Trump tells Nevada crowd they're mispronouncing state's name

[left-of-center2012]

Donald Trump says Neh-VAH-da, locals say Neh-VAD-ah.

The Republican nominee mispronounced the state's name while lecturing those he thought were saying it incorrectly during a rally in Reno Wednesday night.

Trump made the gaffe in random a tangent during a discussion of Nevada's drug problem.

"Heroin overdoses are surging and meth overdoses in Neh-VAH-da," Trump said. "Neh-VAH-da," he repeated, drawing out the mispronunciation. "When I came out here I said nobody says it the other way. It has to be Neh-VAH-da, right?"

Trump jokingly said a friend of his who said it incorrectly "was killed."

The crowd laughed, but locals overwhelmingly agree the correct pronunciation is Neh-VAD-ah. However you say it, recent polls show Hillary Clinton with a narrow lead in the state.

Some on Twitter took notice:
Wait. Did @realDonaldTrump just claim he pronounced "Nevada" correctly by mispronouncing it five times?

@realDonaldTrump tells a group of Nevadans how to pronounce their state correctly... and it's the wrong way.

In Reno,Trump says "Neh-VAH-da," declares "no one says it the other way" which is met by confusion, as many folks here say it the other way

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/10/05/trump-tells-nevada-crowd-theyre-mispronouncing-states-name/91641846/

[Cakes488]

1. I can't wait to hear the sound byte

[Hortensis]

23. It's WONDERFUL, before a crowd of Nevadans no less.

None of the late-night comedy writers could improve on this exhibition of his disorder.

[Beartracks]

2. Weird, cuz Neh-VAH-da is a Spanish word...

... and that *is* the way it's supposed to be pronounced... isn't it?

===================

[tandem5]

7. Sure, but if Robert prefers raw-bert I surely don't call him row-bear.

[BlueStreak]

28. Exactly. You pronounce the name as the locals prefer it

In Indiana, we have Terre Haute (TER-ruh HUT) and Notre Dame (NOTE-er DAYME)

What an arrogant asshole to stand in front of those people and lecture them about how to say their own name. Honestly, that is the kind of thing that will alienate voters much more than any complex policy issues.

[pnwmom]

10. Los Angeles is also a Spanish word. Do we pronounce it like a Spanish-speaking person would? (No) nt

[Beartracks]

13. Well, good point.

I say Neh-VAD-ah, by the way. I know Trump's wrong about the way the state's name is pronounced... I meant to say interesting, not weird, about how place-name anglicization becomes the "right" way to pronounce things. I wonder if that happens to English words in other countries.

================

[pnwmom]

14. I'm guessing it does.

Here's a piece about English words used in France.

http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2012/10/langlais-cest-super-cool/

[Drahthaardogs]

19. Most locals out west still have a little dialect that reflects the original pronounciation

For example, easterners and midwesterners often say "ColoRAWdo" pronouncing the "A" with an AWWWW sound. Natives call it Colo RAD -O. Like Jeff Spicoli calling some RADical...

Ever heard someone call it a jalapINO instead of a jalapenyo? Out west, they know there is no such thing as a jalapino...

My least favorite is BisCAHti and RiCAHtA. Those are italian words (meaning cookie and re-cooked) and there is no such thing as a BisCAHti. You cannot "Americanize" a word that does not exist in English. It is RiCOATA and BisCOATi . People in New Jersey and New York know how to say it. Overall I would disagree. I think locals typically have some knowledge and at least a little remnant of the original pronunciation. However, I am not a linguist so I am likely full of bullshit. Still hate BisCAHti though. Hate the word Yummy too, but that is another post...

[stopbush]

38. How do you pronounce "Notre Dame" when speaking of the school in Indiana?

[progressoid]

39. Or Des Moines IA, or Pierre SD etc.

It's almost like words and language change over time and regions.

Weird.

[stopbush]

40. Funny thing about the U of Notre Dame is that they take no official position

on the pronunciation.

[progressoid]

41. I imagine if an ESPN announcer pronounced it the French way, he/she would be

inundated with messages from fans about it.

I don't really care one way or the other. But it seems to be a big deal for some.

My French relatives found it slightly amusing to hear the way we pronounce some city names in the US. Papillion, La Grande, Willamette, etc. They also don't think Canadians speak French.

[Goblinmonger]

43. I would guess most people would say Pierre incorrectly

I mean incorrectly compared to how people from SD say it.

[progressoid]

44. I see that on the Weather channel occasionally.

[gabeana]

3. there goes Nevada

bye bye Trump

[LoveMyCali]

4. It's GINA

[DesertRat]

22. +1

[radius777]

8. I actually agree with Trump on this one,

Both Nevada and Colorado sound better with the softer AH sound as in avocado, especially being words derived from Spanish.

