How do i pronounce Arkansas

Calboner

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Yes it is...with the same unreasonable logic that, you as an Englishman can probably most relate to mitchymo, Leichester Square is pronounced as Lester Square.

It's "Leicester," not "Leichester." It is neither pronounced nor spelled with a "ch." So the pronunciation is not as remote from the spelling as you thought: it's just Leice-ster, but with the "ei" pronounced like a short "e."

It drives me batty when I hear people mispronounce "Worcester" as "Wur-ches-ter." That is not even a correct reading of the spelling! I could understand it if people misread it as "wur-stur" or even "wur-ses-tur"; but there is no fucking "chester" in it!
And i'm feelin a bit stupid cos i was gonna ask another question and then realised how dumb it was, i was gonna ask is Arkansas where the setting of Texas Chainsaw Massacre was, :pat:

I hope that you are aware that "chainsaw" is pronounced "CHANE-zuss." :tongue:
 
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D_Deceptivus Wrongpeter

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In 1881 the Arkansas State Legislature passed a resolution saying that the name of the state should be pronounced Ar-kan-saw, and in 2007 similar legislation established the possessive case as "Arkansas's".

The irrational spelling apparently is due to the French getting a hold of the word first, and fucking it up for everybody else, much like Tchaikovsky. (which does not start with a "T" in Russian)

1-4-105.Pronunciation of state name.

Whereas, confusion of practice has arisen in the pronunciation of the name of our state and it is deemed important that the true pronunciation should be determined for use in oral official proceedings.

And, whereas, the matter has been thoroughly investigated by the State Historical Society and the Eclectic Society of Little Rock, which have agreed upon the correct pronunciation as derived from history and the early usage of the American immigrants.

Be it therefore resolved by both houses of the General Assembly, that the only true pronunciation of the name of the state, in the opinion of this body, is that received by the French from the native Indians and committed to writing in the French word representing the sound. It should be pronounced in three (3) syllables, with the final “s” silent, the “a” in each syllable with the Italian sound, and the accent on the first and last syllables. The pronunciation with the accent on the second syllable with the sound of “a” in “man” and the sounding of the terminal “s” is an innovation to be discouraged.



History.Concurrent Resolution No. 4, Acts 1881, p. 216; C. & M. Dig., § 9181a; Pope's Dig., § 11867; A.S.A. 1947, § 5-102.
 

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Principessa

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Is it as spelt, AR-KAN-SAS or is it AR-KAN-SAW?
I've always referred to it as the latter and never been corrected but i was talking to a colleague today and she said the first one, i didn't question it cos i knew what she meant.
Your colleague is wrong and you are correct. :cool:

It's pronounced SHIT-hole: accent on the first syllable.
:rofl:
You quack me up. :biggrin1:

Worcester is Wooster
Haverhill is Haavrill
Peabody is Pbd
Billericka is Billrika

:rolleyes: I do miss Massachusetts in the fall. You forgot the town I used to live in up there. Leominster is pronounced Lemis-tuh.:biggrin1:
 

jason_els

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Other oddities:

In the US, the name Maurice is pronounced in the most affected way possible, "Maw-REESE." Over there it's plain old, "Morris." Then the Brits have that silly name, "St. John," which they themselves corrupt into, "Sin-gin," though that kind of makes sense since gin does seem to help pave the way to sin.

Here in the New York we have a few weirdities. Houston Street in Manhattan is always pronounced, "How-ston." To say it wrong means you didn't even bother to look at a tourist guide. By the same token, people in the northeast with Houston as a surname also pronounce it How-ston. In the UK, it seems that name, as it is elsewhere in the US, is pronounced, "Hews-tin."

Between The Bronx (yes, there is a "the" in front of Bronx, just like, The Hague,) and Manhattan, there's a churning and difficult to navigate bit of river named Spuyten Duyvil. It's also the name of a small neighborhood of The Bronx. We pronounce it Spite in' Die-vul, which is actually not from from the original Dutch.

Just elsewhere near me, there's Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and it's pronounced, "Willks Berry." Same goes for Barre, Vermont. Many people think, for some odd reason, that Port Jervis is pronounced Port Jarvis, but it isn't. It's pronounced just like it's spelled.

Poughkeepsie seems to throw people too. They try to be too delicate with, "poo keep sie," when it's merely, "Pa-kipsee."

People in Connecticut and NYC say "Grenitch" for Greenwich, but in upstate NY, the town by the same name is really, "Green-witch."

There are lots of Medinas all over the US. Some say "Meh deena", others say, "Muh dinuh."

Contrary to any possible sense, Versailles, Ohio is pronounced, "Ver-sayles." Be sure to do the same thing Vermilion where it's "vermillion."

I really fucked-up on one of my first visits to Ireland and passed a sign which read, "Ballymahon." As I was reading signs driving by, with my friend's wife driving no less, I said, "Bally Ma-hone." She laughed and immediately corrected me since my pronunciation was essentially, "Fuck the whore," in Irish.

