May 31, 2017

"Wisconsin" is a lot harder to spell than "banana."

You may think it's funny that — of all the states — Wisconsin is the one whose name is the most-searched-for word spelling by the people who live there. But the most-search-for spelling in New Mexico is "banana."

56 comments:

Snark said...

The two movies playing in America: "Wisconsen Bananas" and "Banannas for Wisconsin"

tcrosse said...

The trouble with spelling "banana" is knowing when to stop.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

Ba-na-na

It spells itself.

Gahrie said...

pretty easy actually...

wis...as in to take a

con....what you get from Progressives

sin....what you get from Democrats (may have to change this one if they keep voting Republican)

Paddy O said...

That's because it's pronounced Wiscansin.

David said...

Banana Peppers.

David said...

Or maybe they were looking for bandana.

mockturtle said...

Scary to think they know this.

Rob said...

Banana--rhymes with mañana.

Kevin said...

But the most-search-for spelling in New Mexico is "banana."

Is that because many new residents arrive knowing how to spell Mexico?

The Godfather said...

tcrosse is correct: spelling banana is like spelling Mississippi -- easy to start but hard to know when to stop.

Actually, that's a lot like progressivism, isn't it?

Clayton Hennesey said...

Odd what comes up on top when one types "extra sm" into Google search.

Quaestor said...

Ever heard of banananaism? That's the inability to stop spelling the word banana

tcrosse said...

Ever heard of banananaism? That's the inability to stop spelling the word banana

It's worse than the sin of onanananism.

Ann Althouse said...

pretty easy actually...

wis...as in to take a

con....what you get from Progressives

sin....what you get from Democrats (may have to change this one if they keep voting Republican)


But people who live in Wisconsin don't pronounce it like that. They do the first syllable "Wi" and the "s" goes with the "c" as in "scone" or "scoop" or "scorn" or "scotoma."

People who don't live in Wisconsin might have trouble spelling it because they pronounce it Wes-con-son.

Original Mike said...

"Wes-con-son."

Like nails on a chalkboard for me.

tcrosse said...

A person who pronounces the L in Milwaukee is from somewhere else.

John said...

Oregon isn't much of a surprise. Not only don't they know how to spell 'sense', they don't make much of it either :).

Agree on Wes-con-son. Bob Griese was the WORST when he was on the broadcast for Badgers games.

urbane legend said...

tcrosse said...
A person who pronounces the L in Milwaukee is from somewhere else.

And thank goodness we have that choice. :-)

John said...

Vermont: Europe. Is that just Bernie skewing the results?

Original Mike said...

"Bob Griese was the WORST when he was on the broadcast for Badgers games."

Drove me nuts.

Big Mike said...

@Althouse, don't get excited. It's only because of all those economic refugees from Illinois and Minnesota who are trying to assimilate.

tcrosse said...

Wesconson is a natural pronunciation if you're from Ellenois.

madAsHell said...

But the most-search-for spelling in New Mexico is "banana."

Because in New Mexico it is spelled plátano!!

h said...

I can't believe that Wisconsin is harder to spell than Connecticut or Massachusetts which I always have to look up or rely on spell check for. And I guess Cincinnati (where I need to send one of my tax forms, once a year, and I always need to look up). (I know Cincinnati is not a state.) Even Hawaii trips me up from time to time.

Curious George said...

I had a mortgage that was sold of to Albuquerque State Bank on Albuquerque Street in Albuquerque, NM. God I hated writing that check and addressing that envelope every month.
I would have been happy if they sold the paper to Banana State Bank on Banana Street in Banana, NM.

Curious George said...

"John said...
Agree on Wes-con-son. Bob Griese was the WORST when he was on the broadcast for Badgers games."

No, Brent Musberger was the worst. West Consin. Like there was also a East Consin.

Static Ping said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Static Ping said...

I am surprised that "misspelled" was not one of the words. Or it that too meta?

Quaestor said...

But people who live in Wisconsin don't pronounce it like that. They do the first syllable "Wi" and the "s" goes with the "c" as in "scone" or "scoop" or "scorn" or "scotoma."

Not scrofula, I take it.

"Wisconsin" pronounced. The speaker icon downloads an Ogg Vorbis audio file. You'll probably need the VLC player to listen.

I'm not hearing the Althouse "wi-sconce-sin". Wikipedia definitely advocates "wis-kon-sin" with equal stresses. Maybe that's wrong. If so the file is changeable. All it needs is an enterprising cheesehead with a mic, Audacity, and a Wikipedia editor's account.

Quaestor said...

The "s" goes with "c" as in scabrous.

SukieTawdry said...

I would have thought Massachusetts. Of course we all learned this in grade school: M I double S I double S I double P I.

