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Pronunciation Guide to Arkansas Places
Posted on 7/21/16 at 2:15 am
Posted on 7/21/16 at 2:15 am
With the off-season mercifully coming to a close, I thought I'd throw in a thread addressing pronunciation of Arkansas places just for fun. At the bottom is a link to another compiler's list of pronunciations. Feel free to add to the thread.
Althiemer: awl.Ty.mer. As in All-timer, a town in Jefferson County, the silent h and first e which is also silent can throw people off.
Antoine: An.twahn. Town in Pike County as well as a river, you see this name in other contexts across the U.S. as well.
Arkansas: R.kan.Saw. Any Arkansan knows the correct pronunciation although sometimes people and coaches in other places have had difficulty with it. This is the statutorily approved pronunciation. LINK
Cabot: Kab.it. City in Central Arkansas, its pronunciation can pose a problem for some outsiders.
Calhoun: Kal.hoon. County in South Arkansas, the ou is actually pronounced oo.
Cantrell: Kan.truhl. Main thoroughfare in Little Rock, it is not kan.Trell or the like.
Chenal Valley: shin.Ahl. An upscale residential community and thoroughfare out in West Little Rock, there's not a whole lot of confusion about this one and it is interesting that it is located near the radio tower clad Shinall Mountain, the highest point in Pulaski County, which is spelled differently but is pronounced the same.
Chicot: Chee.koh. Southeast Arkansas county with Lake Village as its county seat, some outsiders just don't know how to pronounce it. The link at the bottom provides it is pronounced as Shee instead of Chee but that's the only time I've heard of this.
Delight: Dee.light or duh.Light. Glen Campbell's home town, this is another in a list of Arkansas towns beginning with D that has different pronunciations. As an aside, in football it is interesting that we pronounce defense as a noun as Dee.fence yet as an adjective pronounce it differently and correctly as in duh.Fin.siv back.
DeQueen: D.kween or duh.Kween. The town in Southwest Arkansas; I've heard it pronounced both ways.
Desha: duh.Shay. Southeast Arkansas county.
Dierks: dare.Ix or dirx. The timber town in Southwest Arkansas; I've heard it pronounced different ways as a two syllable dare.Icks or a one syllable Dirx/Dirks. Country musician Dierks Bentley took his stage name from the town and pronounces his name as "dirx."
El Dorado: L dor.Ay.doh. The county seat of Union County, its pronunciation comes as a surprise to outsiders, expecting El dor.Ah.doh. As Jim Croce sung in Bad, Bad Leroy Brown, "He's got a custom Continental; he's got an El Dorado, too."
Fayetteville: fay.Et.vill. Really no confusion over this one although at times some have pronounced it in two syllables such as Fayt.vull or something close to it. Among its other affectionate names include Fayettechill and Fayette Nam.
Fourche: Fush (as in push). Whether it is the town of Fourche Valley, the Fourche La Fave River, Fourche Dam Pike, etc., they are all pronounced the same way.
Hot Springs vs. Hot Spring County: Arkansans know how to pronounce the words; it's just that they sometimes get misused. Hot Springs is the county seat of Garland County. There is an "s" on the end of the city word. Hot Spring County is the county adjacent to and south of Garland County with Malvern as the county seat. There is no "s" in Hot Spring County although I've heard "Hot Springs County" used many times by people who should know better.
LA: Not really a pronunciation issue, when Arkansans refer to LA this may very well mean "Lower Arkansas", i.e., Southern Arkansas.
Lafayette: luh.Fay.et. The county in Southwest Arkansas; not pronounced as it is in Louisiana or probably most other places.
Murfreesboro: the seat of Pike County as well as a town in Tennessee, it can be pronounced just as it is spelled although locally I hear more Mir.friss.boro or Mir.fiss.boro.
Nevada: nuh.Vay.duh. A Southwest Arkansas county, it is not pronounced like the state which houses Las Vegas.
Ouachita: Wah.shee.tah. Whether it is the lake, river, mountains, county, school district, National Forest, boat company, university, or anything else in Arkansas, this is the correct pronunciation as opposed to wah.Shee.tuh. Also don't try to pronounce it as it is spelled: Ow.chee.tah, as some have said. It is pronounced just like the community "Washita" which is on Lake Ouachita's west end.
Prescott: Press.cut. The county seat of Nevada County, it is not pronounced like the city in Arizona.
Rodney Parham: Pair.um. One of the major thoroughfares in Little Rock, this is the preferred pronunciation as opposed to Pahr.um.
Searcy: Sir.see. The county seat of White County, it can present a pronunciation problem for outsiders. Also an Arkansas county pronounced the same way.
LINK /
Althiemer: awl.Ty.mer. As in All-timer, a town in Jefferson County, the silent h and first e which is also silent can throw people off.
Antoine: An.twahn. Town in Pike County as well as a river, you see this name in other contexts across the U.S. as well.
Arkansas: R.kan.Saw. Any Arkansan knows the correct pronunciation although sometimes people and coaches in other places have had difficulty with it. This is the statutorily approved pronunciation. LINK
Cabot: Kab.it. City in Central Arkansas, its pronunciation can pose a problem for some outsiders.
