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Some years back I started one of the same subject...but lots of new folks have joined C-D since then, so I thought it might be interesting to revise it and ask the same question. Which is...
What state names do you find most lyrically lovely? That is, they roll off the tongue easy and conjure up nice images? By the same token, which ones do you find to sound harsh and croaking?
Now, let me hasten to add to say a "state name" is one you find phonetically pleasing does NOT have to mean you actually prefer that state over another whose name you might not think so pretty.
For instance, I am a 4th generation Texan born and bred and when I die I will be Texas dead and bury me 'neath the Lone Star and sing "Texas, Our Texas' (and Dixie! LOL) over me.
BUT...I actually think that, say, "Massachusetts", sounds a little easier and nicer on the ears than does "Texas". Put another way, I would be in a foreign country if I ever lived in Massachusetts, and cannot POSSIBLY imagine doing so. Yet, the pronunciation sounds -- from a phonetic/musical point of view -- prettier!
And I've no doubt I would feel more at home in Georgia than in Colorado...but I think the latter is a little nicer sounding than the former (Georgia on My Mind by Ray Charles, not withstanding! ).
So, lets start with five of each, ok? (Yes, I have been around C-D long enough to know it will not stop with that, but at least TRY to keep it to 5 or so! LOL)
Since I started it, here is mine (in no particular order):
BEST:
Alabama (something about that gentle combination of vowels and syllable beat...stars fell on Alabama...)
South Carolina (soft on both notes).
Massachusetts (Sorta like Alabama...plus the song by the 60's group Bee-Gees)
Colorado (colors, something majestic it bring to mind...and Rocky Mountain High)
Virginia (something just very dignified and loving about it)
WORST
Utah
Vermont
Idaho
New Jersey
North Dakota
Again, your choices should have nothing at all to how you may like or dislike the state from where you might like to live or not. It is the phonetics only. So go for it!
Ok, do y'all get the idea? And PLEASE keep in mind that this is not intended to slam ANY state for what it is and where you might live or not. It is just intended as a self-excercise in which state names you find appealling or not.
Mississippi
Colorado
Montana
Indiana
Alabama
Extra point: Maryland
These sound harsh or weird to me:
New Hampshire
Wyoming
Utah
Idaho
Illinois (firstly, because it starts with "Ill" which is sort of sickly, and secondly, because I never know whether the "s" on the end is silent or not)
=KathrynAragon;38810935]These state names are lyrical to me:
Mississippi
Colorado
Montana
Indiana
Alabama
Extra point: Maryland
Kathy? In terms of an "extra point" I would give it to Mississippi, easy. Something like Alabama. Has a natural rhythm and balance to it. In the latters case it is the vowels, in the former it is the easy blend of the consonants, with a vowel to offset them.
Kathy? In terms of an "extra point" I would give it to Mississippi, easy. Something like Alabama. Has a natural rhythm and balance to it. In the latters case it is the vowels, in the former it is the easy blend of the consonants, with a vowel of offset them.
LOL I just gave the extra point to Maryland because it was the sixth state I named and you only asked for five!
Illinois (firstly, because it starts with "Ill" which is sort of sickly, and secondly, because I never know whether the "s" on the end is silent or not)
The il at the beginning of Illinois has nothing to do with the English word ill, and most people learn how to pronounce state names correctly (including Illinois) in elementary school.
=Maintainschaos;38811259]The il at the beginning of Illinois has nothing to do with the English word ill, and most people learn how to pronounce state names correctly (including Illinois) in elementary school.
Uhhhh, do you have any point beyond just giving a good example of defining something clueless, tacky, and rude?
Go back and read the actual reason for the thread at all. It was intended to be both fun and informative. An aspect you obviously missed. But to patiently explain it to you? Now listen carefully...everyone knows (or at least anyone who had any sense does) that the "ill" part of the spelling of Illinois has nothing to do with being literally, physically, sick.
But what part of that this topic has to do with sounds, not definitions, do you not understand???? It is people like you who would find fault in a rainbow (I just copyrighted that phrase to irritate you!)
Florida (it rolls off the tongue and has suggestion of tropical flora, my home state as well)
Hawaii (again fun to say and conjures up pleasant imagery)
Vermont (comes off as solid/strong and of French origin meaning green mountain, nice imagery)
Georgia (another roll off the tongue name, furthered by years of Designing Women episodes)
Indiana (fluid pronunciation, visions of blue sky/cornfields....maybe not 100% accurate but from my experiences)
My Bottom 5:
Idaho (say it slowly and by syllable, the modern day "urban" interpretation isn't so flattering)
Missouri (the ending in "i" that's really an "a" by natives is odd in my opinion, like the "other" pronunciation of diabetes)
Ohio (beyond the song..."Why oh why, Ohio?"....as appealing as Oleo.
Connecticut (I never got the origin and spelling it using the remembrance phrase "connect...i....cut", not pleasant)
Kentucky (it doesn't seem right until said through your nose, not the best visuals for me either)
Uhhhh, do you have any point beyond just giving a good example of defining something clueless, tacky, and rude?
Go back and read the actual reason for the thread at all. It was intended to be both fun and informative. An aspect you obviously missed. But to patiently explain it to you? Now listen carefully...everyone knows (or at least anyone who had any sense does) that the "ill" part of the spelling of Illinois has nothing to do with being literally, physically, sick.
But what part of that this topic has to do with sounds, not definitions, do you not understand???? It is people like you who would find fault in a rainbow (I just copyrighted that phrase to irritate you!)
Not sure how one would arrive at that conclusion other than through false homology. But the bigger point was if you can't take the time to learn how a word is correctly pronounced you may be very well inclined to view it differently that everyone else. E.g. if someone all the sudden decided to put the emphasis on the second syllable of the word "Texas" despite the fact that first syllable is emphasized, one might ass-ume it sounds lyrically different than if it were correctly pronounced. Not a fact I'd be too proud to proclaim. We're not talking something obscure here.
Best (mostly states with rounded or long vowels at the beginning and end, and relatively short):
Ohio
Iowa
Utah
Oregon
Oklahoma
Worst (mostly state names that are long or would be cumbersome to sing):
Connecticut
Rhode Island
Pennsylvania
Massachusetts
North/South Carolina/Dakota
Croakers-
Massachusetts
Connecticut
Rhode Island
Arkansas
Nebraska/Alaska (they 'sound' the same, so I counted them both as one)
Lyrical-
Louisiana
Tennessee
Mississippi
Missouri
Hawaii
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Not sure how one would arrive at that conclusion other than through false homology. But the bigger point was if you can't take the time to learn how a word is correctly pronounced you may be very well inclined to view it differently that everyone else. E.g. if someone all the sudden decided to put the emphasis on the second syllable of the word "Texas" despite the fact that first syllable is emphasized, one might ass-ume it sounds lyrically different than if it were correctly pronounced. Not a fact I'd be too proud to proclaim. We're not talking something obscure here.
