By Kate Sliney
In the Show-Me State, the century-old “Missouree” versus “Missouruh" debate continues as a *mostly* good-natured (but still politcally-charged) discussion among the allegedly practically-minded inhabitants to whom legend has it Missouri owes its nickname.
While the topic itself is old, the How-Do-We-Pronounce-Our-State Debate tends to reignite during an election year, when candidates for elected office waffle between using “Missouree” and “Missouruh” pronunciations in speeches during campaign events, in an attempt, as some suspect, to signal shared values with voters on both sides of the Missouree-Missouruh debate.
Some linguists argue the Missouree-Missouruh divide reflects differences in regional speech patterns - i.e., between Missouri's northwest residents, who favor the "Missouruh" pronunciation, and the southeast residents, who favor the "Missouree" one.
Others at the University of Missouri argue the preference for "Missouruh" over "Missouree" reflects differences between rural and urban area residents’ speech patterns.
So who *actually* says "Missouruh" and what do we know about them? Is "Missouruh" favored by Missourians living to the state's northwest, or by Missouri's rural and conservative residents, as others have guessed?
Below, Missouri officials are mapped by childhood hometown, as research shows speech patterns are heavily influenced, if not primarily determined, by where a person grew up. "Missouree" vs. "Missouruh" pronunciation preferences are noted based on statements made in publically available campaign videos, interviews, and other appearances, and compared against their offices held, hometown, age, race, and political party.
Those who grew up ouside of Missouri were eliminated for the purposes our comparison (with the exception of candidates from the greater metropolitan areas of St. Louis and Kansas City, which extend into Illinois and Kansas, and are treated as extensions of both Missouri cities).
Here's what we found out about those on both sides of the “Missouruh" versus “Missouree” debate.
See how both current and former Missouri politicians pronounce their home state. Hover for more details.
Within the group of Democrats shown (i.e., those currently shown in full color), the majority, at minimum, pronounce their home state "Missour-ee."
And within the same group of Democrats, only President Truman exclusively used the "Missour-uh" pronunciation. (Former Senator Claire McCaskill and former Governor Jay Nixon use both frequently.)
Across both parties, the following politicians shown in full color regularly use both "Missour-ee" and "Missour-uh" pronunciations. Notably, former governors and U.S. senators representing Missouri were most likely to use both pronunciations. 🤔
Of the Republicans sampled, the following, at minimum, say "Missour-ee."
These Republicans, shown in color, say "Missouruh." Republicans are more likely to use this pronunciation than are Democrats, but overall, "Missouree" is still preferred more frequently by Republicans.
U.S. House members are more likely to choose one prounciation over the other - possibly reflecting the preferences of their home distict. Only former U.S. Congressman Jim Talent (who served in both the Senate and the House) regularly used "both" pronunciations.)
Roughly 30% of the politicians included pronounced the state "Missouruh" or regularly use both pronunciations.
No clear regional divide emerged between pronunciation preferences of Missouri's Northwest and Southeast. Republicans were only 15% more likely to pronunce the state "Missouruh" than Democrats.
Governors were over represented among those who used the "Missouruh" pronunciation, followed by U.S. Senators, suggesting political factors may have influenced politicians' use of "Missouruh" to garner state-wide support. (No big surprises there.)
Age, ethnicity, and gender emerged as key predictors. None of those who used the "Missouruh" prounciation were under 50 or of color, though both groups are represented in the data at the state representative level.
Data and Methods
Politicians' pronunciations were sourced from CSPAN videos. Additional sources include the New York Times, the Riverfront Times, the LA Times, kbia.org, the Pitch KC, and the Missouri Folklore Society.