# Spokane, WA? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 12, 2016, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spokane-wa/774548 "2016-12-12T20:20:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spokane-wa/774548/21 "2016-12-13T15:28:51Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > I’m a product of the 1970’s, and I have always known Spokane, WA to be pronounced with a long “a”. As a kid I saw the name Yosemite Sam in comic books, and using kid logic (reasonable deduction based on incomplete knowledge) figured it was pronounced _yoze_-might\*. In the cartoons they only said the name Sam. After some years of that I became aware of Yosemite National Park and the correct pronunciation of Yosemite. I wonder if something like this may the case with your experience. Or did you actually hear a person – or more astonishing, several people – pronounce it as Spo-kane? \*Rhymes with “hose.” ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spokane-wa/774548/22 "2016-12-13T15:45:47Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Some places in the area _have_ changed pronunciation since then. E.g., Walla Walla has morphed into something unrecognizable from my childhood. > . Yes, I would also like to know how else Walla Walla is pronounced. Spo-can. Just like Doug Clark and the Trailer Park Girls pronounce it: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/0kdh0b-9Cjs/maxresdefault.jpg "Spokane") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kdh0b-9Cjs) ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spokane-wa/774548/23 "2016-12-13T16:06:00Z")
Lived on spo-can street as a child in the late 50’s and early 60’s in Tacoma. ---
**Author:** ![Dunkelheit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dunkelheit/32/248_2.png) [@Dunkelheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunkelheit)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spokane-wa/774548/24 "2016-12-14T22:10:54Z")
Just wanting to throw my hat in the ring with all these other fine denizens/former denizens of the fabulous Inland Empire and its environs. I had no idea there were so many people on the Dope from the Pacific Northwest. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spokane-wa/774548/25 "2016-12-14T22:14:26Z")
> [@Dunkelheit](#): > > Just wanting to throw my hat in the ring with all these other fine denizens/former denizens of the fabulous Inland Empire and its environs. I had no idea there were so many people on the Dope from the Pacific Northwest. I’m not from there, but I lived in Moscow, Idaho for a few years and am very familiar with the region. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spokane-wa/774548/26 "2016-12-15T02:06:30Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Yes, I would also like to know how else Walla Walla is pronounced. > > Spo-can. Just like Doug Clark and the Trailer Park Girls pronounce it: > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kdh0b-9Cjs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kdh0b-9Cjs) Love that song. Love Doug Clark. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spokane-wa/774548/27 "2016-12-15T06:39:24Z")
Not in Washington State, or even in the USA, but my cable provider here in Alberta gives us US network channels (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox) out of Spokane. From what I hear on newscasts and promos, it’s Spo-CAN. Never heard Spo-CANE. ---
**Author:** ![stretch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@stretch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stretch)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spokane-wa/774548/28 "2016-12-15T14:53:10Z")
I, too, was alive in the 70s, and I live in Washington, and it is Spo-can. However, the late night commercials that would sell you records (English Cats & Others, anyone?) and items from Mr. Popiel (get yer pocket fisherman for $19.95…but wait, there’s more), obviously were not local because many times I would hear them butcher a lot of city names, including Spo-cane. And Puyallup, Tacoma, Yakima, etc. And I jokingly will call it that when speaking to someone about it. “Oh, your going to the Spo-cane office. Don’t fall asleep on the incredibly boring drive.” ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spokane-wa/774548/29 "2016-12-15T15:05:02Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > Love that song. Love Doug Clark. I’ve often thought how great it would be if Doug found out about this message board. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spokane-wa/774548/30 "2016-12-15T15:46:43Z")
Maybe where I am, “Spo-CANE” is Spo-KIN here?!? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spokane-wa/774548/31 "2016-12-15T16:07:18Z")
OK, now for the next raging debate since the dawn of time: How do you pronounce Oregon? Does it rhyme with polygon? A native Oregonian explained to me it is NOT a polygon; therefore, say “Ore-agin”, not “Ore-ah-gahn”. Do the NW SDopers concur on this one, too? ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spokane-wa/774548/32 "2016-12-15T16:10:47Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Has Walla Walla ever been pronounced any way but wall-uh wall-uh? I can see some accent differences. Some people say WALLuh-WALLuh, while others tend to run it together and de-emphasize the second ‘walla’, sort of like WALLuhwalluh. I guess it all depends if you put the accent on the wrong syl-LA-ble! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spokane-wa/774548/33 "2016-12-15T17:00:24Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > OK, now for the next raging debate since the dawn of time: How do you pronounce Oregon? Does it rhyme with polygon? A native Oregonian explained to me it is NOT a polygon; therefore, say “Ore-agin”, not “Ore-ah-gahn”. Do the NW SDopers concur on this one, too? There is not a debate. There are some people who pronounce it incorrectly because they don’t know, but there are not different camps who insist theirs in the correct pronunciation. It is OR’-ih-gun or OR’-eh-gun. The last syllable is like the end of “dragon”. It is definitely NOT like “polygon”. Minor missteps like OR-eh-gin might be tolerated, but pronouncing the last syllable as “gone” is not. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spokane-wa/774548/34 "2016-12-15T17:45:45Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > There is not a debate. There are some people who pronounce it incorrectly because they don’t know, but there are not different camps who insist theirs in the correct pronunciation. > > It is OR’-ih-gun or OR’-eh-gun. The last syllable is like the end of “dragon”. It is definitely NOT like “polygon”. Minor missteps like OR-eh-gin might be tolerated, but pronouncing the last syllable as “gone” is not. Hmm, this introduces another slight variation: Do you say “dra-gun” or “drag-in?” I would say “drag-in” and Or-eh-gin (a hard “g”, not like the “g” in gin rummy). ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spokane-wa/774548/35 "2016-12-15T18:16:40Z")
In practice it’s “ore-gun”. But that’s only if people aren’t thinking about how they say it. If you ask someone how they pronounce it, they’ll throw in a superfluous third syllable: “ore-ee-gun”. Many times even emphasizing the “ee”! (Never, never, never say “ore-ee-gawn”. Nope. Do _not_ do that.) I think this is true with a lot of places. Take “Portland”. In everyday usage it ends in “lun”. But ask someone how it’s pronounced and magically it ends in “land”. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spokane-wa/774548/36 "2016-12-15T18:25:56Z")
For PacNW locals, we settled this in the song of the same name… [Bob Rivers - Spokane](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He72WysJZSQ) ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spokane-wa/774548/37 "2016-12-15T18:30:02Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > In practice it’s “ore-gun”. But that’s only if people aren’t thinking about how they say it. If you ask someone how they pronounce it, they’ll throw in a superfluous third syllable: “ore-ee-gun”. Many times even emphasizing the “ee”! > \*\* > (Never, never, never say “ore-ee-gawn”. Nope. Do _not_ do that.)\*\* > > I think this is true with a lot of places. Take “Portland”. In everyday usage it ends in “lun”. But ask someone how it’s pronounced and magically it ends in “land”. That’s when we all look at each other with “They’re not from here” looks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spokane-wa/774548.md?page=1)