How Arkansaw became Arkansas
June 4, 2017 3:05 PM Subscribe
The state of Arkansas was apparently originally known as the Territory of Arkansaw [sic]. Why would they have changed the spelling from Arkansaw to Arkansas despite the latter not resembling the name's pronunciation?
I would just like the chance to say that the pronunciation sounds like a tool that a Dwarven gem cutter under the Misty Mountain would use.
posted by radwolf76 at 3:26 PM on June 4, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by radwolf76 at 3:26 PM on June 4, 2017 [17 favorites]
This gets British people every... single... time... BTW. Not that place names making sense is particularly a British virtue.
posted by Artw at 3:26 PM on June 4, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by Artw at 3:26 PM on June 4, 2017 [12 favorites]
In fairness, if somebody described something wide as being "widthy", you'd probably think they were an asshole.
Obligatory video
posted by zippy at 3:29 PM on June 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
Obligatory video
posted by zippy at 3:29 PM on June 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
Thank you for this because it has always bugged me more than I realized. At least there's a 'reason' for the spelling.
posted by mightshould at 3:32 PM on June 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by mightshould at 3:32 PM on June 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
All I can do is quote wiser heads on this one.
Why'd they change it?
I can't say.
Maybe people just liked it better that way.
posted by Samizdata at 3:38 PM on June 4, 2017 [34 favorites]
Why'd they change it?
I can't say.
Maybe people just liked it better that way.
posted by Samizdata at 3:38 PM on June 4, 2017 [34 favorites]
George R. Stewart's Names on the Land, which is the source for that comment, is a great read and highly recommended if you think this stuff is remotely interesting. Incidentally, the same George R. Stewart wrote the seminal post-apocalyptic novel Earth Abides.
posted by theodolite at 3:42 PM on June 4, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by theodolite at 3:42 PM on June 4, 2017 [8 favorites]
George R. Stewart's Names on the Land, which is the source for that comment, is a great read and highly recommended if you think this stuff is remotely interesting. Incidentally, the same George R. Stewart wrote the seminal post-apocalyptic novel Earth Abides.
I have read both of these and you just blew my mind. I never realized!
posted by Automocar at 3:45 PM on June 4, 2017 [7 favorites]
I have read both of these and you just blew my mind. I never realized!
posted by Automocar at 3:45 PM on June 4, 2017 [7 favorites]
I predict that when I start forgetting words I will somehow always remember "widthy" instead of wide.
posted by Emmy Rae at 3:46 PM on June 4, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by Emmy Rae at 3:46 PM on June 4, 2017 [10 favorites]
For differentiation Kansas should follow Kiribati's lead and rename to Kansati.
Does anyone know why Kiribati is spelled that way? It's pronounced like 'KI-ri-BAS'
posted by adept256 at 4:31 PM on June 4, 2017 [4 favorites]
Does anyone know why Kiribati is spelled that way? It's pronounced like 'KI-ri-BAS'
posted by adept256 at 4:31 PM on June 4, 2017 [4 favorites]
As a near-lifelong resident of Wichita, Kansas, I can report that (where Arkansas City is concerned) the convention around here to dodge the issue altogether is to refer to it almost universally as "Ark City". This seems needless since we don't hesitate to say the "Arkansas River", pronouncing both S sounds. Furthermore, I have yet to hear any suggestion to refer to the states as Ark and K.
posted by jsnlxndrlv at 4:45 PM on June 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by jsnlxndrlv at 4:45 PM on June 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'm from Arkansas and living abroad people ask about this a lot. When I say I'm from "Ar-can-saw" I get blank looks, so I have to describe it geographically--"Next to Texas! On the Mississippi River!"--and the ultimate is to say "You might think of it as "Ar-Kansas" and then the light goes on because that's how any logical person who had read it would think it's pronounced. I didn't know the spelling was because of the influence of one guy...makes me think how Amerigo Vespucci was able to be in the right place at the right time to influence just the right people and have two continents named after him.
posted by zardoz at 4:57 PM on June 4, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by zardoz at 4:57 PM on June 4, 2017 [8 favorites]
One oddity is that inhabitants of Arkansas pretty universally refer to themselves as Arkansans, rhyming with Kansans.
