How do YOU pronouce Zion?

[DiscGo]

Ok, this is an issue about which I feel certain that I am correct but I have seen this debated for a long time. I would like to hear what you guys think.

[stefan]

Ziawn is how some folks from out of utah call it, like californians and coloradans. kinda like AWLta ... instead of al-ta ... and my favorite awmbiawnce (actually sounds better then that nasally ambiance).

when i was young we were on the green river and met a group from colorado which called the place vern-AWL ... i thought ... oh you mean vernal ... they laughed

of course a subset of utahns absurdly call it ZIONS ... this has got to go ... ZIONS is a bank

[DiscGo]

when i was young we were on the green river and met a group from colorado which called the place vern-AWL ... i thought ... oh you mean vernal ... they laughed

That is funny.

[Mtnman1830]

So, is this like throwing a random 'r' in words as my grandmother does?

She warshes dishes.

George Warshington was our first President...

BTW, I voted (as has six others at this time) that I pronounce Zion as Zai-un

[Scott Card]

when i was young we were on the green river and met a group from colorado which called the place vern-AWL ... i thought ... oh you mean vernal ... they laughed

of course a subset of utahns absurdly call it ZIONS ... this has got to go ... ZIONS is a bank

I always tell people that the right pronunciation of Vernal rhymes with "urinal".

I must admit, until I started canyoneering, it was Zions Park for me too. I now correct all those I know when they say Zions also.

[stefan]

So, is this like throwing a random 'r' in words as my grandmother does?

throwing the 's' on zions is.

i am not sure the origin of using the aw- in the west. i know bob marley chants about hooly mount zi-awn.

but it may be related to the difference between pronunciations of aunt, i.e., awnt and ant. one of my grammar book has a nice survey of american english dialects and describes the awnt pronunciation which is common in new england. it further describes how our perception of these dialects have been influenced by their economic and cultural importance in american history (eastern new england). specifically, until recently, the tidewater dialect in the south and the new england dialect in the north have been the prestige dialects of american english.

i have noticed that many of my friends in california and in colorado use AWE ... they even say Wah-sawtch which drives me nuts. even had a friend from texas call it kawmas

[stefan]

I always tell people that the right pronunciation of Vernal rhymes with "urinal".

that's awesome, scott ... gotta remember that

[trackrunner]

I have a friend when someone calls it Zions NP he talks to them for a long time about. Playing he asks them to discribe the park. He tells them he is shocked he has never heard of this park. Then he asks them when did Zions Bank purchase a National Park because he knows only of the Zion NP in SW Utah.

[James_B_Wads2000]

I always tell people that the right pronunciation of Vernal rhymes with "urinal".

And is smells like one too.




James

[shlingdawg]

Zion - like Ryan only with a "Z". Or Mayan, with a "Z". Or:

Byin'
Cryin'
Dyin'
Fryin'
Sighin'
Tryin'
Vyin'

Zion.

[Kent K25]

It all reminds me of watching "Supernanny" with the wife.

She says things like...

Monicker instead of Monica

Togeva instead of Together

etc...

all words ending with A turn into er endings and all ether endings turn to eva

[moabfool]

Okay guys, it's time to straighten y'all out. It's not Zions National Park, it's Zion's National park. Big difference between the plural and the posessive. The National Park belongs to Zion, therefore it is Zion's National Park. Geez, get on board folks.

Okay, totally kidding. It's one of the more annoying anomolies of Utahnics. It's far worse than "Lay-un" (Layton) and on a par with "Mid-vell" (Midvale). Being from Layton I get the annoying "Don't you mean Lay-Tun?" thing all the time. I just pull out my keys and ask, "What are these made of?" The answer usually comes back "meddle." I then say, "Don't you mean 'meTal'?" That usually proves my point.

Zi-ahn, Zi-un or Zion's, it's a pretty cool place. Either way, welcome to U-ta'. It's the only place you can shevel yer karn in-ta yer borne and thent the Lard yah had the strenth ta shevel.

Translation: shovel your corn into your barn and thank the Lord you had the strength to shovel.

[stefan]

jeet?

juicy that?

[kris]

Zion - like Ryan only with a "Z". Or Mayan, with a "Z". Or:

Byin'
Cryin'
Dyin'
Fryin'
Sighin'
Tryin'
Vyin'

Zion.

Same here.

I think the movie Matrix put the odd sounding version in peoples heads.

[TreeHugger]

This is the one that always cracked me up when I moved here:

Awn-ry. Not Or-ner-y. As in, You are very ornery today.

[DiscGo]

MoabFool- I really enjoyed your last post!

[Kent K25]

As did I...a lot of T's getting swallowed in Utah..

Same with Mountain...Mou-in

I'm a math teacher and we were learning about the commutative property...on the test all the answers were written as "communative" since no one pronounces the first T.

[stefan]

I'm a math teacher and we were learning about the commutative property...on the test all the answers were written as "communative" since no one pronounces the first T.

ugh ... that's terrible

[DiscGo]

Boy, I know I say Zion correctly but I have just become more aware of how frequently I do drop my "t"s. I need to fix that.

[abirken]

So glad I stopped by Bogley today! I just learned that I am most likely pronouncing Zion incorrectly since I am one of the 16%ers. HAHA! I will now join the masses and pronounce it Zi-un.