Comment on Why is 'Philippines' spelled with a PH, but 'Filipino' is spelled with an F?
SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 4 weeks ago
Why is Kansas, “cansus”, while Arkansas is “R-cansaw”?
Kansas is named for the Kaw People Native American Nation (or Kanza) and Arkansas is named for the Quapaw Nation. Algonquian-speaking people originally referred to the Quapaw as “Akansa”. French fur traders called them Arcansas.
I grew up in Kansas and we called it Ar-kansas.
@Evade5415 @nostupidquestions We should rename Kansas to Ur-Kansas. You know, to avoid confusion.
I have a relative in NJ who says Arkansas like Kansas with the hard S. He says it’s a local thing but I think he’s just trying to be different.
That’s what I learned to call it growing up in Kansas.
I think most of those “this is how the locals say it” things are clinging to a fading past. My favorite was a Kitchen Nightmares episode where the owner tells Gordon Ramsay that New Orleans is pronounced “Naw-Lins” (with some drawl, not sure how to write that exactly), but every other time before and after, he says “New Orleans”.
I grew up near Baltimore, which people variously insisted should be “Bee-mer”, “Balmer” or… A couple others. The only one I’ve seen actually play out is residents of NYC primarily referring to it as “The City”, but that one is also pretty normal, so it makes sense that it would survive.
I grew up in NJ and I have never heard anyone say it that way unironically.
Why is Houston “hew-stown” while Houston is “house-ton”
I assume Houston Street is named after a man that pronounced his name House-ton. Houston the city was named for Sam Houston, the first President of the Republic of Texas. He pronounced it Hews-ton, so that’s what we call it.
Glytch@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
America explain!