Mispronouncing Oregon
 

Before you set foot in Oregon it is important to know how to prounonce the name of this state.

It is pronounced "Or A gone" not "or E gun". "Or A gone" is the way it was prounounced by the two Bostonians who founded the city of Portland. This is the official verbal reference point that has been ignored since the arrival of the Missouri misfits with their wagon trains. You will find the majority of locals say "or E gun".

Fortunately easterners (that is people on the eastern seaboard like New York) continue the tradition of correct pronounciation of the state of Oregon. So if you are in that group be proud that you are using the approved pronounciation.

But you must be patient and tolerant. Upon your first visit to the state and you inform a Portland 7-11 clerk you are new to Or A gone and then ask directions to 3rd and Burnside you will probably get a frown and, from the more militant, you could wind up on the condescending end of a severe reprimand and even worse a mispronounciation lesson.

Where is Oregon public education in all of this? Do they care? Apparently not. Thousands of innocent Oregon schoolchildren contine to be taught incorrecctly how to pronounce the name of the state rich in Lewis and Clark history..the state of scenic mountains, lakes, streams and ocean beaches.

Friends living elsewhere... Come to Or A gone. Have fun and try to put the locals straight. Perhaps, in time, they will get it right and pronounce the name of their beautiful state as it was originally intended.

Years ago there was a bumper sticker that said:

Orygun

:-B

Funny, being an east coaster I always pronounced it "Or A gone" and was corrected by someone from Oregon saying it was pronounced "Or A gun." Now I am completely confused.

Hey relaford, How do YOU pronouce Missouri?

important to know how to spell prounonce.

Before you post on Fodors, you must learn how to spell pronounce--not prounce! LOL I think it's pronounced Oar-gun. That's what we all call it. ***kim***

aisleadjoining, LOL!

Funny, I always thought the correct way to pronounce a placename was as the locals do. Of course I'm from Schenectady (near Niskayuna and Schaghticoke) so what the heck do I know?

the bumper sticker was right..

Beachbum: what's the bumper sticker say? ***kim***

Oh, Orygun? No, it's Oar-gun! End of discussion, yes? ***kim***

Before you flame me for one of my posts, you must know how to pronounce my screen name.

It is pronounced GOE-Trav-ill no Gah-TRAVE-l or GAH-trav-ell.

Relaford, there is no such word as "mispronounciation". Or "pronounciation", either, for that matter.
mispronunciation
pronunciation
Just so you know.

Hey, you forgot about "Or A Gan".
Its probably as annoying as Norm Coleman campaigning here in Minnesota for Senator from Minnesota (he's from Brooklyn) and calling our state "Minnesoter" in campaign speaches!

Whatever you do in Oregon, be sure to pronounce "Willamette" properly--"Will AM it," not "Will uh MET."

I thought it was William-ette? My favorite place in Oar-Gun is the William-ette Valley! How about Portland? Pronounced Port-Lund? ***kim*** :)

It's Mizouree. Long ee at the end. If you say Mizourah you are a hick. End of story. (Personally I pronounced it Misery and left as soon as I could.)

At a convention I attended in Portland, the Governor pronounced it Or a gun (accent on the OR). I've never heard it pronounced Or a gone.

I'll bet you folks in Oregon have no problem whether visitors to your state spend "dol-lers" or "dol-lars", do you?

Peterboy:I'm at "12303" & remember having to do a mailing list years before "cut & paste" and HATED Schaghticoke and Shenendehowa. And Rensselaer. Old vaudeville joke:

Boss:"Miss Jones, take a letter. Dear Mr. Smith I will meet you at the Schenectady train station on the fifth"

Miss Jones:"How do you spell that, sir"

Boss:"Change that Miss Jones. Tell Mr. Smith I'll meet him at the Troy station instead"

relaford, Where the heck are you from? Nue Yuawk?

No, kim, it's Orygun. This from an almost lifetime resident...... And, it's not "William-ette" either. More like will-AM-it, with the AM-it rhyming with dam_it.

Beach bum is correct. My mom spent the first 35 years of her life and concurs.

And then, in Portland, there's Couch Street, rhyming with koosh Street.

I was joking, Beachbum! LOL Now, it is Port-land or Port-lund? Portlund, Oargun and the William-ette Valley are gorgeous this time of year!

Is it As-toria or A (long a) storia? Ahnold pronounces it Uh-storia! I've heard it prounonced both ways. ***kim***

OK, what was that old camp song?

"Where has Ory gone?
She bought a New Jersey."

Or something like that.

I thought that was "What did Della wear?"
Mind you, it's been a while since I was at camp. They used to let us keep our pet dinosaurs in the cabins. :)

The Yankee would say "OR A GONE" which is to my mind, a NY thing.
I say Or e gun. fast.oregun.
We are working on it, he gets it right most of the time now.

So being a mixed family (North/South) will our children know how to pronounce Oregon?
Will we be allowed to visit ?
Will there be a test?

((F)) Scaarrlett in Flaaarda

You say to-may-to
I say to-mah-to

You say po-tay-to
I say po-tah-to ...

Very few can pronounce my last name correctly, so I don't even bother half the time.

At risk of having the thread deleted, its ass-toria, kim. Quite surprised you had to ask....

Wonder if this is was what my dad means when he talks about Orygun becoming Californicated.

That's the first verse, Meesthare -- the "what did Della wear". But I've mixed things up. Yes "she wore her New Jersey". So now I'm going crazy. I know there was a verse about where has Ory gone, and for the life of me I can't remember where Ory went!

Patrick, What did Della wear?
I dunno, a'l ask 'a!

Oh!!! That must be it?

What did Della Wear?
She wore her brand New Jersey.

Where has Ory gun?
I dunno I'll ask ah!

Not to be post too many times, but to post too many times, my father used to sing this State song we are trying to remember. If found it on this website:

http://www.geocities.com/actias_luna/s9_40.htm

Ahnold pronounced it Uh-Storia in Kindergarten Cop. Now can we say Calle-four-nia! Or is it Cal-if-ornia? I think you can prounonce it any old way you want and be correct! :) ***kim***

Where has Ore gone? If you want, Alaska (I'll ask her)

Geez, how late was I on posting!

Thanks for the website with complete lyrics. That Alaska part wasn't familiar, but the website shows what I now remember -- "she went to pay her Texas".
Thank God, I'll be able to sleep tonight.

When this Yankee visited in the 70's, my friend and I got a very quick lesson the first time we said "Or-ree-gon" - we were told it's "ORygun"

The correct pronunciation is "pimple" -- you may be on the head of California, but you're on the ass of Washington.

And it's Mizzourah, not Mizzouree. Linguists who have examined it found that rural, Southerners called it ee while urban, Northerner called it ah. the research also show -ah was used by those with higher education levels than those who used -ee.

Pendantic, I know.