Calhoun: Kal.hoon. County in South Arkansas, the ou is actually pronounced oo.
Cantrell: Kan.truhl. Main thoroughfare in Little Rock, it is not kan.Trell or the like.
Chenal Valley: shin.Ahl. An upscale residential community and thoroughfare out in West Little Rock, there's not a whole lot of confusion about this one and it is interesting that it is located near the radio tower clad Shinall Mountain, the highest point in Pulaski County, which is spelled differently but is pronounced the same.
Chicot: Chee.koh. Southeast Arkansas county with Lake Village as its county seat, some outsiders just don't know how to pronounce it. The link at the bottom provides it is pronounced as Shee instead of Chee but that's the only time I've heard of this.
Delight: Dee.light or duh.Light. Glen Campbell's home town, this is another in a list of Arkansas towns beginning with D that has different pronunciations. As an aside, in football it is interesting that we pronounce defense as a noun as Dee.fence yet as an adjective pronounce it differently and correctly as in duh.Fin.siv back.
DeQueen: D.kween or duh.Kween. The town in Southwest Arkansas; I've heard it pronounced both ways.
Desha: duh.Shay. Southeast Arkansas county.
Dierks: dare.Ix or dirx. The timber town in Southwest Arkansas; I've heard it pronounced different ways as a two syllable dare.Icks or a one syllable Dirx/Dirks. Country musician Dierks Bentley took his stage name from the town and pronounces his name as "dirx."
El Dorado: L dor.Ay.doh. The county seat of Union County, its pronunciation comes as a surprise to outsiders, expecting El dor.Ah.doh. As Jim Croce sung in Bad, Bad Leroy Brown, "He's got a custom Continental; he's got an El Dorado, too."
Fayetteville: fay.Et.vill. Really no confusion over this one although at times some have pronounced it in two syllables such as Fayt.vull or something close to it. Among its other affectionate names include Fayettechill and Fayette Nam.
Fourche: Fush (as in push). Whether it is the town of Fourche Valley, the Fourche La Fave River, Fourche Dam Pike, etc., they are all pronounced the same way.
Hot Springs vs. Hot Spring County: Arkansans know how to pronounce the words; it's just that they sometimes get misused. Hot Springs is the county seat of Garland County. There is an "s" on the end of the city word. Hot Spring County is the county adjacent to and south of Garland County with Malvern as the county seat. There is no "s" in Hot Spring County although I've heard "Hot Springs County" used many times by people who should know better.
LA: Not really a pronunciation issue, when Arkansans refer to LA this may very well mean "Lower Arkansas", i.e., Southern Arkansas.
Lafayette: luh.Fay.et. The county in Southwest Arkansas; not pronounced as it is in Louisiana or probably most other places.
Murfreesboro: the seat of Pike County as well as a town in Tennessee, it can be pronounced just as it is spelled although locally I hear more Mir.friss.boro or Mir.fiss.boro.
Nevada: nuh.Vay.duh. A Southwest Arkansas county, it is not pronounced like the state which houses Las Vegas.
Ouachita: Wah.shee.tah. Whether it is the lake, river, mountains, county, school district, National Forest, boat company, university, or anything else in Arkansas, this is the correct pronunciation as opposed to wah.Shee.tuh. Also don't try to pronounce it as it is spelled: Ow.chee.tah, as some have said. It is pronounced just like the community "Washita" which is on Lake Ouachita's west end.
Prescott: Press.cut. The county seat of Nevada County, it is not pronounced like the city in Arizona.
Rodney Parham: Pair.um. One of the major thoroughfares in Little Rock, this is the preferred pronunciation as opposed to Pahr.um.
Searcy: Sir.see. The county seat of White County, it can present a pronunciation problem for outsiders. Also an Arkansas county pronounced the same way.
LINK /
This post was edited on 7/21/16 at 3:02 am
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Posted on 7/21/16 at 3:50 am to Litigator
quote:
Prescott
Always had to correct people and tell them no I don't live in Arizona.
Posted on 7/21/16 at 7:24 am to Litigator
Oauchita is definitely the biggest offender. I have friends here that were pronouncing it "wah-kih-tah". 
They're French Canadians, too. Granted, they laugh at us for "petty gene"
They're French Canadians, too. Granted, they laugh at us for "petty gene" Posted on 7/21/16 at 7:49 am to hoginthesw
I was watching Jeopardy one time and Alex Trebec pronounced it: Ooo wah SHEE ta.
Posted on 7/21/16 at 8:14 am to Litigator
quote:
Prescott: Press.cut. The county seat of Nevada County, it is not pronounced like the city in Arizona.
I remember in high school there was a 30 minute debate in my communications class between the students and teacher about how it is pronounced.
Posted on 7/21/16 at 8:45 am to Litigator
pioneer, I know you'll show up in this thread eventually.
How did you grow up pronouncing Batesville? My family usually says "Bates-vuhl" rather than "Bates-vihl" but that's not always the case. I always say it the latter way now, but my southern accent is not very strong and I haven't lived there for 14 years.
I think it's a common thing in Arkansas to change place names like this.
