Why some people say "Preskit?" (Prescott, Nogales: live in, association)

[BriansPerspective]

Originally Posted by desertskies

Tucson (I once saw a Mississippi news anchor say Tuck-sun on the air...damn teleprompters , as opposed to Two-sawn.
Tempe (Tem-pee...not Tem-pa)

I pronounce it Tuck-son just for fun ...and don't forget that it's Tem-PEE', not TEM'-pee, which would be the obvious pronunciation. Of course, that throws a monkey-wrench in the theory that Preskitt is pronounced that way, because it is easier to say. Tem-PEE' takes way more effort to say than TEM'
-pee.

[Angelcake4]

Originally Posted by boolouwho

When I moved to Phoenix I was told by numerous native Arizonans that it was pronounced as "kit" at the end. If I did slip up and say it with "cot" I was always corrected. Now it's second nature to call it "Preskit". It would be interesting to know why though.

^^ same for me^^

[AZDesertBrat]

Originally Posted by Barbie2015

Thank you all for your replies. I asked some of my friends and they also said that natives pronounce Preskit. I caught myself saying Prescut, maybe because I've lived here for only four years now
Motormaker, thank you for a great video!

I'm a native and have always pronounced it Prescut. Nobody I know...and we are all natives...pronounce it Preskit.

[BriansPerspective]

Originally Posted by AZDesertBrat

I'm a native and have always pronounced it Prescut. Nobody I know...and we are all natives...pronounce it Preskit.

I don't think there's much difference between saying Prescut and Preskit. It's saying Pres-COTT' that gets people's panties in a bunch. I think the emphasis on the first syllable is the most important. I would guess that saying PRESS'-cot would cause less angst than saying Pres-CUT' or Pres-KIT'.

[wretched wrench]

I hear a lot of AZ natives say PRESS scot, with the emphasis on the first syllable and the second syllable spoken rapidly, almost dropped. The difference is fairly subtle, and raises little comment.

[El_Waiboi]

I have heard people pronounce the name of the town like that before ("Pres-kit"), but had always dismissed them as illiterate rednecks who hit their heads on the tailgate while being born in the back of a F-150.

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by El_Waiboi

I have heard people pronounce the name of the town like that before ("Pres-kit"), but had always dismissed them as illiterate rednecks who hit their heads on the tailgate while being born in the back of a F-150.

That's a rather dramatic conclusion to come to based upon the pronunciation of one local place name.

[wretched wrench]

Originally Posted by El_Waiboi

I have heard people pronounce the name of the town like that before ("Pres-kit"), but had always dismissed them as illiterate rednecks who hit their heads on the tailgate while being born in the back of a F-150.

I think Presskit was more common several decades ago when the town was a little more rural and (dare I say it) backward. In those days, the demographic distinction might have been a little stronger than it is now.

[johnp292]

Well, now, I have to weigh in on this, as the town and the region are named after my own relatives (guess what the "P" in johnp292 stands for?)!

Ever since I first visited Arizona in the 80's I've heard folks here mispronounce my last name. And now that I live here (but not in Prescott), I can bring clarity to the issue.

It is pronounced "Press-cott"

Funny thing though, since I moved here 3 months ago, no one has yet pronounced my last name as "presskit". Maybe that's because I'm down by Phoenix?

And no, I have never been a British Member of Parlaiment...that's a different JohnP...

(Actually I don't care....say it any way you want..... )

[fennec2009]

I was told by the Starbucks barista in Safeway that it is pronounced "Pres-kit" or "Pres-cut" and that anytime she hears "Pres-scott" it's surely a tourist