posted by jedicus at 4:57 PM on June 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by jedicus at 4:57 PM on June 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
jedicus--correct, you say "I am an Ar-Kansan."
posted by zardoz at 5:01 PM on June 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by zardoz at 5:01 PM on June 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
Unless you use the vastly superior "Arkansawyer."
posted by middleclasstool at 5:03 PM on June 4, 2017 [19 favorites]
posted by middleclasstool at 5:03 PM on June 4, 2017 [19 favorites]
Until the day he died at 75, my grandfather said "Ar-Kansas". I still hear it every time I see the name, and he's been gone over 30 years.
posted by nevercalm at 5:05 PM on June 4, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by nevercalm at 5:05 PM on June 4, 2017 [4 favorites]
I think it was Bill Bryson who wrote a book claiming we pronounce the river "Ar-KAN-zuss". He also fell for that whole "you fish on that side and we'll fish on this side" fake Native American bullcrap. I enjoyed the book anyway.
posted by middleclasstool at 5:08 PM on June 4, 2017
posted by middleclasstool at 5:08 PM on June 4, 2017
In fairness, if somebody described something wide as being "widthy", you'd probably think they were an asshole.
Or the president.
posted by notreally at 5:14 PM on June 4, 2017 [8 favorites]
Or the president.
posted by notreally at 5:14 PM on June 4, 2017 [8 favorites]
God bless Donald Harington:
Donald Harington, creator of a large oeuvre of Ozark-based fiction, also favored “Arkansawyer.” In an interview in the Appalachian Journal, he remarked on the difficulty of pigeonholing Arkansas or its people. He claimed that “Arkansawyers” was the designation “bestowed upon us by our greater writers,” including Randolph, Fletcher, and himself. He said that “Arkansans” was used by “wishy-washy do-gooders with inferiority complexes.” Arkansawyers, Harington maintained, are “simply stubborn, earthy, shrewd individualists with a zero tolerance for bullshit.”posted by middleclasstool at 5:31 PM on June 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
Does anyone know why Kiribati is spelled that way? It's pronounced like 'KI-ri-BAS'
The Kiribati language has a rule where t is pronounced like English s before i. (In linguistic terms: there's no phoneme /s/, but the phoneme /t/ is pronounced [s] before /i/.)
So it's the normal spelling of the island's name in the island's own dominant language.
posted by nebulawindphone at 5:31 PM on June 4, 2017 [10 favorites]
The Kiribati language has a rule where t is pronounced like English s before i. (In linguistic terms: there's no phoneme /s/, but the phoneme /t/ is pronounced [s] before /i/.)
So it's the normal spelling of the island's name in the island's own dominant language.
posted by nebulawindphone at 5:31 PM on June 4, 2017 [10 favorites]
This gets British people every... single... time... BTW. Not that place names making sense is particularly a British virtue.
Perhaps it would behoove Britons to recognize every now that a far larger chunk of North America was French than was ever British. French-transliterated Native names are a huge blind spot. Your countrymen also mispronounce Michigan on the reg, ffs. (It ain't "Mitchigan"!)
posted by Sys Rq at 5:53 PM on June 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
Perhaps it would behoove Britons to recognize every now that a far larger chunk of North America was French than was ever British. French-transliterated Native names are a huge blind spot. Your countrymen also mispronounce Michigan on the reg, ffs. (It ain't "Mitchigan"!)
posted by Sys Rq at 5:53 PM on June 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
Not that place names making sense is particularly a British virtue.
"Glue... sesster?"
posted by indubitable at 5:59 PM on June 4, 2017 [16 favorites]
"Glue... sesster?"
posted by indubitable at 5:59 PM on June 4, 2017 [16 favorites]
The Kiribati language has a rule where t is pronounced like English s before i. (In linguistic terms: there's no phoneme /s/, but the phoneme /t/ is pronounced [s] before /i/.)
FWIW, some Romance languages -- e.g. Sicilian, Romanian -- do similar things. Capici?
posted by Sys Rq at 6:00 PM on June 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
FWIW, some Romance languages -- e.g. Sicilian, Romanian -- do similar things. Capici?
posted by Sys Rq at 6:00 PM on June 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
Your countrymen also mispronounce Michigan on the reg, ffs. (It ain't "Mitchigan"!)
