(Untitled)

[boro_babe]

(Tenuous link to last post)

Can someone please explain to me the (historical?) reason(s) why "Kansas" as in the state of Kansas, and as in the state of Arkansas, are pronounced so differently? I'm English so I don't know if there is a well known explanation in the states.

Thanks in advance!

Comments

[marnanel]

"Arkansas" was originally a French name.

[jkrissw]

As was - reportedly - Ozark. There's a winery in my mom's hometown of Altus (Arkansas) called Chateau Aux Arc.

[muckefuck]

No, it's a Native American name in French spelling. Apparently, it comes from an Illini term for the Ugakhpa (Quapaw), a Siouan people of northwest Arkansas. Because the area was originally colonised by the French, a lot of Amerind names come to us in French spelling, e.g. "Illinois" for Illini, "Missouri" for Misuri, "Osage" for Wazhazhe.

[full4zaccordion]

Kansas and Arkansas. :-)

[ex_zimna8080119]

I grew up in Texas, and asked my uncle once why they were pronounced differently - and he said it was because everyone in Arkansas was illiterate and could not pronounce or spell things properly. He didnt like Bill Clinton, either, so perhaps he was skewed a bit ...

[darcilla]

Kansans often pronounce Arkansas as "ar-KAN-zus" half-jokingly. To confuse the issue even more, the Arkansas River is actually pronounced that way though ("ar-KAN-zus," not "ar-kan-SAW" like the state).

[saraken]

I don't believe you! about the river. Well, I've never heard it pronounced that way.... =/

And I say AR-kan-saw, not Ar-kan-SAW.

[darcilla]

I've definitely heard it pronounced "AR-kan-saw" vs. "ar-kan-SAW." I think I actually put a pretty even emphasis on all the syllables... but wrote it that way to emphasize the difference in pronunciation for the ending.

As far as the river goes, that's how I have always heard it pronounced (by Kansans at least, including people like newscasters!). I can't say I know any "Arkansans" (hmmm... how does one say residents of Arkansas?) so maybe I have a skewed perspective. =) Are you from Arkansas or nearby, what do you call it?

[sparkofcreation]

I believe it is "Arkansans," actually. Sounds like "Kansans" with "Ar-" before it. I had a roommate from there once. That was a long time ago though, so I could very well be mistaken.

[arbutus]

This was actually the subject of a late-19th-century bill in the Arkansas state legislature which sought to standardize the state's pronunciation-- at the time there was a sharp division between those who said "AR-kan-saw," drawing on the Native American root as explained by muckefuck above, and those who said "ar-KAN-zas," changing the pronunciation to sound how it looked and to create an analogy with the state of Kansas. So yeah, there was apparently a most heated debate in the legislature on this subject until the AR-kan-saw bill was passed.

I can't remember where I read this, but I know it was in a source I have no reason not to trust, so I'll vouch for it. =:)

Oh, and about the Arkansas River: ar-KAN-zas is definitely a regional variant, though I would imagine that Arkansans obviously pronounce it like the state and those farther upriver (e.g. Kansans and Coloradans) use the variant. I don't know where Oklahoma falls on that spectrum, though. And as always, correct me if you're from there and I'm wrong.