Illinois? You Might Be Saying It Totally Wrong

Despite the fact that I've said words for a living for more than four decades, I am no expert in linguistics. As a matter of fact, I've just learned that I've been saying Illinois wrong and I'm not alone in my sins.

How do you pronounce Illinois? I'll go ahead and out myself and admit another one of my moral failings. When I say Illinois, I don't say the middle part right. There. My confession has been made. According to a new ranking by Preply, I am one of many that says Illinois incorrectly. The Land of Lincoln is #4 in America for pronunciation searches.

The fact that I have either lived or worked in Illinois for many moons is disgraceful I know, but I admit that I don't say "uh" in the middle of Illinois. I say "eh" with the "e" sounding more like an "i". I can't believe this French guy says Illinois better than I do.

On another note, how do you mispronounce Missouri? Other than some rebels that say "ah" at the end sometimes, that's a hard state to get wrong. Those that know that I was born and raised in Missouri like to remind me that it is pronounced like "misery". The world needs comedians.

This just in. I'm not changing the way I say Illinois. If saying "uh" is right, I'd prefer to be wrong.