Quaestor said...

West Consin. Like there was also a East Consin.

East Consin — sunk beneath the waves of Lake Michigan aeons ago by vengeful gods as punishment for their arrogance. Yet they live on — mermen and mermaids ruled by their mighty monarch, Prince Nopants. On cold and clammy nights they rise to drive their submersibles, cleverly disguised as 1957 Ford Fairlanes, on the roads and byways of West Consin, they former colony, now a decrepit shadow of its former glory, while blasting Jerry Lee Lewis tunes from their thunderous 8-track players, only to fade to silence as the sun dawns in the orient, signalling a return to the watery deep.

Will Stan Lee buy it?

Original Mike said...

Quaestor. You've seen them too?

virgil xenophon said...

tcrosse@5:55pm/

LOL. You nailed it. That's EXACTLY how we Prairie Staters pronounce "Illinois."

Quaestor said...

West Consin. Like there was also a East Consin.

East Consin — sunk beneath the waves of Lake Michigan aeons ago by vengeful gods as punishment for their arrogance. Yet they live on — mermen and mermaids ruled by their mighty monarch, Prince Nopants. On cold and clammy nights they rise to drive their submersibles, cleverly disguised as 1957 Ford Fairlanes, on the roads and byways of West Consin, they erstwhile colony, now a decrepit shadow of its former glory, while blasting Jerry Lee Lewis tunes from their thunderous 8-track players, only to fade to silence as the sun dawns in the orient, signalling a return to the watery deep.

Will Stan Lee buy it?

erstwhile — much better. Marvel likes their copy pretentious.

wildswan said...

You gotta get that Swedish lilt in: Wi-sconce-sin. Not whatever they do in Sheecahgah.

Quaestor said...

Yes. I have seen THEM. Most folks think they're just yoopers out to gawk at the strippers at Bonkers in Green Bay, but I know better.

Anonymous said...

Texans trying to pronounce Wisconsin city names.

This one's been around for a few years, but pretty funny, to Wisconsinites.

Original Mike said...

THANK YOU! I thought I was alone. I thought I might be losing my mind.

Quaestor said...

I thought I might be losing my mind.

Sorry. To see THEM is to go mad.

dbp said...

I think Massachusetts is harder: I've lived here 15 years and still have to look it up every time.

Quaestor said...

his one's been around for a few years, but pretty funny, to Wisconsinites.

Wisconsinite. Sounds like a mineral.

Wisconsinite (n) a common form of chert (cryptocrystalline silica) found in the cleaner regions of West Consin resembling desiccated cheddar.

Or perhaps an inexpensive countertop surface made of whey and ground up PBR bottles.

Oh, honey, our new Wisconsinite kitchen looks fabulous! Almost like Formica!

MadTownGuy said...

Our GPS couldn't pronounce Waupaca correctly. It insisted on calling it Wah-pah-CAH. But then it also stumbled over Puente St. in So Cal - pronounced it as "Poont" Street.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

I wouldn't say Mid-westerners have an accent but they have some odd pronunciations. I know this because my parents (Iowa and Wisconsin) taught me to speak and, while I sound like Laurence Olivier to myself, my brothers and have been called on our pronunciation of some common words our whole (largely Western) lives. My sons crack up every time I say cereal. I don't get it.

dbp said...

In Massachusetts you will never guess how to spell a city based on pronunciation:

Bricka = Billerica
Wustor = Worcester
Tooksbury = Tewksbury

In fairness, Boston, Lowell and Newton are dead easy.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

I do delight in the inability of anyone from east of Boise to guess the proper pronunciation of our Native American-namesake towns. Chehalis, Sequim, and Puyallup have provided years of mirth for humble Washingtonians.

Original Mike said...

"Wisconsinite. Sounds like a mineral."

Bedrock.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Any word is easy to spell if you know how.

Amexpat said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Amexpat said...

had a mortgage that was sold of to Albuquerque State Bank on Albuquerque Street in Albuquerque, NM. God I hated writing that check and addressing that envelope every month.

Yes! I never get the spelling of Albuquerque right. Mostly because I don't want to remember that stupid ass way of spelling it. Easier to let the spell checker do it.

Paddy O said...

"A person who pronounces the L in Milwaukee is from somewhere else."

Anyone who says "Cali" for California is a sure sign of a foreigner from another state.

lgv said...

But the most-search-for spelling in New Mexico is "banana."

Yet they can spell Albuquerquerquerqueque

Ann Althouse said...

What was that movie where a man realizes some woman isn't right for him after she gets on well with some other guy she delights by showing off that she can Albuquerque and he too has noticed that it's hard to spell Albuquerque?

Ann Althouse said...

Can't find that movie, but I did make a left turn looking for it.

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