Question about an old pronounciation of Cincinnati (Hamilton, Kent: live, woodpecker)

[Ralph Shinners]

When I was a kid growing up in Wisconsin my great uncle used to always pronounce Cincinnati like "Cincinnatuh" (or "Cincinnata").

I used to hear it from him a lot because we were big baseball fans, and if you talked about baseball in the 70's, Cincinnati was of course mentioned frequently.

One aspect of my uncle was that he was very familiar with Cincinnati as he had traveled there frequently on business.

I recognize that this is probably not how most natives pronounce it now. But I was curious if this was a common alternate pronunciation in the old days among natives that he had picked up on? Or was it simply on older pronunciation for outsiders like my uncle?

[neilworms2]

Its increasingly rare, but still heard from time to time. I was riding the Southbank Shuttle (In Northern Kentucky to the city) over Christmas and smiled when I heard the bus driver who was in her 60s say it that way

[Ohiogirl81]

Some people do, some people don't. I have no idea if there's a pattern -- urban, rural, what part of town, ethnic heritage, education level, etc. -- or not. Would be kind of interesting to see if there is a pattern, other than age.

I haven't heard anyone say "Cincinnat-uh" since Don Wayne retired from WHIO news. He also said "Miam-uh Valley."

You'll also hear people pronounce it "sin-snad-dy."

[goyguy]

WOW, I thought "Cincinnat-uh" was extinct. But it seems that, like the ivory-billed woodpecker, it's still heard now and then. I think it was a product of the Queen City's being not only the Gateway to the South but also a portal to the Midwest. Missouri is the epicenter for rendering word-ending vowels "uh," as in - yes - "Missour-uh." (People who say it that way also tend to "warsh" their laundry.) The person I most remember saying "Cincinnatuh" was born before WWI and had been raised in St Louis. "WWI" is right. She died during the '90s.
My day will be fully made if somebody reports having heard "square" being used instead of "block." ("Plum Street? You need to turn right here, on 7th Street, and go three squares.")

[SoFresh99]

I was raised to do the warsh on mundee in cincinnatuh. Fridge was an icebox, couch was a davenport, roof was the ruuhf, oysters were ersters and piano was pie-anna. My ancestors are from Ohio/NKy as far back as the 1790 census so this is old fashioned southern ohio river valley pronunciation I assume.

[Briolat21]

My dad grew up in the rural small towns outside of Pittsburgh.

When I was a child (growing up in Michigan), he always said "Miamuh", and will even lapse into that now at times. I would imagine he would have said "Cincinnati" the same way "Cincinnatuh".

I assume its a particular regional accent, and perhaps your Uncle had that same pronunciation.

[abr7rmj]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

Some people do, some people don't. I have no idea if there's a pattern -- urban, rural, what part of town, ethnic heritage, education level, etc. -- or not. Would be kind of interesting to see if there is a pattern, other than age.

I haven't heard anyone say "Cincinnat-uh" since Don Wayne retired from WHIO news. He also said "Miam-uh Valley."

You'll also hear people pronounce it "sin-snad-dy."

Now that's a blast from the past. Good old Channel 7. Amazingly, Mike Hartsock still does sports there.

[Zen_master]

Originally Posted by SoFresh99

I was raised to do the warsh on mundee in cincinnatuh. Fridge was an icebox, couch was a davenport, roof was the ruuhf, oysters were ersters and piano was pie-anna. My ancestors are from Ohio/NKy as far back as the 1790 census so this is old fashioned southern ohio river valley pronunciation I assume.

Classic. My dad says "warsh" and "Warshington"

My wife's mom's side of the family originated around Oxford / Prebble County and though they've moved further north since my mother in law was a girl they all still say "warsh," "tuesdee," and they are the only folks I've ever heard call a toilet a "tor-let." I smile every time I hear it. Almost forget, my wife's grandfather still refers to Cincy as "Cincinnat-uh" so the dialect is still alive out there.

By the way, can anyone recall if Hamilton Joe Nuxal used to say Cincinnati-uh? I'm wondering if it isn't a Hamilton thing.

[deg1114]

My dad says Cincinna-tuh and O-hi-ah. Cracks me up.

The other one I love to hear (and almost impossible to phonetically spell) is the nasally pronunciation, "Cin-Cin-gnaaat-i"

[Briolat21]

My father's family (from outside Pittsburgh) - also says Warsh for wash, etc..

My cousin - Charlie -- they always prounounced his name like it was spelled "Chorlie" ... which I thought odd.

like I said - its a regional accent, but not specific to the Cincinnati area, its a broader accent that seems to exist (among other places I'm sure) along the rural Ohio River Valley.