kalle]

Misery?

[triggercut]

Misery?

Nah. It's a lovely state that has given the world doses of culture that far outstrip the Hooterville stereotype it might carry. The state was originally part of French territory, but settled largely by German immigrants and un-schooled pioneers, so you get some interesting pronunciations. In St. Louis one of the major thoroughfares is Gravois Road, which has been pronounced "Gra-VOY" since the dawn of time. Kind of fun to hear new faces on the nightly news screw that up, or Carondelet their first few broadcasts.

[Jason McCullough]

It's hard to picture today because it looks so boring, but Kansas and Missouri (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleeding_Kansas) were ground zero for pre-civil war guerilla warfare. Also the mormon war (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Missouri).

[Peter Olafson]

I threw in the towel on my crusade to correct this when one of the governors pronounced it as such. "But the governor said it like this!' is apparently an unassailable position.

Apparently either one'll work. From http://www.reference.com/search?q=Missoura:

"The pronunciation of the final syllable of "Missouri" is a matter of some controversy, with a clear majority insisting on a relatively tense vowel (as in "meet"), while a minority prefers a lax vowel ("mitt" or "mutt"). The most thorough study of the question was done by dialectologist Donald Max Lance From a linguistic point of view, there is no correct pronunciation, but rather, there are simply patterns of variation, diachronic as well as synchronic, according to such divisions as geography, age, education, and/or rural vs. urban location."

Peter

[Talisker]

Listen to anyone from more than 50 miles away pronounce "Ypsilanti" sometime...
I'll see your Ypsilanti and raise you one Puyallup.

(and we know how to pronounce Ypsi on our side of the state, so nyeah :)

[Gendal]

Also the mormon war (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Missouri).
Nobody ever believes me when I point out that Mormons thought their Garden of Eden was centered around Independence, MO. Having done a 20 mile walking tour of the city I am fairly convinced that while most Mormons are good people, the religion itself is batshit insane.

[Bahimiron]

Apparently either one'll work. From http://www.reference.com/search?q=Missoura:

Good use of reference materials. Of course, you could have just quoted me when I said that like nine posts in.

[Mark Asher]

If you live in St. Louis County, St. Charles County, or Jackson County, you pronounce Missouri correctly. Ditto if you live in Columbia. Everywhere else in the state they pronounce it like hillbillies.

Harry Truman pronounced the state correctly, with the long "ee" at the end. Discussion over.

Right. In our urban areas, we go with the long eee pronunciation. Outstate areas go with the "uh".

And St. Louis is "lewis" and "louie" like people from other states sometimes refer to it. We don't belong to the French anymore.

[Kalle]

San Lowee

[Ryan A]

I'll see your Ypsilanti and raise you one Puyallup.

(and we know how to pronounce Ypsi on our side of the state, so nyeah :)

Have you visited Washington recently or something? Puyallup is actually one of our easier-for-outsiders-to-pronounce place names.

[mouselock]

I'll see your Ypsilanti and raise you one Puyallup.

(and we know how to pronounce Ypsi on our side of the state, so nyeah :)

Pojoaque, NM laughs at both your feeble attempts.

[Lunch of Kong]

poe-wa-kay?

[bago]

I see your Puyallup and raise you a Tlinget Klickitat.

[Ryan A]

I see your Puyallup and raise you a Tlinget Klickitat.

phsaw. That's nothing. Try these on for size (although, in fairness, most are easy if you just say them phonetically:

Coeur d'Alene (actually Idaho, but we'll take it)
Pend Oreille
Sequim
Spokane
Yakima

...and, of course, the delicious Geoduck.

[NoWayJose]

I see your Puyallup and raise you a Tlinget Klickitat.
Zzyzx, California. Check, mate, set, match, touchdown.

[Talisker]

Have you visited Washington recently or something? Puyallup is actually one of our easier-for-outsiders-to-pronounce place names.
My Mom's from the teeming metropolis of Sumner, so I was in the area a lot growing up. Relatives all had "hilarious" stories of how radio announcers, visitors, etc, never managed to get it right without being told.

