# Vote here: Is it prounounced 'Missour--EE' or 'Missour-UH'? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 22, 2000, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932 "2000-12-22T23:39:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![schief2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@schief2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schief2)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2000, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932/21 "2000-12-23T20:47:31Z")
My two cents as an outsider living in Columbia, Mo: In general: Miz-our- **ee** : people in urban areas, people in northern Missouri, younger people, and professional people Miz-our- **uh** : people in rural areas, people in southern Missouri (where many folks do have a pronounced drawl), and older people. The latter also tends to be slurred together and spoken much more quickly than “Mis-our-ee”; it kind of sounds almost like “Mzzuruh” with no clear “i” or “ou”. The exception is politicians in speeches and televised ads; even if they’re from St. Louis or KC, it seems like they ALL make a point of saying “Miz-our-uh”. I imagine they think it makes them sound more salt-of-the-earth. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![snac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@snac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snac)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2000, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932/22 "2000-12-23T21:04:11Z")
Missour-EE. Grew up in Illi-NOY. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2000, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932/23 "2000-12-23T21:29:45Z")
Mi-ZUR-ee. Born and raised in Noo York. (NOT Noo Yawk, which is an entirely different place as far as I’m concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2000, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932/24 "2000-12-23T21:32:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by racinchikki \* > Mi-ZUR-ee. Same here in Texas. > [@](#): > > Born and raised in Noo York. (NOT Noo Yawk, which is an entirely different place as far as I’m concerned. N’Yawk. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2000, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932/25 "2000-12-23T21:36:42Z")
Shup, you live in Tay-has… I can’t say Mississippi… I slur it all into Mispi… ---
**Author:** ![Homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homer)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2000, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932/26 "2000-12-23T23:12:21Z")
😃 Sorry for that one, Crunchy Frog! I guess I should have said “Fine with **me** ” instead of implying that it was fine all around. 😉 –Tim ---
**Author:** ![Never\_Say\_Dice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee59a6/32.png) [@Never\_Say\_Dice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Never_Say_Dice)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932/27 "2000-12-24T01:20:29Z")
In my experience there, for 8 months it was “Misery” ☹ The skeeters were out all that time. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932/28 "2000-12-24T01:28:35Z")
The original pronunciation for the state’s name was -EE. Technically, that should be the proper pronunciation. But there are other forces at work. In the late 19th century, it was common to portray a hick from the sticks as someone who puts an -EE at the end of the word (see “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny”). It was also probably how the “Jim Crow” stereotype would pronounce a state’s name. It carried over to other states like Californee, etc. A lot of Missourians were ridiculed as ignorant because they added the -EE. To show they weren’t, they began saying “Missoura.” That overcorreciton became common. BTW, the original reason why Missouri was called the “Show Me” state was because Missourians were considered so stupid that you had to show them for them to understand anything. As time went by, it became a source of pride. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932/29 "2000-12-24T01:40:22Z")
Frankla, ah don’t saw what thuh problem is. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932/30 "2000-12-24T04:25:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by racinchikki \* > \*\*Shup, you live in Tay-has… > > I can’t say Mississippi… I slur it all into Mispi… \*\* So do most locals. I’m in Mississippi, so I know. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932/31 "2000-12-24T04:36:59Z")
schief2 probably explains it best. It’s always fund to watch the politicians subtly trying to shift pronunciations as they go from place to place around the state. Of course, I’m from St. Louis, where you eat with a fark that has far tines on it, so what do I know. ---
**Author:** ![MissBHaven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missbhaven/32/7170_2.png) [@MissBHaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissBHaven)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932/32 "2000-12-28T18:18:52Z")
:arrives out of breath: Sorry, I’m late! I’m a born and bred Missouri girl and it’s always pronounced with an -EE unless you’re a Tigers fan and then it’s Missou- Rah!!! ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932/33 "2000-12-28T19:13:19Z")
[puzzled] Um, the Tigers? I’ve got the Ambush, the Blues, the Cardinals, the Ramblers, the Rams, and the Vipers. No Tigers. Unless you’re talking about–oh. …the _Missouri_ Tigers. Oh, yeah–them. Huh. A fan. Well, whaddaya know… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rally\_Vincent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c37758/32.png) [@Rally\_Vincent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rally_Vincent)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932/34 "2000-12-28T19:23:27Z")
I’m from Arizona and I lived in Kirksville, Missouri for two and a half years. I heard it pronounced both ways but one time I said it as Missour-uh and everyone looked at me strangely, perhaps because I was obviously an outsider (hopefully it wasn’t because I had spinach in my teeth or something). ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2000, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932/35 "2000-12-29T02:31:53Z")
Mrs. Rasthaomie, who is from the southern part of Missouri, **and** from a rural area, pronounces it ~~EE, and she gets quite put out when anybody says that southern and/or rural MO people pronounce it incorrectly. FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![Tabithina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f04885/32.png) [@Tabithina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabithina)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2000, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932/36 "2000-12-29T03:03:26Z")
Chiming in from the Missour-EE Ozarks! ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2000, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932/37 "2000-12-29T14:26:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > \*\*BTW, the original reason why Missouri was called the “Show Me” state was because Missourians were considered so stupid that you had to show them for them to understand anything. As time went by, it became a source of pride. \*\* And where did you get this tidbit of trivia? I always understood it was stubborness and skepticism, not stupidity, that got Missouri the nickname of the Show-Me state. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2000, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932/38 "2000-12-29T15:07:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > \*\*BTW, the original reason why Missouri was called the “Show Me” state was because Missourians were considered so stupid that you had to show them for them to understand anything. As time went by, it became a source of pride. \*\* When I lived in Missouri, I came up with a whole list of reasons why they called it “The Show-Me State.” To wit: **Show Me** the way out of this damned cave. **Show Me** your driver’s license. (When the state trooper pulls you over for going 71 in a 70) **Show Me** 17 pages of documentation, each of them notarized and signed in blood. (When you tried to renew your license plates each year. OY! what an ordeal! :rolleyes: ) ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2000, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932/39 "2000-12-29T15:08:20Z")
EE - lived in Kansas City for 22 years. ---
**Author:** ![mongrel\_8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@mongrel\_8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mongrel_8)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2000, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932/40 "2000-12-29T15:46:18Z")
I have lived in central Missouri my whole life, and I believe it can be said either way you want. I personally say -ee. > [@](#): > > Originally posted by RealityChuck > BTW, the original reason why Missouri was called the “Show Me” state was because Missourians were considered so stupid that you had to show them for them to understand anything. As time went by, it became a source of pride. This sounds like someone who is trying to cut down Missourians, are you possibly a lousy **JAYHAWK**? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-here-is-it-prounounced-missour-ee-or-missour-uh/46932.md?page=3)