Why is it pronounced Arkansaw?

This is even in Germany. A small market town in Bavaria is "Burgebrach".
Markt Burgebrach

Burg means castle and Ebrach is a little river which runs through the town. Thus you must speak the name with two seperate words, stress the E in Ebrach and a break in between.

But a stranger who came there shortly after WW2 told us that he didn't know this and asked the conductor at the railway station for Burgebrach (in one word, not stressing the E and no break). The conductor didn't know what he meant, although the town was only some miles away. Then the visitor noticed the timetable with the name of the town. The conductor told him that he didn't understand it, since he did not speak it the correct way. But for the visitor it was very important since he came as a released prisoner of war who found out that his wife was living there.

Only some years ago exactly the same happened to a radio announcer in Bavaria(!) who pronounced it the wrong way:ROFLMAO:. I phoned the radio station and told them how it is pronounced correctly.
 
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Bretrick said:
I mean to say, it is spelt Arkansas. Why is it not pronounced Arkansass?
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There is a river also called Arkansas, which is apparently pronounced ArkanSAS (not SAW) in most (though not all) of the areas it flows through.

My guess re the pronunciation of Arkansas state is that it comes originally from either French early settlers or from local native Americans. These seem the most likely sources
 
It is pronounced ARKENSAW for the same reason the "land of Lincoln" is pronounced ILLINOY.

And Louisville is pronounced LOUIEVILLE. And Joliet is pronounced JOLYYET.

I lived in the above places and it always bugged me how people and some family members would butcher them.
 
jujube said:
If Arkansas is Arkansaw, then why isn't Kansas Kansaw?

Why is Worchester pronounced Wooster?

For that matter, why is Colonel pronounced Kernel?
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Cause our English language has never made sense. While using my karaoke app, I couldn’t help noticing singers pronouncing words wrong. Having OCD, it tended to bother me a tad. Then I realized these were great singers. Singers who had learned English as a second, third or fourth language. English has no consistency. Many words are pronounced a certain way. Words that should rhyme, don’t.
Now I have a newfound appreciation of those learning a new language.
 
Okay, I have an English language experience I endured my last few years working. I gathered data and explanations from our offices all over - mostly the UK, Malaysia, Australia, Canada, Italy, and France. All of my contacts spoke to me in "English".

What I learned was those folks from countries where the native tongue is NOT English, spoke very correct and understandable (TO ME) English. They had all learned it as a second language. BUT, more than a few times the meanings of their words were not quite the meaning of the same words of folks whose native language is English.

On the other hand, I found I had to struggle at times to understand the English spoken by my UK, Canadian, and Australian counterparts.
 
Bretrick said:
I mean to say, it is spelt Arkansas. Why is it not pronounced Arkansass?
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A better question would be, why is it not written the way it is pronounced? Answer: Because contemporary English orthography is a very poor representation of the spoken language. That's why those of us in the English-speaking world have to have pronunciation keys in our dictionaries.
 
Bretrick said:
I mean to say, it is spelt Arkansas. Why is it not pronounced Arkansass?
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Have you got an hour?

Kansas was named for the Kansa, a Siouan tribe that lived in the region. The Kansa people were called, in plural, Kansas, and that became the name of the state. But before it did, English, French, and Spanish speakers, as well as speakers of various Native American languages, all came up with their own ways of pronouncing the name of the tribe. The Kansa themselves pronounced it with a nasalised “a” (rather than a full “n”), a “z,” and an “eh” sound, approximately “kauzeh.” Everyone else had their own versions, and historical records show all kinds of spellings: Kansa, Kansas, Kantha, Kances, Konza, Kauzas, Canees, Canceys … Eventually, Kansas won out.

Arkansas was named for a related Siouan tribe, the Quapaw. The Algonquians called them “Akansa,” joining their own A- prefix (used in front of ethnic groups) to the Kansa name (the same root as that for Kansas). The Algonquians’ name for the Quapaw was picked up by others, and was also spelled in various ways: Akancea, Acansea, Acansa. However, it was the French version, Arcansas, that became the basis for the eventual state name.

In French the final plural s is not pronounced. Somehow, the English speakers that took over after the Louisiana Purchase decided to go with a modified French spelling along with a French pronunciation—an S on the page, but not on the tongue. (Incidentally, the name Ozark comes from French aux Arcs, short for aux Arcansas. And the same native word that became Wichita in Kansas went with the Frenchified spelling Ouachita in Arkansas.)

As others have said, it takes The English language to make a tongue twister out of the obvious pronunciation. Many UK communities that have a "Cester," suffix are baffling to outsiders, the most common is the Oxfordshire town of Bicester. It's pronounced: "Bister."

In London, the district of Marylebone gets heads scratching. Ruffians from London's East End, like me, will call it: "Mallybone." Others will say; "Mah-Lee-Bone."
It's name comes from the Tyburn, the brook that ran through it towards the Thames and continues to flow beneath it streets and the local church of St Mary.
St Mary's on the Bourne became St Marylebone.
 
horseless carriage said:
Have you got an hour?

Kansas was named for the Kansa, a Siouan tribe that lived in the region. The Kansa people were called, in plural, Kansas, and that became the name of the state. But before it did, English, French, and Spanish speakers, as well as speakers of various Native American languages, all came up with their own ways of pronouncing the name of the tribe. The Kansa themselves pronounced it with a nasalised “a” (rather than a full “n”), a “z,” and an “eh” sound, approximately “kauzeh.” Everyone else had their own versions, and historical records show all kinds of spellings: Kansa, Kansas, Kantha, Kances, Konza, Kauzas, Canees, Canceys … Eventually, Kansas won out.

Arkansas was named for a related Siouan tribe, the Quapaw. The Algonquians called them “Akansa,” joining their own A- prefix (used in front of ethnic groups) to the Kansa name (the same root as that for Kansas). The Algonquians’ name for the Quapaw was picked up by others, and was also spelled in various ways: Akancea, Acansea, Acansa. However, it was the French version, Arcansas, that became the basis for the eventual state name.

In French the final plural s is not pronounced. Somehow, the English speakers that took over after the Louisiana Purchase decided to go with a modified French spelling along with a French pronunciation—an S on the page, but not on the tongue. (Incidentally, the name Ozark comes from French aux Arcs, short for aux Arcansas. And the same native word that became Wichita in Kansas went with the Frenchified spelling Ouachita in Arkansas.)

As others have said, it takes The English language to make a tongue twister out of the obvious pronunciation. Many UK communities that have a "Cester," suffix are baffling to outsiders, the most common is the Oxfordshire town of Bicester. It's pronounced: "Bister."

In London, the district of Marylebone gets heads scratching. Ruffians from London's East End, like me, will call it: "Mallybone." Others will say; "Mah-Lee-Bone."
It's name comes from the Tyburn, the brook that ran through it towards the Thames and continues to flow beneath it streets and the local church of St Mary.
St Mary's on the Bourne became St Marylebone.
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Thank you for the history lesson. Much appreciated. :)
 

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