Upstate/downstate

[Joel Shaver]

Having lived next door to the Idaho panhandle for most of my life, I
would say that the only terms I've ever heard used to differentiate
were "The Panhandle" and "Northern" vs. "Southern" Idaho.  The
beginning of the panhandle is generally the cutoff point.

I've found there to be a similar dispute amongst Washington natives as
regards the eastern/western boundary.  Most people from the Cascades
west (Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, etc.) refer to everything east of the
mountains as "Eastern Washington."  However, many people in the
far-east of Eastern Washington (Spokane, etc.) consider there to be a
Central Washington which includes Yakima, Tri Cities, etc.  People from
Central Washington seem generally to agree that they are from Eastern
Washington, though I've found a few who described themselves as
Central.  Interestingly (and in accordance with my personal feelings),
there is a Western Washington University in Bellingham, a Central
Washington University in Ellensburg, and an Eastern Washington
University in Cheney.

Joel Shaver


On Mar 3, 2004, at 4:30 PM, Peter A. McGraw wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Peter A. McGraw" <pmcgraw at LINFIELD.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Upstate/downstate
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
> I searched the archives for "upstate" in the subject line and found
> only
> today's discussion.
>
> Until I heard about Chicago and upstate/downstate Illinois, I had heard
> "upstate" only in connection with NY.  So there's always a first time,
> but
> I've never heard the term used in connection with any western state,
> and I
> assume it's an eastern usage--i.e., east of the Mississippi.  To my
> knowledge California's great divide is between Northern CA and
> Southern CA.
> To judge by NY and IL, the "upstate/downstate" opposition seems to
> involve
> a given state's single dominant metropolitan area and the rest of the
> state.  Since California has one major metropolitan area for each of
> its
> two halves, it seems unlikely that there would be a suitable context
> for
> "upstate" or "downstate."
>
> I don't know enough about Idaho to say whether the terms are or or not
> used, but the only word I've ever heard for any specific part of the
> state
> is "the panhandle" (i.e., the narrow part that barely keeps Washington
> and
> Montana from bumping into each other).
>
> Peter Mc.