Go to Moscow, Idaho and don't dare to say, "Moss cow." It's Mos coh."

In the largest of fuck-ups and it figures since they're near Arkansas, the people of Missouri want you to know that it's pronounced, "Mizurah." Similarly, Nevada is close-ended as well. It's, "n&#601;&#712;væd&#601;" not "Nev &#257; da," nor "Nuh vá da."

Going to Montana? Be sure you say "Helen-uh", not, "Hell ay nuh."

There are zillions of these things all over the world and nobody can be expected to know them all. I think if you make an effort to learn before you go, people appreciate it.
 
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jason_els

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Oh and the rule in Vermont, with all its various French place names, if you mangle it as much as possible, that will be how to pronounce it. The capital (a gold dome in a cow pasture), is Montpelier but please make no attempt to place any accent on it. Say, "Montpeelyer."
 

FleshlightMouth

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May I offer
Pawtucket (pronounced: Puh-tucket), RI
Boise (boy-ssee), ID
Buena Vista (byoo-nah viss-tah), VA
Edinburgh (edin-buhruh), Scotland
Beauchamp (Beecham)

...and...

"It&#8217;s spelled Raymond Luxury-Yacht, but it&#8217;s pronounced &#8216;Throatwobbler Mangrove!&#8217;&#8221;
 

Calboner

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Pierre, the capital of South Dakota, is pronounced "peer."
"It&#8217;s spelled Raymond Luxury-Yacht, but it&#8217;s pronounced &#8216;Throatwobbler Mangrove!&#8217;&#8221;

You're a very silly person, and I'm not going to interview you.
 

Bbucko

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I used to represent a pair of woodworkers in Calais, VT in the Northeast Kingdom. It's pronounced Cal-iss, not Ca-Lay if you please.
 

jason_els

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Perhaps the most odd are just how Americans name things.

There's Foggy Bottom, Blue Ball, Intercourse, Tarzana, Hell, and various odd place names all over here and there. Some, like West New York, are purposely confusing since West New York is actually in New Jersey and the main highway through Pennsylvania has a town named Jersey Shore right in the middle of the state so you see signs, "Jersey Shore 16 miles," and it makes you think you've driven far further than you have.

One of my favorites, and it's such an American thing to do, is the New Mexico town of, "Truth Or Consequences," which was named after a very popular TV game show from the 1950s.

Right near me is Tuxedo, New York, and it's the town that gave its name to what we Americans call semi-formal evening dress. The other day Nick8 and I were waiting at the train station in Tuxedo which has a single track and he looked slightly forlornly at me and said, "There's no Tuxedo Junction (a famous big band song) is there?" I replied that no there isn't and never was. The song actually refers to a place somewhere down south which, in turn, was named after Tuxedo, NY, but it's a big disappointment for fans who come up to Tuxedo, NY to see this thing which doesn't (and never did) exist.
 

DaveyR

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Perhaps the most odd are just how Americans name things.

There's Foggy Bottom, Blue Ball, Intercourse, Tarzana, Hell, and various odd place names all over here and there. Some, like West New York, are purposely confusing since West New York is actually in New Jersey and the main highway through Pennsylvania has a town named Jersey Shore right in the middle of the state so you see signs, "Jersey Shore 16 miles," and it makes you think you've driven far further than you have.

One of my favorites, and it's such an American thing to do, is the New Mexico town of, "Truth Or Consequences," which was named after a very popular TV game show from the 1950s.

Right near me is Tuxedo, New York, and it's the town that gave its name to what we Americans call semi-formal evening dress. The other day Nick8 and I were waiting at the train station in Tuxedo which has a single track and he looked slightly forlornly at me and said, "There's no Tuxedo Junction (a famous big band song) is there?" I replied that no there isn't and never was. The song actually refers to a place somewhere down south which, in turn, was named after Tuxedo, NY, but it's a big disappointment for fans who come up to Tuxedo, NY to see this thing which doesn't (and never did) exist.

And I suppose 24 hours from Tulsa could be anywhere on the planet?
 

JustAsking

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Worcester is Wooster
Haverhill is Haavrill
Peobody is Pbd
Billericka is Billrika

Or some might say,

Worcester = Wistah
Gloucester = Glawstah
Haverhill = Hayvrull
Peobody = Pbd (haha, yes or phonetically, Peebadee)
Billerica = Billricka (or if you live there its more like Brrika).
Quincy = Quinzy
Leominster = Lemstah
Medford = Meffah
Methuen = Mettooin
Chatham = Chattum
Concord = Congkid (light on the g, but it is there).
Somerville = Sumvull
Nahant = Nahahnt
Tewksbury = Tooksbry
Chelmsford = Chemsfid
Lowell = Lowl