[triggercut]

Apparently either one'll work. From http://www.reference.com/search?q=Missoura:

"The pronunciation of the final syllable of "Missouri" is a matter of some controversy, with a clear majority insisting on a relatively tense vowel (as in "meet"), while a minority prefers a lax vowel ("mitt" or "mutt"). The most thorough study of the question was done by dialectologist Donald Max Lance From a linguistic point of view, there is no correct pronunciation, but rather, there are simply patterns of variation, diachronic as well as synchronic, according to such divisions as geography, age, education, and/or rural vs. urban location."

Peter

Anyone claiming "either" on the Missouri pronunciation doesn't live there. There's only one way to pronounce it! Bah! Humbug!

I may have told this story elsewhere, but my favorite Missouri politician of recent vintage was the late, great, formidable Mel Carnahan. Carnahan was great because he had this "aw shucks" cornpone manner about him, while being smart as a whip and crafty as all hell. Carnahan seemed to know exactly who his audience was when he was campaigning through the state, and effortlessly changed the way he pronounced the final syllable of his home state depending. Dude was Bill Clinton without the personal baggage and I still get kind of sad when I think of how his career and life were cut short.

[Phil_Stein]

triggercut - Did you know Mel Carnahan or is that just based on observations on TV and such?

I have a hard time distinguishing Missouri politicians. I mostly pay attention to the national stuff, and barely know the names of our current senators and my rep.

My wife on the other hand follows the state and local stuff (more so governors, mayors, and state officials than our congressional representative) and barely follows the national stuff. I'm not entirely confident she could name the sitting VP.

[tiohn]

poe-wa-kay?

It's pronounced just like it's spelled! Puh-'wa-key.

I grew up not too far from Pojoaque.

[Bahimiron]

I still get kind of sad when I think of how his career and life were cut short.

I remember when Mel won the senate over John Ashcroft despite being dead. I honestly hoped that that would be the last we'd ever hear of Ashcroft. Oh, if only.

[triggercut]

triggercut - Did you know Mel Carnahan or is that just based on observations on TV and such?

I volunteered to canvass for his campaign as Lt. Gov for extra credit in Poli Sci in college, and got to meet him once or twice. When he ran for the Mansion in 1992, he absolutely toyed with his opponent, the officious and dandified William L. Webster (no, not the former FBI head, who is also a Missourian) who fell into Carnahan's snare; Carnahan did his "aw shucks, I'm just a good ol' country boy" thing and then demolished a shocked Webster in a couple of debates. (Carnahan's pop was a congressman, and Mel had a law degree from Missouri and was a total policy wonk with mind like a steel trap; he was about as "good ol' country boy" as Bill Clinton--again, without the bimbos.)

[mouselock]

poe-wa-kay?

Close: Poe-wah-kee (Or apparently Puh.. I guess it depends on if you were a transplant or a native there. :P )

My favorite out in that part of the country though is the trend for multiple small towns to be named after rather unpleasant things and or descriptions in Spanish: Quemado, La Cienega, Socorro, etc..

Being a spanish pioneer must have really, really sucked. "I name this place.. burnt!"

[RDansky]

My wife, who is from the teeming metropolis of Millersburg, MO, got rather cross with me when I pronounced it "Missourah". She has also forbidden me to mention the word "Branson" in her presence.

[tiohn]

Close: Poe-wah-kee (Or apparently Puh.. I guess it depends on if you were a transplant or a native there. :P )

My favorite out in that part of the country though is the trend for multiple small towns to be named after rather unpleasant things and or descriptions in Spanish: Quemado, La Cienega, Socorro, etc..

Being a spanish pioneer must have really, really sucked. "I name this place.. burnt!"

I grew up in the town named after fucking rats.

[LesJarvis]

It's official (more or less), McCain takes Missouri (http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/15728).