Detroit evening times., 1943-08-30

"A khnSAS. VI
Mp r,cErpI>r course 1
Know It's
spelled that way, but il def
niteiy Isn't pronounced that way.
maybe you say ArkanSAW.
] don't know. But so do 1 say
Detroit, and II makes me hot
under the collar to hear any one
say Arkansas.
THE people who say DEE
troit don't mean IL as an insult.
That's the way our teachers in
school pronounce IL. We have
always said IL and reckon
some will continue 10 say IL
even II II causes a pronouncla-
tlon riot.
IF any OF your readers are
Interested in knowing why it's
spelled one way and pronounced
another. let me know.--Arkan-
SAW Hill Billy"
An right, Billy. Shoot n. Let
us knoiO Why rs pronounced
Arkdn.SAW. ! don't kHolc. bit
ntUugs assumed that II UHs for
the same reason that our Nockt-
nae Island mp here Is pronounced
HdcEiSA -.
Far be il from me 20 pro-
nounce Arkansas any way but
ArkanSAW. l was brought up
on the rtiie, 'WIhcu III Rome. do
as the Romans DO % That always
has been a good rule 70 follow
--as even the Italians have
learned. since, in recent years,
they changed IL 10. When in
Rome -aS-titt-- t1eFHFsfi-
YOU to- But that's neither here
nor there.
There used 10 be a saying
hcreabouts that the only people
who said "DEEtroit were the
same ones who spoke Of the
police station, but that isn't
true.
Ny father lived in Michigan
for some 1S years. and never. in
all that time. did he call this
call this city anything but DEE
troit. He vas an easterner born
in New Hampshire and raised
near Boston.
So don't think 7 vas firing
buckShot at ArkanSaW
But THEN, are YOU sure I
was criticiEing the people who
Say DEEtroit: Or did YOU miss
the boat, sort of? What I said
vas that Detroiters didn't often
get inSulted about anything eN-
cept when somebody pronounced
II Detroit.
And. brother. that's true. You
can Say there are rats I'm the
alleys. Nobody gets mad. You
can say the transportation sys-
tern IL knock -kneed. You can
point ont that shows get 10 De-
troit long after other cities this
sire have already seen them.
Nobody objects. But---some-
times wish people would get
mad.
I Wish some good needler
would come along and start
needing Detroit. Jeer at our
faults. Make Us so mad that
we'd DO something about II.
What difference does II make
how YOU pronounce Detroit?
None. But some Of these other
things do make a difference.
Pronunciation
Holy mackercl. Detroit has
adopted som o pronunclationS
that would make old man Cadil-
lac Squirm IN his grave. ST.
Antoine street for one We call
il An-toe-wine. 4 Frenchman
would call il An-twan But try
asking a street car conductor
10 let YOU Off Al st. An-twan
street. and sec what happens,
Or try pronouncing Illinois the
same way We pronounce Liver
noiS and watch the Illinois peo-
pie cringe-eVen though they
themselves can't decide whether
it's Chi-caw-go or Chi-cah-go.
Come 10 think OF u. though.
there is-or waS--one other
thing that lot of DetroiterS
got mad about.
II was that article in Life n
months ngo ealled-"Betroit Is
Dynamite" We got good and
mad about that. And then we
put on the biggest race riot YOU
ever saw. just to prove that Life
was right,
Sure. Detroit is dynamite.
but it's dynamic. too. Ask
-Rommel how he likes our tanks,
and ask Berlin how il likes
bombs. and ask Goering how he
likes our airplaneS Ask 'cm
why they planted all those spies
in Detroit.
And ask EN- whether they
pronounce il Detroit or DEE
troit. and scc-if really mat.
ters. See what l mean?