Wed May 9, 2012, 10:42 AM

raccoon (30,126 posts)

It's "Missour-ee," not "Missour-uh." Anyone who says "Missour-uh"

is just lazy. So quit doing it!

24 replies, 8276 views

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24 replies	Author	Time	Post
It's "Missour-ee," not "Missour-uh." Anyone who says "Missour-uh" (Original post)	raccoon	May 2012	OP
Is the capital of Kentucky pronounced ...	Newsjock	May 2012	#1
Frankfort.	Scuba	May 2012	#3
Yay	Newsjock	May 2012	#4
When I was there, it was misery.	Scuba	May 2012	#2
After I got a speeding ticket for a cop how looked like he belonged in	all american girl	May 2012	#9
I was born in Hannibal "Missour-uh"	nevergiveup	May 2012	#5
And I was born in Columbia, Missouri-uh	IphengeniaBlumgarten	May 2012	#8
Born in Springfield, Missour-uh!	The Genealogist	Jul 2012	#23
same thing with ohi-O and ohi-UH. Around here they say you can	madmom	May 2012	#6
My old boss was form Ohio	tularetom	May 2012	#7
My parents were MO natives... Depends on which side of the state...	hlthe2b	May 2012	#10
Did you not see my emoticon? nt	raccoon	May 2012	#12
Yes, but I guess I missed your intended meaning...	hlthe2b	May 2012	#13
I thought it was the other way around.....	lastlib	May 2012	#15
re: "Thought what was the other way around?" I'm afraid I don't follow your post at all.	hlthe2b	May 2012	#16
Folks in StLouis said "Missouree"; in KC it was "Missouruh"	lastlib	May 2012	#17
Maybe it is intermixed now then... Going back to great grandparents the area north of KC was all	hlthe2b	May 2012	#18
I live in KCMO now and I hear "Missouree".	RC	May 2012	#21
I'd bet you think there is an "L" in Mawakee, Wizconsson, too.	HereSince1628	May 2012	#11
My mom's granddad was from MO and he (and she) always pronounced it Missour-uh.	kestrel91316	May 2012	#14
I live in Missour-ah.	Mad-in-Mo	May 2012	#19
ARK-an- saw.	raccoon	May 2012	#20
Missour-ee is how the Indian phrase that it came from was pronounced.	Gore1FL	May 2012	#22
I remember reading an article years ago.	xmas74	Jul 2012	#24

Response to raccoon (Original post)

Wed May 9, 2012, 10:44 AM

Newsjock (11,733 posts)

1. Is the capital of Kentucky pronounced ...

"LOU-ee-ville" or "LOU-ah-ville"?

#playingthestraightmanhere

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Response to Newsjock (Reply #1)

Wed May 9, 2012, 10:44 AM

Scuba (53,475 posts)

3. Frankfort.

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Response to Scuba (Reply #3)

Wed May 9, 2012, 10:46 AM

Newsjock (11,733 posts)

4. Yay

Thank you, I'm here all week.

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Response to raccoon (Original post)

Wed May 9, 2012, 10:44 AM

Scuba (53,475 posts)

2. When I was there, it was misery.

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Response to Scuba (Reply #2)

Wed May 9, 2012, 11:09 AM

all american girl (1,788 posts)

9. After I got a speeding ticket for a cop how looked like he belonged in

Smokey and the Bandit movie, that has been the name for me...that same trip, I saw Bambi on top of a car...All I thought was if you can't borrow a pick up truck, maybe you shouldn't go hunting. A very strange state...And I'm from Iowa, so I know strange

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Response to raccoon (Original post)

Wed May 9, 2012, 10:48 AM

nevergiveup (4,318 posts)

5. I was born in Hannibal "Missour-uh"

This is the way it was pronounced in those parts at the time and the way I have always pronounced it. Personally I think those who pronounce it "Missour-ee" are hiding something.

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Response to nevergiveup (Reply #5)

Wed May 9, 2012, 10:56 AM

IphengeniaBlumgarten (328 posts)

8. And I was born in Columbia, Missouri-uh

I believe that the oldest settled areas, long the rivers, especially descendants of early settlers there, tend to use Missour-uh. Nouveau (since say 1900) Missourians are more likely to use Missour-ee.

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Response to nevergiveup (Reply #5)

Wed Jul 4, 2012, 10:00 PM

The Genealogist (4,723 posts)

23. Born in Springfield, Missour-uh!

Which is about 100 miles from Miam-uh, Oklahoma.

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Response to raccoon (Original post)

Wed May 9, 2012, 10:50 AM

madmom (9,681 posts)

6. same thing with ohi-O and ohi-UH. Around here they say you can

tell if a person is from ohi-O by the way they say it.

