[Speech note] Pronouncing Oregon

[Alice Faber]

I know there are some native Oregonian shibboleths about the
pronunciation of the state name, but I was under the impression that
these had to do with the vowel in the initial syllable; at least, that's
the way an motel-keeper in Oregon, some 40 years ago, explained to me
how he knew I wasn't from Oregon.

Benjamin Barrett wrote:
> At least for me, I think the pronunciation varies between "gIn" and
> "g at n", with the former preferred.
>
> FWIW, I'm a West Coaster and find the pronunciation "gahn" grates on my
> ears. There aren't many words that bother me, but Oregon really does.
> Not sure why. Ne-VAH-d@ is a close second.
>
> Benjamin Barrett
> a cyberbreath for language life
> livinglanguages.wordpress.com
>
> Tom Zurinskas wrote:
>> According to SAMPA, @ stands for "uh", as the "a" in "about". So the
>> "gon" in "oregon" as "g at n" is "gun".
>>
>> from m-w.com
>> Main Entry: Or·e·gon
>> Pronunciation: \ˈȯr-i-gən, ˈär-, chiefly by outsiders -ˌgän
>>
>> Looks like special symbols didn't copy/paste.  Click on the speaker
>> icon and hear  it more  like ~gin than ~gun.
>>
>>
>>
>>> Poster: Wilson Gray
>>>
>>> A woman has just told Judge Greg that she's from [o.rI.g at n]. That's
>>> the West-Coast pronunciation that I'm accustomed to hearing.
>>>
>>> -Wilson
>>>
>>> On 11/4/07, Scot LaFaive  wrote:
>>>
>>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>>> -----------------------
>>>> Sender: American Dialect Society
>>>> Poster: Scot LaFaive
>>>> Subject: [Speech note] Pronouncing Oregon
>>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I just heard a local (Madison, WI) newsanchor "correct" herself
>>>> right after
>>>> she pronounced "Oregon" as [or.e.gin] (rhyming with "pin"). Right after
>>>> pronouncing it as such, she immediately said [or.e.gan] (rhyming with
>>>> "Ron").
>>>> (I don't have the correct phonetic symbols, but I think you get the
>>>> point).
>>>>
>>>> Scot
>>>>
>
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--
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Alice Faber                                       faber at haskins.yale.edu
Haskins Laboratories                            tel: (203) 865-6163 x258
New Haven, CT 06511 USA                               fax (203) 865-8963

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