Meanwhile I grew up in Michigan and consequently mispronounce the bejeezus out of Michoacán, so. Everyone's got blind spots.
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:06 PM on June 4, 2017
Meanwhile I grew up in Michigan and consequently mispronounce the bejeezus out of Michoacán, so. Everyone's got blind spots.
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:06 PM on June 4, 2017
Perhaps it would behoove Britons to recognize every now that a far larger chunk of North America was French than was ever British. French-transliterated Native names are a huge blind spot
It's worse than you know, I live in Washington State.
posted by Artw at 6:08 PM on June 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
It's worse than you know, I live in Washington State.
posted by Artw at 6:08 PM on June 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
In fairness, if somebody described something wide as being "widthy", you'd probably think they were an asshole.
Or the president.
But you repeat yourself …
posted by TedW at 6:23 PM on June 4, 2017 [11 favorites]
Or the president.
But you repeat yourself …
posted by TedW at 6:23 PM on June 4, 2017 [11 favorites]
…though "girthy" and "weighty" are ok. But no "breadthy" or "depthy" or "heighty"? DAMN YOU, SEMI-PRODUCTIVE AFFIXES
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:47 PM on June 4, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:47 PM on June 4, 2017 [8 favorites]
My SO is a tall woman named Heidi and I think I'm now going to have a hard time not thinking of her as Heighty
posted by ejs at 6:54 PM on June 4, 2017 [27 favorites]
posted by ejs at 6:54 PM on June 4, 2017 [27 favorites]
I myself am somewhat strengthy
posted by middleclasstool at 6:55 PM on June 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by middleclasstool at 6:55 PM on June 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
In fairness, if somebody described something wide as being "widthy", you'd probably think they were an asshole.
I'd think they're an asshole bigly.
posted by adept256 at 7:14 PM on June 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
I'd think they're an asshole bigly.
posted by adept256 at 7:14 PM on June 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
Donald Harington, creator of a large oeuvre of Ozark-based fiction, also favored “Arkansawyer.”
It sure beats "Arkansassers."
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:34 PM on June 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
It sure beats "Arkansassers."
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:34 PM on June 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
Arkan's Asses
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:37 PM on June 4, 2017
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:37 PM on June 4, 2017
All this time I thought it was just Kansas for pirates
posted by OHenryPacey at 8:35 PM on June 4, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by OHenryPacey at 8:35 PM on June 4, 2017 [7 favorites]
yea, they were just jealous of Mackinac.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 11:01 PM on June 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 11:01 PM on June 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
I've always been an Arkansawyer, thanks. The river is arkansaw (even if Kansans get it wrong, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Arkansas all agree it's pronounced arkansaw, so deal with it), but Arkansas City, KS is and always will be arkansaz.
But yes, aside from names like Toad Suck, there's a whole lot of transliterated/mangled French place names in Arkansas. Vache Grasse, Petit Jean Massard, and on and on. There's also a fair number of Italian-derived names in some parts of the state, along with totally random stuff like Ursula (pronounced ur-SOO-luh, not ur-suh-luh, as one might expect from the normal accent)
posted by wierdo at 11:24 PM on June 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
But yes, aside from names like Toad Suck, there's a whole lot of transliterated/mangled French place names in Arkansas. Vache Grasse, Petit Jean Massard, and on and on. There's also a fair number of Italian-derived names in some parts of the state, along with totally random stuff like Ursula (pronounced ur-SOO-luh, not ur-suh-luh, as one might expect from the normal accent)
posted by wierdo at 11:24 PM on June 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
there's a whole lot of transliterated/mangled French place names in Arkansas
Not just mangled French. My wife is from De Queen, which is mangled Dutch for "de Goeijen", who funded the railway through town.
I've learned not to try to pronounce towns in Arkansas, because I can't reliably predict how the names will have been corrupted.
posted by madcaptenor at 4:54 AM on June 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Not just mangled French. My wife is from De Queen, which is mangled Dutch for "de Goeijen", who funded the railway through town.
I've learned not to try to pronounce towns in Arkansas, because I can't reliably predict how the names will have been corrupted.
posted by madcaptenor at 4:54 AM on June 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
FWIW, some Romance languages -- e.g. Sicilian, Romanian -- do similar things. Capici?
