Before we go any further with Arkansas, let’s established one thing first: Arkansas is pronounced as Arkan-saw, and not ar-Kansas. This pronunciation is not to be taken lightly: it has been made into a law by the state legislature in 1881.
Whereas, confusion of practice has arisen in the pronunciation of the name of our state and it is deemed important that the true pronunciation should be determined for use in oral official proceedings.
Be it therefore resolved by both houses of the General Assembly, that the only true pronunciation of the name of the state, in the opinion of this body, is that received by the French from the native Indians and committed to writing in the French word representing the sound. It should be pronounced in three (3) syllables, with the final “s” silent, the “a” in each syllable with the Italian sound, and the accent on the first and last syllables. The pronunciation with the accent on the second syllable with the sound of “a” in “man” and the sounding of the terminal “s” is an innovation to be discouraged.
We're Judy and Shawn. We're designers, we're parents, and we live in New York City.
