Is it a Canadian thing? I recall that Peter Jennings always said “Missouah” during this newscasts in the past…
As I understand it, Little Rock is the capital of Ar-kan-SAW, but folks around Wichita go for a stroll on the banks of the Ar-KAN-sas River. Could be wrong, though; I await clarification.
Interesting…the company I work for is in Wichita…I’ll have to ask a few of my techs how they pronounce it.
It’s a regional thing. South, bootheel area, it’s UH. Urban & north is EE.
When I was first arrived at my station in San Francisco in the army years ago, I was told, We have someone here already from MissourUH, and you say it MissourEE, so you can’t be from the same state!"
I saw a Nevada tourism commercial last week, which showed the state’s name spelled with an a-breve: Nev**?**da.
Interesting. Because the main reason for the “Missourah” pronunciation was to avoid sounding like a hick.
Back in the 19th Century, the standard indentifier for a hick in a play would be to have him pronounce the name of his state with an “ee” sound at the end: “Virginnie,” “Alabammie,” etc.
Missourians started saying “Missourah” so they wouldn’t sound like a hick, even though the state was rightly pronounced with an “ee” sound at the end.
Also, the original point of “Show me” as in the “Show Me State,” was not an indication that Missourians were rightly mistrustful of other people’s words and promisesl; it was a pejorative by the other states which indicated the people of MIssouri were so dumb you had to show them everything.
Hm. When I wrote the post the a-breve showed. But when I posted it on my Mac, it came up as a question mark.
Poly’s right…the locals pronounce it ArKANsas. What. The Everlovin’ Fuck.
Look, the “correct” pronunciation of any given place and the LOCAL pronunciation are often very different.
Outside Kentucky, people say “LOO-ee-ville,” while real Kentuckians say “LOO-uh-ville.”
Outside the Pacific Northwest, people tend to call the Beaver State “ORE-a-gonn” (three syllables), while locals usually call it “ORE-gunn” (closer to two syllables).
People who live in the SHow Me State usually say “Mih-ZOO-ruh,” while outsiders say “Mih-ZOO-ree.”
In each case, the “correct” pronunciation is a matter of opinion. But if you use the local pronunciation outside the locality, you risk sounding like a rube to outsiders… and even the locals are likely to think your attempts at sounding like a local sound, well, weird.
I mean, if I went to the Crescent City and said “New Ore-LEENS,” locals would know I was a Yankee tourist instantly. But if I tried to act like a local and say “NAW-lins,” they’d probably tell me “DOn’t try to sound like one of us- it just makes you look silly.”
In other words, Michael J. Fox used the correct local pronunciation of Missouri, but came off sounding a little phony when he did so.
I’ve lived in KC, Missouri all my life and only ever heard it pronounced Mis-sir-ree. So I’d have to say it is far from being the ‘accepted’ pronunciation if a native of the state living in said state goes nearly 30 years without hearing that particular pronunciation. Of course, I don’t go spend much time with the hicks, though several of my friends say ‘warsh’ as in they ‘warsh’ their clothes.
Just for you, Kal, one of the oldest urban legends around: Change the Sacred Name of Arkansaw! (Click on “the history and authentic version” link for the debunking and actual origin.)
They don’t, I swar!
Seriously though, never even heard it once. Not until this thread. (well, maybe some southern movie, or that one movie with Tom Hanks)
Wow. Just wow. Shit. Outsiders sometimes call ChiCAWgo “ChiCAHgo” and we don’t whip off our shoes and start bangin’ 'em on the table! That was hilarious!
Man: (Sings) You are in I-o-way.
Harold Hill: I-o-way? Well at least now I know how to pronounce it. I always thought you folks preferred I-o-wuh.
Woman: Oh, we say it that way sometimes. But we don’t like anyone else to.
Or something along those lines.
I had a friend that said he was from Lovell, KY. I knew him for over a year before I figured out that Lovell = Louisville.
So yeah, it’s pronouced “LOO-uh-ville” but really smashed together.
The correct pronunciation is “Misery”. 
My wife was born & raised in Hooten Holler, Redneck County, Missouri. (Well actually, Viburnum, Iron County, but what the hey).
She and every person in her family pronounces it Mizz-oor-ee, and will probably bitch-slap you if you say “-uh.” They find it provincial and insulting.
WRT the Arkansas thing: I knew some people who lived in Ft. Smith, and they pronounced it Ark-an-saw. But the river that flowed past their town was pronounced the Ark-kan-sas river.
It’s easy to find, being just south of WAR-shington.
Lou-a-vull, yes. It’s been a matter of local discussion for years. You can even get a T-shirt
I was born and raised in the KC area & “miz-ur-uh” just grates on my last nerve. I always want to ask the person mispronouncing my state if they also say “miss-i-sip-puh.”
I rolled my eyes at the MJF add when he said Missouruh, but then McCaskill prounces it that way. Come to think of it, I don’t believe I’ve heard a Missouri polititian prouncounce it correctly. I can’t figure out if they’re going for the “down home folksy” thing, or if they think it’s more… cosmopolitan? That’s not the word I’m looking for, but I hope you get my meaning.
At any rate, there will always be people who prounounce Missouri either way, whether they live here or not. I try not to correct strangers or my elders.