# Pronunciation of Arkansas in Kansas **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [December 19, 2004, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623 "2004-12-19T07:39:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![apberzerk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@apberzerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apberzerk)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623/1 "2004-12-19T07:39:26Z")
This is in response to “Why is Arkansas pronounced Ar-kan- SAW?”, located here: [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/markansa.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/markansa.html) To correct what was stated in the above article, in Kansas we pronounce the state of Arkansas just like the rest of the nation (ark-an-SAW). However, any other uses of the word (in a street name, for example) are indeed pronounced ahr-KAN-suz here in Kansas. Now, as to whether the words Arkansas and Kansas are related, I have always been told that “Kansas” is named after the Kansa Native Americans and that that is why Arkansas is pronounced that way (and that it’s Kansas that is mis-pronounced). But this contradicts what the above article says, and I most definitely could be mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623/2 "2004-12-19T13:38:07Z")
I’m from Arkansas, and every time I hear someone say ar-KAN-suz, I am just a little disappointed that knocking the teeth down the back of someone’s throat is considered Assault. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623/3 "2004-12-19T14:18:56Z")
[Change the Sacred Name of Arkansas?](http://snafu.freedom.org/pub/arkansaw-polite.html) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623/4 "2004-12-19T15:39:29Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > [Change the Sacred Name of Arkansas?](http://snafu.freedom.org/pub/arkansaw-polite.html) …as you can see, passions run incredibly (incredulously?) deep on this subject… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623/5 "2004-12-19T15:49:11Z")
I respectfully say, “AR-kan-saw.” However, some transplanted mountain people in my state say, “AR-kin-saw.” ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623/6 "2004-12-19T17:30:36Z")
The Arkansas River rises in Colorado and flows east to join the Mississippi in Arkansas. Colorado natives - at least the ones I ran across - seem to call it the “Ar-KAN-zis”. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623/7 "2004-12-19T22:39:00Z")
An excellent, and definitive article over on the American Dialect Society Mailing List, by Frank Abate, who is the Editor in Chief of the U. S. Dictionaries Program of Oxford University Press, located in Connecticut. > [@](#): > > The name “Arkansa” was first used by the French, after 1673, applied to a Quapaw village and its residents. > > The French “Arkansa” came to be used to designate one member of the Quapaw; > “Arkansas,” also used by the French, was the plural. The final S of the > plural was not sounded, per French practice. The French plural > pronunciation and spelling led to the American practice, although the > spelling “Arkansaw” actually appears in the act that created the territory > that later became the state of Arkansas. Of course, we still do not > pronounce the final S in “Arkansas” – well, most of us don’t. [http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0302B&L=ads-l&P=R3271](http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0302B&L=ads-l&P=R3271) ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2004, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623/8 "2004-12-21T04:40:06Z")
> [@An Arky](#): > > I’m from Arkansas, and every time I hear someone say ar-KAN-suz, I am just a little disappointed that knocking the teeth down the back of someone’s throat is considered Assault. Just for the record, it’s technically battery, not assault. Putting someone in immediate _apprehension_ of having his/her teeth knocked down the back of his/her throat is assault. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2004, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623/9 "2004-12-21T13:28:55Z")
> [@jackelope](#): > > Just for the record, it’s technically battery, not assault. Putting someone in immediate _apprehension_ of having his/her teeth knocked down the back of his/her throat is assault. That was the traditional definition, and I never saw anything wrong with it, but stage legislatures keep mucking about with things they don’t understand… ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2004, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623/10 "2004-12-21T13:36:56Z")
Let’s note that the pronunciation of a word relative to one usage does not necessarily mandate its pronunciation relative to another usage. Whether “Norfolk” is NOR-folk, NOR-fawk, or NOR-fork depends on the particular city being referred to; Berlin, Germany, is ber-LINN, but several U.S. communities are named New Berlin, pronounced New BERR-lin. So the Ar-KAN-zuss River can flow from KAN-zuss into ARK-un-saw, if that’s how the folks along its banks choose to reference it. ---