Also Hungarian, with y instead of i. (Obviously not a Romance language.)
posted by madcaptenor at 4:55 AM on June 5, 2017
Also Hungarian, with y instead of i. (Obviously not a Romance language.)
posted by madcaptenor at 4:55 AM on June 5, 2017
Unless you use the vastly superior "Arkansawyer."
Surely one should not rush to sanctify this demonym without thoroughly exploring potential alternatives. For example, I don't believe that you have even yet considered the following delightful possibilities:
-- Arkansauce;
-- Arkansaurus;
-- Arkansauna;
-- Arkansarkan; or
-- Arkansword.
:-)
posted by the quidnunc kid at 6:27 AM on June 5, 2017 [5 favorites]
Surely one should not rush to sanctify this demonym without thoroughly exploring potential alternatives. For example, I don't believe that you have even yet considered the following delightful possibilities:
-- Arkansauce;
-- Arkansaurus;
-- Arkansauna;
-- Arkansarkan; or
-- Arkansword.
:-)
posted by the quidnunc kid at 6:27 AM on June 5, 2017 [5 favorites]
E.g. " ... I shall tolerate none of your Arkensauciness, you damnable Arkan-Sarkan! You have wrenched me from the sanctity of my Arkensauna like some cruel Arkansaurus - and now you shall taste the edge of my mighty Arkensword. Have at thee!"
posted by the quidnunc kid at 6:34 AM on June 5, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by the quidnunc kid at 6:34 AM on June 5, 2017 [6 favorites]
I've learned not to try to pronounce towns in Arkansas, because I can't reliably predict how the names will have been corrupted.
One state over, same thing with a lot of place names in Oklahoma. Not really a matter of corruption; rather, convention.
posted by blucevalo at 6:41 AM on June 5, 2017
One state over, same thing with a lot of place names in Oklahoma. Not really a matter of corruption; rather, convention.
posted by blucevalo at 6:41 AM on June 5, 2017
Not really a matter of corruption; rather, convention.
I meant "corruption" in the sense of "not being pronounced like the original language"; I didn't mean to imply a value judgment.
posted by madcaptenor at 8:02 AM on June 5, 2017
I meant "corruption" in the sense of "not being pronounced like the original language"; I didn't mean to imply a value judgment.
posted by madcaptenor at 8:02 AM on June 5, 2017
> As for why the spelling and pronunciation don’t match, it is because both come via the earlier French place names—the same reason the same is true for Illinois.
And to take this one step further: Words like Illinois (Ill-in-oy), Gravois (grav-oy), and Courtois (Curt-oy) are, of course, French in origin. But the "oy" pronunciation we now use for these and similar place names is not not some horribly bastardized and Americanized pronunciation of French.
Rather, it is a perfectly proper Paw Paw French pronunciation.
Paw Paw French is descended from the Norman-Britain French of the late 1600s--the time when the French first moved into Upper Louisiana (modern-day Illinois & eastern Missouri, basically).
So Paw Paw French represents an earlier period of French grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation along with a healthy admixture words and phrases from various native American languages along with African & English influences.
As recently as 50-100 years ago, Paw Paw still had hundreds to thousands of native speakers, mostly in southeastern Missouri. Now it's down to just a couple dozen at best, though attempts are underway to revive.
There is probably a nice FPP here for some ambitious soul, but in the meanwhile some links:
- Attempts to revive Paw Paw French, with recorded examples
- Paw Paw French article on Wikipedia
- NPR story on Paw Paw French
- Al Jazeera story on Paw Paw French with some recorded examples
- Some Youtube videos of people speaking Paw Paw French
Paw Paw French is just one French dialect of several that were or are common in North America, including: Louisiana French, New England French, Muskrat French, Métis French, and a variety of French dialects across Canada. And let's not forget the French influence on Mexico--French were the 2nd largest European immigrant group. Don't know if there were or are any particular French dialects in Mexico, though.
posted by flug at 8:09 AM on June 5, 2017 [7 favorites]
And to take this one step further: Words like Illinois (Ill-in-oy), Gravois (grav-oy), and Courtois (Curt-oy) are, of course, French in origin. But the "oy" pronunciation we now use for these and similar place names is not not some horribly bastardized and Americanized pronunciation of French.
Rather, it is a perfectly proper Paw Paw French pronunciation.
