Colorado
Roots
(or, why I say things the way I do)
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This page is intended to provide some context behind the pronunciations on my Colorado toponymy page. When I originally created that page in about 2000, I billed it as a resource to help people "say it like a Colorado native", and I expressed a desire to pronounce things "the way the locals do". But lately I've come to realize that we've reached a point in Colorado history where I can't really put it that way anymore. Today there are "natives" who pronounce things differently than other natives, and there are "locals" who disagree with other locals on the correct pronunciation of a local placename. So today I think it's really more a question of, "How deep are your Colorado roots?"
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If everyone agreed on how to pronounce every word, then I wouldn't have felt a need to create these webpages... and you wouldn't have googled the topic. Obviously this site is written from my perspective, but I'm aware that not everyone is looking at things from the same perspective. Following is a quick summary of my vantage point:
I come from people of European descent who settled in central and northern Colorado. I should note that there were also Spanish immigrants to Colorado, who primarily settled in the southern part of the state. Their descendants tend to pronounce things more true to authentic Spanish. But people from the remainder of Colorado tended to "Americanize" or "Westernize" their pronunciation of Spanish words... which is a polite way of saying that they really butchered some of them. It's actually kind of unfortunate, but that's the way it was, and there are many long-time Coloradoans who are descended from these people, and who say things the way their forefathers did. I'm one of those people.
Two of my great-grandparents came to Colorado in the 1860s and 1870s. They settled in Irwin (which is located on Kebler Pass, west of Crested Butte, and is now a ghost town). My paternal grandmother was born to them in 1897. When she married, she moved to Denver. My father was born there in 1941; I was also born in Denver, in 1968. So the way I pronounce things is the way they've been pronounced in my family for over a century.
Meanwhile, the population in Colorado has continued to soar. A high percentage of immigrants to the state have been Southern Californians, who typically have a pretty good grasp of the Spanish language, but who often do not have an understanding of the decidedly non-Spanish way that many Colorado placenames have historically been pronounced. This influx of people - not only from California, but from other states as well - has begun to have a significant impact on how Colorado placenames are pronounced.
One of the most obvious examples is the pronunciation of the word "Colorado" itself. That's a Spanish word, and in that language the proper pronounciation would be cole-oh-ROD-oh (the first syllable rhymes with "bowl", and the accented syllable rhymes with "pod"). However, most of the original European settlers were not familiar with the Spanish language; thus many early residents pronounced the word call-uh-RAD-o, or the more "westernized" variant call-uh-RAD-uh (the accented syllable rhymes with "bad"). Others actually pronounced it call-uh-RAY-doh, or call-uh-RAY-duh. But that didn't catch on with most people, and for the next century or so, the dominant pronunciation was call-uh-RAD-o.
When I was growing up in the 1970s, we were called call-uh-RAD-o-uns (five syllables), not call-uh-ROD-uns (four syllables). But now that's pretty much the only pronunciation I hear. I first noticed it coming from newscasters, and later from state governor Bill Owens (a native of Texas, who moved to Colorado in 1977), and now it's to the point where I'm reluctant to say "call-uh-RAD-o-uns". But I will point out that the Fort Collins newspaper is called the "Coloradoan", and it was named in 1945. Some people have contacted me to say, essentially, that I'm an idiot for using five syllables... because, after all, no one says "New Mexicoan". Granted... although that doesn't prove anything. My counterpoints are: what's the demonym for Idaho? And how about Ohio?
So my working theory is: if you (or your family) came to Colorado around the 1970s or before, chances are you say call-uh-RAD-o. But if your roots here began around the 1980s or later, then there's an increased chance that you pronounce it call-uh-ROD-o.
I'm aware that there are people out there with even deeper Colorado roots than me, and I'm not trying to say that my own roots qualify me to determine the "right" way to pronounce things. But I am saying: if you disagree with the way I say things, first put some thought into how long you and your ancestors have been in Colorado, and the factors that have led you to pronounce things the way you do.