**Author:** ![Outpits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4bbf92/32.png) [@Outpits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Outpits)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2004, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623/11 "2004-12-21T14:50:53Z")
I agree that any particular entity (a city, per your example) can be pronounced as its citizens/denizens choose. In Arkansas, for example, the town of Monticello is pronounced with a soft “s” sound, not the “ch” sound of Jefferson’s home. That should not apply, however, to the Arkansas River. It is one entity and its name should be pronounced consistently throughout its length. Presumably, it was named the Arkansas River becuase it empties into the Mississippi River in the State of Arkansas. As such, it should be pronounced the same as its namesake state for its entire length. Upstream hilljacks just need to get with the program. ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2004, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623/12 "2004-12-21T16:49:05Z")
Hey! We get the river first, so it’s ahr-KAN-suhs! Nyah, nyah, nyah. Besides, there all no hilljacks in Kansas, there being no hills. . . . ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623/13 "2004-12-21T17:24:00Z")
Obviously, **BJ** , you’ve never been east of Salina. I disagree with the OP’s contention that Arkansas is pronounced “Ar-KAN-zus” when used as a street name, though it may depend on the city. In Lawrence, many streets are named after states, and I have never heard anyone pronounce Arkansas St as anything other than “ARK-an-saw”. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2004, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623/14 "2004-12-21T21:21:05Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Obviously, **BJ** , you’ve never been east of Salina. > > I disagree with the OP’s contention that Arkansas is pronounced “Ar-KAN-zus” when used as a street name, though it may depend on the city. In Lawrence, many streets are named after states, and I have never heard anyone pronounce Arkansas St as anything other than “ARK-an-saw”. Ah, but that’s a street named after the state, which is not the same thing as a street being named “Arkansas” for it’s own sweet sake. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623/15 "2004-12-22T00:04:36Z")
> [@An Arky](#): > > I’m from Arkansas, and every time I hear someone say ar-KAN-suz, I am just a little disappointed that knocking the teeth down the back of someone’s throat is considered Assault. No need to do that. Just tell the mispronouncers that it’s illegal to say it that way. When they ask where, tell them in AR-kan-saw. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623/16 "2004-12-29T00:51:41Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Whether “Norfolk” is NOR-folk, NOR-fawk, or NOR-fork depends on the particular city being referred to. If you’re referring to the one in Virginia, there’s no vowel in the second syllable. NOR-fk v-JIN-ya. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623/17 "2004-12-30T00:10:40Z")
> [@jackelope](#): > > Just for the record, it’s technically battery, not assault. Putting someone in immediate _apprehension_ of having his/her teeth knocked down the back of his/her throat is assault. Does that mean we’re going to have to reclassify the M-16 assault rifle as a battery rifle? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623/18 "2004-12-30T00:22:12Z")
> [@tracer](#): > > Does that mean we’re going to have to reclassify the M-16 assault rifle as a battery rifle? No, unless it’s used in a battery (or in defending Battery Park!). It functions to threaten bodily harm, which is assault. Only if it were out of ammo and you clubbed someone with it would it be a _battery rifle_. On the other hand, a laser rifle with built-in rechargeable power supply – what would that be? ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623/19 "2004-12-30T15:22:35Z")
Depends upon its vintage. . . . (by the by: there is an ar-KAN-suhs street in Wichita, which stretches a few miles east of Salina [suh-LYE-nuh or suh-LEE-nuh?). ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623/20 "2004-12-30T16:22:35Z")
> [@BJMoose](#): > > (by the by: there is an ar-KAN-suhs street in Wichita, which stretches a few miles east of Salina [suh-LYE-nuh or suh-LEE-nuh?). The first one (according to my Kansas-born granny, who was from Galena, which Salina doesn’t rhyme with). I’ve been told that the river is pronounced ar-KAN-suhs in Colorado and Kansas, but AR-kin-saw in Oklahoma and Arkansas. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-arkansas-in-kansas/280623.md?page=2)