Is It Missour-ee or Missou-rah? Debate Heats Up

Only in Missouri can you say that I'm an "EE" person or an "AH" person and have everyone in the state know exactly what you're talking about. The debate is raging online again about the proper way to pronounce Missouri.

Leave it to the Missouri sub-Reddit to revive the centuries old debate about how to say Missouri the correct way.

Do you live in Missour-ee or Missou-rah?
byu/MaiqTheLawyer inmissouri

What do English professors say is the correct way to pronounce Missouri?

I decided to go directly to the University of Missouri for the answer. MU News quoted Charles Gilbert Youmans, professor emeritus in the College of Arts and Science’s department of English at Mizzou, who said that French explorers would have said "Missour-ee".

Where did the Missour-aa pronunciation come from?

The professor at Mizzou blamed the English who tend to say unpronounced final letters as "uh". This French guy says the "ee" part, but turns the "ss" part of the state into a blur of zzz's.

I have noticed that you'll find most of the Missour-ah crowd in the southern quadrant of the state more so than the northern half. In central Missouri, good luck finding anyone who does not just call Missouri "Mizzou". Many of my friends just say M-I-Z and expect you to spell the rest.