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Response to madmom (Reply #6)

Wed May 9, 2012, 10:55 AM

tularetom (23,664 posts)

7. My old boss was form Ohio

and he always pronounced it "Uh-hi-uh".

And he'd get pissed off at us when we asked him if that was anywhere near Ohio.

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Response to raccoon (Original post)

Wed May 9, 2012, 11:13 AM

hlthe2b (91,464 posts)

10. My parents were MO natives... Depends on which side of the state...

As I recall those on the western side of the state (KC and elsewhere) say "Missour-ee" and those on the eastern, especially St. Louis and elsewhere say "Missour-uh"...

So, I grew up with this. Even though "Missour-uh" always grated on my own ear, I realized early on that it isn't just lazy it is a regionalism. Don't be so intolerant.

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Response to hlthe2b (Reply #10)

Wed May 9, 2012, 11:51 AM

raccoon (30,126 posts)

12. Did you not see my emoticon? nt

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Response to raccoon (Reply #12)

Wed May 9, 2012, 12:44 PM

hlthe2b (91,464 posts)

13. Yes, but I guess I missed your intended meaning...

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Response to hlthe2b (Reply #10)

Wed May 9, 2012, 02:50 PM

lastlib (19,420 posts)

15. I thought it was the other way around.....

...As a 50+ yr. native, I've always tried to pronounce it "Mis-sou-rih" (short 'i'). There's no good reason to pronounce the 'i' as a long 'e', and it sure as heck ain't a 'uh'--that's just lazy. There is no clear evidence of how the Native Americans from whom the name is taken would have pronounced it, so I go with the short 'i', and that way I avoid the other two boo-boos.

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Response to lastlib (Reply #15)

Wed May 9, 2012, 03:21 PM

hlthe2b (91,464 posts)

16. re: "Thought what was the other way around?" I'm afraid I don't follow your post at all.

However the geographic differences in pronunciation are correct to region.

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Response to hlthe2b (Reply #16)

Wed May 9, 2012, 07:48 PM

lastlib (19,420 posts)

17. Folks in StLouis said "Missouree"; in KC it was "Missouruh"

I'm on the KC side, and that's what I hear.

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Response to lastlib (Reply #17)

Wed May 9, 2012, 08:05 PM

hlthe2b (91,464 posts)

18. Maybe it is intermixed now then... Going back to great grandparents the area north of KC was all

Missour-ee, as it was with family/friends and acquaintances in KC to St. Joe and to the Kansas border. On my mother's side, relatives from Columiba and St. Louis were all Missour-uh...

There are a couple of articles that state that as well if you do a google on pronunciation of Missouri. My guess is there has just been enough missing to make it less clear.

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Response to lastlib (Reply #17)

Wed May 16, 2012, 03:19 PM

RC (25,592 posts)

21. I live in KCMO now and I hear "Missouree".

I grew up in central Kansas and it was "Missouree". I spent 45 years in North Dakota and it is "Missouree" there also.

I only hear "Missouruh" by people that talk kinda funny anyway.

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Response to raccoon (Original post)

Wed May 9, 2012, 11:18 AM

HereSince1628 (36,063 posts)

11. I'd bet you think there is an "L" in Mawakee, Wizconsson, too.

znt az f th'shrt ctz usd n txtn rn't t'same thn' we do tspokn lanwag.

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Response to raccoon (Original post)

Wed May 9, 2012, 01:11 PM

kestrel91316 (51,666 posts)

14. My mom's granddad was from MO and he (and she) always pronounced it Missour-uh.

He was born in the 1880s so maybe it's different now.

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Response to raccoon (Original post)

Mon May 14, 2012, 02:28 PM

Mad-in-Mo (229 posts)

19. I live in Missour-ah.

Sorry if you think it is lazy. How do you pronounce Arkansas?

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Response to Mad-in-Mo (Reply #19)

Mon May 14, 2012, 03:13 PM

raccoon (30,126 posts)

20. ARK-an- saw.

Looks like "Missouruh" is the norm, by the way the postings are going here.

I dare not be so bold as to suggest changing the name of the state, for instance, "East Kansas."

Like the expression "I could care less " and the spelling "loose" (as in, to loose one's mind),
Missouruh is becoming the norm....

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Response to raccoon (Original post)

Fri May 18, 2012, 11:06 PM

Gore1FL (19,515 posts)

22. Missour-ee is how the Indian phrase that it came from was pronounced.

I agree with you.

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Response to raccoon (Original post)

Thu Jul 5, 2012, 04:47 PM

xmas74 (28,901 posts)

24. I remember reading an article years ago.

It used I 70 and 435 are major divides in the Missour-e/Missour-uh debate.

I've tried to find that article over the past few years but to no avail. If I ever find it I'll post it here. It was great how not only was there a divide throughout the state but an additional divide in the KC area.

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