Proper Pronunciation of "Colorado"

[rushhournewb]

All the referees in the CU-CSU football game pronounced our state name correctly, as in "Time Out Colorado". It was wonderful to hear.

[rushhournewb]

Originally Posted by ColoWeb

Co-lo-ra-do. Is there another way?

Look at the 92 votes up in the poll results for "rodo".

Maybe the people who are voting for the wrong pronunciation are pronouncing the wrong spelling like "rad" so they think they're voting for the correct pronunciation?

[Galaxie Girl]

Is this really a thread about how all of us non-spanish speaking Americans pronounce a Spanish word? Because the fact is, neither Colo-rad-o nor Colo-rod-o are correct, because Americans never even get the first syllable right. Americans always say either Caller-add-o or Caller-odd-o. If you really want to say it correctly, every "o" should sound like "o" not anything else. Also, the "r" should be one hard flick of the tongue against the roof of your mouth (as if you're rolling your r's, or making a purring sound, but you only do one flick instead of the roll). And, they pronounce the letter "d" more like how we do a "th" sound. So if you want to get really technical, you should say coe-low-RAW-tho. Then wait for everyone to look at you funny.

Truth is, I don't care how people say Colorado (I typically say it like "rod" not "rad" myself). Heck, no one pronounces Los Angeles correctly here, and no one makes a fuss (loss ANN-juh-liss, anyone? ). Really, you have to define "correctly" to even have this conversation. Correctly based on the language of origin? Correctly based on what locals say? Correctly based on English phonetics?

For the record, I'm as white as they come, only speak English, but paid attention back in my Spanish classes in school so I know how to pronounce Spanish words.

[rushhournewb]

Originally Posted by Galaxie Girl

Is this really a thread about how all of us non-spanish speaking Americans pronounce a Spanish word? Because the fact is, neither Colo-rad-o nor Colo-rod-o are correct, because Americans never even get the first syllable right. Americans always say either Caller-add-o or Caller-odd-o. If you really want to say it correctly, every "o" should sound like "o" not anything else. Also, the "r" should be one hard flick of the tongue against the roof of your mouth (as if you're rolling your r's, or making a purring sound, but you only do one flick instead of the roll). And, they pronounce the letter "d" more like how we do a "th" sound. So if you want to get really technical, you should say coe-low-RAW-tho. Then wait for everyone to look at you funny.

Truth is, I don't care how people say Colorado (I typically say it like "rod" not "rad" myself). Heck, no one pronounces Los Angeles correctly here, and no one makes a fuss (loss ANN-juh-liss, anyone? ). Really, you have to define "correctly" to even have this conversation. Correctly based on the language of origin? Correctly based on what locals say? Correctly based on English phonetics?

For the record, I'm as white as they come, only speak English, but paid attention back in my Spanish classes in school so I know how to pronounce Spanish words.

Great, a girl in LA pronounces our state name wrong. Why do we need to know that?

[CosmicWizard]

My message to all of the pronunciation nazis: Chill out, and realize the insignificance of how the word Colorado is pronounced. As long as the person on the receiving end knows what you are talking about, the pronunciation is of secondary importance.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

My message to all of the pronunciation nazis: Chill out, and realize the insignificance of how the word Colorado is pronounced. As long as the person on the receiving end knows what you are talking about, the pronunciation is of secondary importance.

Thank you. A perfect place to end this thread. I'm sick of it and I'm sure that others are too. CLOSED.