|
My Reply.
Dear Dan.
I am not sure
why you think this article is a blog. It is just what I state it to be,
a recollection from my childhood days. I have no problem with anyone
thinking it is a "fanciful dreamed up idea". This site is intended for
people interested in our little town and I do not put anything on with
the intention of starting an argument.
(1)It is a fact
however; that the Arkansas River was named before the state of Arkansas
and the state of Arkansas was named after the river.
(2)It was also my
teacher’s opinion that the river was named after the *Kansa Indians as
well as the state of Kansas was once the Kansas territory, named after
the Kansa Indians. This makes much more sense than changing a
pronunciation just because it is different than what the French speak.
(3)The State of
Arkansas putting their version on how the Arkansaw name came to be is
their business. Why I think it is pronounced the way most
Kansans pronounce it is our business. Your Pastor is correct because
once a Kansan, always a Kansan. We can't explain it; it is just the way
we are.
We are very
glad that Arkansas decided to make their state name pronunciation
different for more than one reason. I guess since they were the
only State to make it official they must have realized they were
changing the pronunciation and felt a need to justify it. If Arkansas
wants to re-write history that is their prerogative, so be it; Just
leave the name of the river the way it was intended.
I have no problem
with that. That doesn't change the way we pronounce our river and we
are more than happy to pronounce their state their way. Another article
found at
http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19980331 also
explains how the French changed the pronunciation.
(1)“The
state name Arkansas ultimately derives from the name of an
Siouan people who lived in the valley of the Arkansas River. The area
was first settled by the French, who usually used the spelling
Arkansa to refer to the tribe and to the village in which they
lived. They used the plural, Arkansas, to refer to members of the
tribe.
The French used the
name in the plural to refer to the Arkansas River--la rivière des
Arkansas, "the river of the Arkansas"--and the name Arkansas
was then applied to the territory, and, eventually, to the state.
After the region was
de-Frenched in the early nineteenth century, the pronunciation remained
the French one--or, rather, an Anglicized version of the French
one--which would be something like "Arkansaw." In fact, the
Arkansaw spelling is the one used on the Act that created the
territory. But in the end, the original Arkansas spelling is the
one that prevailed, but it did so with an Anglicized version of the
French pronunciation.
By the way, the
state of Kansas, also named by the French for an Indian people
and with the -s representing a French plural, dropped the French
pronunciation entirely and adopted an English pronunciation based on the
Kansas spelling, which is why the pronunciation of Kansas
and Arkansas differ.”
(2)”The Kansa
belonged to the Siouan linguistic stock and constituted, with the Osage, Quapaw, Omaha, and Ponca a distinct subgroup called by Dr. J. O. Dorsey
(1897) Dhegiha.
Location.
They were usually on some part of the Kansas River, which derives its
name from them.”
(3)Origin of state's name:
French
interpretation of a Sioux word
"acansa," meaning
"downstream place." This is how Arkansas was named; you can see this by
going to
http://www.50states.com/arkansas.htm. They changed the Sioux name
to french.
Thanks for the
note, I have had this brought to my attention before and have no problem
with it. If you would like your note to be posted on my site send me
your name and town and I will post it along with my reply.
Pete Thomas
www.cimarronkansas.net
Webmaster |