Paw Paw French is descended from the Norman-Britain French of the late 1600s--the time when the French first moved into Upper Louisiana (modern-day Illinois & eastern Missouri, basically).
So Paw Paw French represents an earlier period of French grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation along with a healthy admixture words and phrases from various native American languages along with African & English influences.
As recently as 50-100 years ago, Paw Paw still had hundreds to thousands of native speakers, mostly in southeastern Missouri. Now it's down to just a couple dozen at best, though attempts are underway to revive.
There is probably a nice FPP here for some ambitious soul, but in the meanwhile some links:
- Attempts to revive Paw Paw French, with recorded examples
- Paw Paw French article on Wikipedia
- NPR story on Paw Paw French
- Al Jazeera story on Paw Paw French with some recorded examples
- Some Youtube videos of people speaking Paw Paw French
Paw Paw French is just one French dialect of several that were or are common in North America, including: Louisiana French, New England French, Muskrat French, Métis French, and a variety of French dialects across Canada. And let's not forget the French influence on Mexico--French were the 2nd largest European immigrant group. Don't know if there were or are any particular French dialects in Mexico, though.
posted by flug at 8:09 AM on June 5, 2017 [7 favorites]
> Words like Illinois (Ill-in-oy), Gravois (grav-oy), and Courtois (Curt-oy)
In my long dissertation, I should have specifically mentioned that the "oy" pronunciation of "ois" goes back to 17th Century French. The "wah" pronunciation for "ois" now common in standard French, developed quite a bit later.
posted by flug at 8:34 AM on June 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
In my long dissertation, I should have specifically mentioned that the "oy" pronunciation of "ois" goes back to 17th Century French. The "wah" pronunciation for "ois" now common in standard French, developed quite a bit later.
posted by flug at 8:34 AM on June 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Residents of Versailles, Indiana could not be reached for comment.
(ver-SALES, oh the humanity)
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 8:40 AM on June 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
(ver-SALES, oh the humanity)
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 8:40 AM on June 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Why'd they change it?
I can't say.
Maybe people just liked it better that way.
Wait, so you're claiming the spelling was changed when Arkansaw was conquered by the Ottoman Empire?
posted by straight at 8:40 AM on June 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
I can't say.
Maybe people just liked it better that way.
Wait, so you're claiming the spelling was changed when Arkansaw was conquered by the Ottoman Empire?
posted by straight at 8:40 AM on June 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
In fairness, if somebody described something wide as being "widthy", you'd probably think they were an asshole.
Although I might not mind you calling the pastor's sermon "widthy" if we already had figures of speech about people who tell stories that meander at great width. (Doesn't explain why "depthy" is wrong, though.)
posted by straight at 8:45 AM on June 5, 2017
Although I might not mind you calling the pastor's sermon "widthy" if we already had figures of speech about people who tell stories that meander at great width. (Doesn't explain why "depthy" is wrong, though.)
posted by straight at 8:45 AM on June 5, 2017
And . . . I forgot a few of the most interesting links related to Paw Paw French:
- Outline of a teaching unit on Paw Paw French. Scroll down a bit and it includes links to several youtube videos of people speaking Paw Paw French and examples of how Paw Paw French compares with modern standard French.
- Missouri's Paw Paw French by W. M. Miller - a fascinating and readable snapshot of Paw Paw French and the territory it was spoken in, from the 1930s. (Requires JSTOR free registration.)
- Old Mines web page. Old Mines, MO, is one of the historic centers of Paw Paw French, and the web page has a interesting summary of the history of the area and related documents.
posted by flug at 9:07 AM on June 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
- Outline of a teaching unit on Paw Paw French. Scroll down a bit and it includes links to several youtube videos of people speaking Paw Paw French and examples of how Paw Paw French compares with modern standard French.
- Missouri's Paw Paw French by W. M. Miller - a fascinating and readable snapshot of Paw Paw French and the territory it was spoken in, from the 1930s. (Requires JSTOR free registration.)
- Old Mines web page. Old Mines, MO, is one of the historic centers of Paw Paw French, and the web page has a interesting summary of the history of the area and related documents.
posted by flug at 9:07 AM on June 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
E.g. " ... I shall tolerate none of your Arkensauciness, you damnable Arkan-Sarkan! You have wrenched me from the sanctity of my Arkensauna like some cruel Arkansaurus - and now you shall taste the edge of my mighty Arkensword. Have at thee!"
