Etymology and Pronunciation
The state is named for the Missouri River, which was named after the indigenous Missouri Indians, a Siouan-language tribe. They were called the ouemessourita (wimihsoorita), meaning "those who have dugout canoes", by the Miami-Illinois language speakers. As the Illini were the first natives encountered by Europeans in the region, the latter adopted the Illini name for the Missouri people.
While many American states have names that its natives and non-natives pronounce dissimilarly, Missouri is the only one whose name is pronounced differently even just among its present-day natives—the two most common pronunciations being i/məˈzɜri/ and i/məˈzɜrə/. This situation of differing pronunciations has existed since the late 1600s. Further pronunciations also exist in Missouri or elsewhere in the United States, involving the realization of the first syllable as either /mə/ or /mɪ/; the stressed second syllable as either /ˈzɜr/ or /ˈzʊər/; the third syllable as /i/, /ə/, centralized /ɪ/, or even ∅ (in other words, a non-existent third syllable); and the phoneme /r/ as either of two allophones: or . Any combination of these phonetic realizations may be observed coming from speakers of American English.
Politicians often employ multiple pronunciations, even during a single speech, to appeal to a greater number of listeners. Oftentimes, "eye dialect" spellings of the state's name, such as "Missour-ee" or "Missour-uh," are used informally to phonetically distinguish pronunciations.
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