[pnwmom]

9. Then you're both wrong. People know how their own state is supposed to be pronounced. n/t

[radius777]

11. alot of those people are xenophobic

and want "their" state to sound less ethnic.

[pnwmom]

12. Are people who pronounce Los Angeles as an English word also xenophobic?

Do you routinely use the Spanish pronunciation of Los Angeles? Or the French pronunciation of Paris? (there are several American towns with that name.)

[radius777]

15. not the same thing, this isn't difficult on the tongue like those were,

this is an easy pronunciation that many/most Americans are already used to, that the residents of those regions (which just happen to be locked in a tense struggle over latino immigration) are making a conscious effort to force people to say it their (less Spanish-sounding) way.

[pnwmom]

16. Do you say Paris, Maine as if it were Paris, France?

Why not? It was named by French speakers after Paris, France. And it's not too hard to say "Paree" in English.

And it's not too hard for English speakers to pronounce New Mexico as New Mehico -- much closer to the Spanish pronunciation. Are people who don't use the Spanish pronunciation also xenophobic? There are plenty of immigrants in New Mexico, too.

English speaking Nevadans have always used the "add" pronunciation. This isn't because of some new struggle over immigration.

They get annoyed the same way people in Oregon hate to hear their state called "Or - uh - GON." Or people in Illinois hate hearing their state pronounced with the final "S."

[ChairmanAgnostic]

20. Cairo Illinois vs. Cairo Egypt.

Locals in southern ill in noise pronounce it KAY-row.

Then again, we also pronounce Des Plaines, Illinois deZ planeZ. Even while they usually get Des Moines right.

[pnwmom]

21. Yes! Great examples. n/t

[Beartracks]

42. Wow. Des very interestingz. n/t

==============

[tblue37]

17. In 1990 SNL aired a funny skit called "Enchilada" in which guest host

Jimmy Smits played a hispanic reporter newly hired by an NBC TV news program who was annoyed by the way his anglo co-workers insisted on emphasizing the Spanish pronunciation of every word derived from the Spanish language--including words like Nicaragua, enchilada, Los Angeles, tornado, etc. Even when Bob Costas pops in, they pronounce his name with a heavy Spanish accent, and he says he thinks the Broncos (pronounced in Spanish) will beat San Francisco. Then someone else comes in and says something about a blue Camaro.

They all sounded idiotic, of course--especially when heavily rolling their "r" sounds and using the harsh velar "h" sound called the "jota" in Spanish.


http://www.tv.com/shows/saturday-night-live/enchilada-1645859/

[Bad Thoughts]

24. The people who complain about "Los An-he-les" are projecting insecurities

Trump was an idiot for being patronizing, but the different pronunciations can coexist without causing mis-comprehension. Complaining that a pronunciation that is influenced by the original Spanish smacks of of white-washing.

[pnwmom]

27. No one is complaining about native Spanish speakers pronouncing words with a Spanish accent.

This is about an idiot from New York coming to Reno and lecturing Nevadans on how to pronounce the name of their state.

[Bad Thoughts]

30. Yes, Nevadans complain about Spanish-informed pronunciations

Trump should be pilloried for his display of arrogance, but those who complain are far from innocent.

[pnwmom]

32. Link, please. I've never heard Nevadans complain about Spanish speakers speaking accented English.

But it would sound equally ridiculous for an English speaker to refer to Paris, Maine as "Par-ee," Maine -- even if that would be a "French-Informed" pronunciation.

[Bad Thoughts]

34. Here you go

http://lasvegassun.com/news/2010/aug/12/lawmaker-lobbies-alternative-pronunciation-nevada/

BTW, I bet when you refer to the people of Paris, you use the French-informed Pah-REE-zians, not Par-ISS-ians.

[pnwmom]

36. No, I pronounce that as "puh-REE-zhuhn."

[BlueStreak]

29. However, can we agree to pronounce guacomole correctly if we are in a restaurant

owned and operated by Mexicans?

The G is soft. HUOCK-ah-MOLE-eh

[Democat]

18. You signed up for DU to tell us you agree with Trump?

Have fun at DU.

[DesertRat]

25. Senator Harry Reid had the perfect response

Senator Harry Reid
?@SenatorReid
If Trump wants to come down from the penthouse his daddy bought him to lecture us on Nevada, he could at least pronounce it correctly.

https://twitter.com/SenatorReid/status/783862774241849344

[BSdetect]

26. drumphs example of micromanaging the USA?

Imagine his attention to detail on important stuff if he can't even pronounce Nevada right without bragging.

[louis-t]

31. Oh great, when he gets selected I'll have to

pronounce Michigan different. Fucking idiot.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

33. Heck of a Job Trump

Insult a bunch of people in a state that you are competitive in. Hopefully, Cortez takes advantage of this in her Senate race.

[Gothmog]

35. Trump is an idiot

[nolabear]

45. Trumpsplaining is getting to be trumptastically trumplorable.