There: now you have my perspective. If you contact me, I'd like to know yours too. Where do you live, and how long have you been there? Were you born in Colorado? When? If not, where were you born, and when did you move to Colorado? When did the first of your family move to Colorado? And where did they come from? Those are some questions you can answer - in addition to any other comments you may have - on this contact form.
I come from people of European descent who settled in central and northern Colorado. I should note that there were also Spanish immigrants to Colorado, who primarily settled in the southern part of the state. Their descendants tend to pronounce things more true to authentic Spanish. But people from the remainder of Colorado tended to "Americanize" or "Westernize" their pronunciation of Spanish words... which is a polite way of saying that they really butchered some of them. It's actually kind of unfortunate, but that's the way it was, and there are many long-time Coloradoans who are descended from these people, and who say things the way their forefathers did. I'm one of those people.
Two of my great-grandparents came to Colorado in the 1860s and 1870s. They settled in Irwin (which is located on Kebler Pass, west of Crested Butte, and is now a ghost town). My paternal grandmother was born to them in 1897. When she married, she moved to Denver. My father was born there in 1941; I was also born in Denver, in 1968. So the way I pronounce things is the way they've been pronounced in my family for over a century.
Meanwhile, the population in Colorado has continued to soar. A high percentage of immigrants to the state have been Southern Californians, who typically have a pretty good grasp of the Spanish language, but who often do not have an understanding of the decidedly non-Spanish way that many Colorado placenames have historically been pronounced. This influx of people - not only from California, but from other states as well - has begun to have a significant impact on how Colorado placenames are pronounced.
One of the most obvious examples is the pronunciation of the word "Colorado" itself. That's a Spanish word, and in that language the proper pronounciation would be cole-oh-ROD-oh (the first syllable rhymes with "bowl", and the accented syllable rhymes with "pod"). However, most of the original European settlers were not familiar with the Spanish language; thus many early residents pronounced the word call-uh-RAD-o, or the more "westernized" variant call-uh-RAD-uh (the accented syllable rhymes with "bad"). Others actually pronounced it call-uh-RAY-doh, or call-uh-RAY-duh. But that didn't catch on with most people, and for the next century or so, the dominant pronunciation was call-uh-RAD-o.
When I was growing up in the 1970s, we were called call-uh-RAD-o-uns (five syllables), not call-uh-ROD-uns (four syllables). But now that's pretty much the only pronunciation I hear. I first noticed it coming from newscasters, and later from state governor Bill Owens (a native of Texas, who moved to Colorado in 1977), and now it's to the point where I'm reluctant to say "call-uh-RAD-o-uns". But I will point out that the Fort Collins newspaper is called the "Coloradoan", and it was named in 1945. Some people have contacted me to say, essentially, that I'm an idiot for using five syllables... because, after all, no one says "New Mexicoan". Granted... although that doesn't prove anything. My counterpoints are: what's the demonym for Idaho? And how about Ohio?
So my working theory is: if you (or your family) came to Colorado around the 1970s or before, chances are you say call-uh-RAD-o. But if your roots here began around the 1980s or later, then there's an increased chance that you pronounce it call-uh-ROD-o.
I'm aware that there are people out there with even deeper Colorado roots than me, and I'm not trying to say that my own roots qualify me to determine the "right" way to pronounce things. But I am saying: if you disagree with the way I say things, first put some thought into how long you and your ancestors have been in Colorado, and the factors that have led you to pronounce things the way you do.
There: now you have my perspective. If you contact me, I'd like to know yours too. Where do you live, and how long have you been there? Were you born in Colorado? When? If not, where were you born, and when did you move to Colorado? When did the first of your family move to Colorado? And where did they come from? Those are some questions you can answer - in addition to any other comments you may have - on this contact form.
Research and/or photo credits: Dale Sanderson
Page originally created 2002;
last updated Nov. 13, 2016.
last updated Nov. 13, 2016.
