You Say Nevada, I say Nevada鈥
You can just picture Las Vegas legend Wayne Newton singing his own version of 鈥You say to-m膩-to, I say To-mah-to, You say Ne-vah-da. I say 狈别-惫膬-诲补."
At least, that is, if he was singing to an audience mixed with people from across the country. Because, when it comes to pronouncing the Silver State鈥檚 name, it鈥檚 us against everyone else on Earth.
Unless you鈥檙e a politician seeking office. Then you better know your audience.
性视界传媒 history professor Michael Green said in the 150 years since Abraham Lincoln first gave our chunk of land statehood, only Nevadans pronounce our state name with the short 鈥渁鈥: 狈别-惫膬-诲补.
Ask a Californian about the Sierra Nevada range and undoubtedly they鈥檒l pronounce it Ne-vah-da, the Spanish pronunciation for the word that means 鈥渟nowfall.鈥
And while Californians, and frankly the rest of the world, might disagree with us on the pronunciation of Nevada, technically we鈥檙e on good standing, the history professor said.
鈥淲e as Americans have adapted the place, names, and parts of the language around us,鈥 he said.
And Nevada isn鈥檛 the only debate-worthy location in our vernacular. Americans have succeeded for a couple of centuries in mispronouncing words. Just ask Native American tribes how their ancestors would say Kansas or Kentucky. Los Angeles and San Pedro, California, pronounced with an American accent are incorrect for the Spanish words.
No one seems to know how Silver State founders ended up with the unique pronunciation of Nevada, Green said. 鈥淚t just seemed to have happened.鈥
There鈥檚 no known record of anyone in the territorial legislature demanding the state鈥檚 name be pronounced a certain way. 鈥淭hey were too busy arguing over whether Nevada should be the state鈥檚 name at all. They considered Washoe after the Native American tribe and Esmeralda because the Spanish word for 鈥榚merald鈥 resonated with the miners and Victor Hugo鈥檚 work The Hunchback of Notre Dame was immensely popular at the time,鈥 Green said.
鈥淲hat we know is that Americans moving west weren鈥檛 educated in proper Spanish grammar. For instance, the port of San Pedro and the city of Los Angeles are still being pronounced incorrectly by Americans. Even California is spoken incorrectly. You鈥檙e supposed to use a soft 鈥渁鈥 in the proper Spanish pronunciation.鈥
Green added that there is a Nevada, Missouri, and a Nevada, Iowa. The Midwesterners in these states added a third way to pronounce the word: Ne-VAY-dah.
Still there are consequences if the state name is mispronounced here. For politicians, going with 鈥淣e-vah-da鈥 could lead to some unwanted and unforeseen issues, Green said.
Presidential candidate John Kerry was derided in the state for his mispronunciation in the 2004 election, even though his opponent George W. Bush had earlier in his career made the same mistake. 鈥淚n Northern Nevada, the blowback can be especially severe,鈥 Green said of politicians who say the state name incorrectly. In the south, you鈥檙e more likely to be hooted and criticized, he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a sign you haven鈥檛 studied the local customs and culture. It鈥檚 akin to Gerald Ford eating a tamale with the husk still on. Or imagine a candidate going to Chicago鈥檚 Southside cheering for the Cubs or eating a slice of New York pizza with a fork and knife.鈥
You just don鈥檛 do it, Green said.
So will mispronouncing the state name cost one of the two main candidates this election?
鈥淭here are so many things that go into a voter deciding who to cast their ballot for, and we are seeing reactions to the two major party candidates that are not traditional. The faux pas of pronouncing Nevada incorrectly is probably not high up on the list for people deciding on who to vote for,鈥 Green said.
But it certainly doesn鈥檛 help, he said.