Was this dialogue written by Arkansorkin
posted by middleclasstool at 9:43 AM on June 5, 2017 [4 favorites]
Was this dialogue written by Arkansorkin
posted by middleclasstool at 9:43 AM on June 5, 2017 [4 favorites]
Was this dialogue written by Arkansorkin
Bwah ha ha!!
OK ... that settles that. You, sir, are the TRUE Arkansorcerer!
posted by the quidnunc kid at 10:02 AM on June 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
Bwah ha ha!!
OK ... that settles that. You, sir, are the TRUE Arkansorcerer!
posted by the quidnunc kid at 10:02 AM on June 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
Arkansauce
Just FYI this gets used a lot on small town restaurant menus. Also, when I was in high school in the 90s, a friend and I made a queer zine called ARKANSASSY as an homage to Sassy Magazine. Sort of. It was mostly an homage to Phil Hartman as the editor of Sassy.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 11:34 AM on June 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
Just FYI this gets used a lot on small town restaurant menus. Also, when I was in high school in the 90s, a friend and I made a queer zine called ARKANSASSY as an homage to Sassy Magazine. Sort of. It was mostly an homage to Phil Hartman as the editor of Sassy.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 11:34 AM on June 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
Just FYI this gets used a lot on small town restaurant menus
I am VERY happy to hear this righteous and just news!
But, one is also inclined to wonder whether one might place such condiment upon an ... Arkansausage?
And then, perhaps, also have the opportunity to cleanse one's palate with an ... Arkansorbet?
Umm ... sorry.
Arkensorry, I mean.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 12:23 PM on June 5, 2017
I am VERY happy to hear this righteous and just news!
But, one is also inclined to wonder whether one might place such condiment upon an ... Arkansausage?
And then, perhaps, also have the opportunity to cleanse one's palate with an ... Arkansorbet?
Umm ... sorry.
Arkensorry, I mean.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 12:23 PM on June 5, 2017
FWIW, some Romance languages -- e.g. Sicilian, Romanian -- do similar things. Capici?
Also French and English, in the case of words ending in -tion.
posted by shponglespore at 2:58 PM on June 5, 2017
Also French and English, in the case of words ending in -tion.
posted by shponglespore at 2:58 PM on June 5, 2017
Sys Rq: "Perhaps it would behoove Britons to recognize every now that a far larger chunk of North America was French than was ever British."
America maybe, but not North America. The British owned all of Canada which alone is larger than the maximum French territory.
posted by Mitheral at 4:01 PM on June 5, 2017
…"girthy" and "weighty" are ok. But no "breadthy" or "depthy" or "heighty"?
We've got height->haughty so let's promote braughty and daughty.
posted by zippy at 4:23 PM on June 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
We've got height->haughty so let's promote braughty and daughty.
posted by zippy at 4:23 PM on June 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
I braught me daughty to a paughty
She ran off wit sum haughty saughty
I said to 'er, "don't be so naughty!"
But she replied, "Aw, grow up, shaughty".
posted by the quidnunc kid at 12:42 AM on June 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
She ran off wit sum haughty saughty
I said to 'er, "don't be so naughty!"
But she replied, "Aw, grow up, shaughty".
posted by the quidnunc kid at 12:42 AM on June 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
I_Love_Bananas: "Residents of Versailles, Indiana could not be reached for comment.
(ver-SALES, oh the humanity)"
Same with North Versailles, PA. Not to mention DuBois ("doo boyz") and Dauphin County ("DAW-fin").
We also pronounce Carnegie differently than everyone else, but hell, Andrew lived here, maybe that's how he said it.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:37 PM on June 17, 2017 [1 favorite]
(ver-SALES, oh the humanity)"
Same with North Versailles, PA. Not to mention DuBois ("doo boyz") and Dauphin County ("DAW-fin").
We also pronounce Carnegie differently than everyone else, but hell, Andrew lived here, maybe that's how he said it.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:37 PM on June 17, 2017 [1 favorite]
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In fairness, if somebody described something wide as being "widthy", you'd probably think they were an asshole.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 3:10 PM on June 4, 2017 [42 favorites]