Prescott, for instance, is another good example from this thread. The vowel is changed in the final syllable to a "uh" sound, and it's a particularly "short" vowel sound. It's like you're going from the hard C sound to the T is as short a time as possible, so the O sound gets changed to a short "uh" sound. It's the same thing with Batesville.
How did you grow up pronouncing Batesville? My family usually says "Bates-vuhl" rather than "Bates-vihl" but that's not always the case. I always say it the latter way now, but my southern accent is not very strong and I haven't lived there for 14 years.
I think it's a common thing in Arkansas to change place names like this.
Prescott, for instance, is another good example from this thread. The vowel is changed in the final syllable to a "uh" sound, and it's a particularly "short" vowel sound. It's like you're going from the hard C sound to the T is as short a time as possible, so the O sound gets changed to a short "uh" sound. It's the same thing with Batesville.
This post was edited on 7/21/16 at 8:49 am
Posted on 7/21/16 at 8:50 am to Litigator
quote:
Lafayette: luh.Fay.et.
Ive always pronounced this as Laugh in the first syllable
Posted on 7/21/16 at 9:06 am to Hawgeye
quote:
Ive always pronounced this as Laugh in the first syllable
b/c that's how it's pronounced. I don't know anyone who says it the other way.
Posted on 7/21/16 at 9:34 am to hoginthesw
I've heard folks pronounce it as Law up here.
This post was edited on 7/21/16 at 9:35 am
Posted on 7/21/16 at 9:58 am to Litigator
quote:
Desha: duh.Shay. Southeast Arkansas county.
Posted on 7/21/16 at 10:19 am to Litigator
I differ a tiny bit with you on a couple or three:
Cab-ut
Fay-et-ville (emphasis on first syllable)
Wa-shi-taw
All-timer (agains, emph on first syl.)
Cab-ut
Fay-et-ville (emphasis on first syllable)
Wa-shi-taw
All-timer (agains, emph on first syl.)
This post was edited on 7/21/16 at 10:23 am
Posted on 7/21/16 at 10:21 am to Litigator
quote:
Rodney Parham: Pair.um. One of the major thoroughfares in Little Rock, this is the preferred pronunciation as opposed to Pahr.um.
a friend of mine says pahr.um and i have to tell her every time pair-um. after the 50th time i just
Posted on 7/21/16 at 10:33 am to Litigator
quote:Also a small town near Batesville.
Desha: duh.Shay. Southeast Arkansas county.
This post was edited on 7/21/16 at 10:34 am
Posted on 7/21/16 at 11:08 am to TheCheshireHog
Lafayette County
The key distinction is the Arkansas version has a strong emphasis on the second syllable FAY. The French version like the city and university in Louisiana is different and I typically hear lawf, lahf, or laff as to the first two syllables.
Arkansas versions
Blackipedia Wiki pronunciation (FAY)
LINK /
Mississippi blogger pronunciation (FAY) LINK
Lafayette County, Arkansas (FAY) LINK
French versions
Lafayette County, Arkansas (laugh) YouTube version LINK
Lafayette, Louisiana YouTube Audio LINK
Lafayette (laugh, French version)
LINK
The names ending in ville are always interesting as to pronunciation and usually include vill or vull. Try Louisville for example with Louis itself subject to different pronunciations as in Lew or Lewee.
The key distinction is the Arkansas version has a strong emphasis on the second syllable FAY. The French version like the city and university in Louisiana is different and I typically hear lawf, lahf, or laff as to the first two syllables.
Arkansas versions
Blackipedia Wiki pronunciation (FAY)
LINK /
Mississippi blogger pronunciation (FAY) LINK
Lafayette County, Arkansas (FAY) LINK
French versions
Lafayette County, Arkansas (laugh) YouTube version LINK
Lafayette, Louisiana YouTube Audio LINK
Lafayette (laugh, French version)
LINK
quote:
Hog on the Hill
The names ending in ville are always interesting as to pronunciation and usually include vill or vull. Try Louisville for example with Louis itself subject to different pronunciations as in Lew or Lewee.
Posted on 7/21/16 at 11:36 am to WonderWartHawg
quote:
I differ a tiny bit with you on a couple
Fay-et-ville (emphasis on first syllable)
Fay-et-nam
Little Rock - (emphasis on Owns) >-n-w-a
Posted on 7/21/16 at 11:43 am to Pigfeet
Pigfeet - pronounced "ahb-sessed"
Posted on 7/21/16 at 11:44 am to Hog on the Hill
I guess it's more like "uhb-sessed" though. frick!
Posted on 7/21/16 at 11:47 am to WonderWartHawg
quote:
WonderWartHog
I agree with those modifications especially as to Ouachita as I generally don't hear shee but rather shi or shuh. As it is attached to so many things it gets mispronounced a lot.
This post was edited on 7/21/16 at 11:50 am
Posted on 7/21/16 at 11:53 am to Hog on the Hill
quote:
I guess it's more like "uhb-sessed" though. frick!
Posted on 7/21/16 at 1:35 pm to Litigator
(no message)
This post was edited on 9/2/21 at 1:25 pm
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