Around these parts, language is something of a vagary, providing us with some unique feeling of embitterment whenever we are exposed to some form of flawed verbiage. Be it a news article, blog post, or other form of editorial, the improper usage of spelling and grammar can prove to be a great annoyance around the SNN farm.

That being said, I would like to present here one of my greatest linguistic pet peeves: the pronunciation of the word Nevada.

Having grown up in Nevada for fourteen years, I can say that I’ve both said and heard the word on countless occasions. “Reno, Nevada.” Of course, up to this point in the writing, any reader who has read the word “Nevada” as it appears above would not know what my preferred pronunciation was and would most likely pronounce it in their head in exactly the way I despise it to be said.

I will first acknowledge that, yes, the word Nevada is indeed of Spanish origin, meaning “Snow-covered.” This is in fact derived from the description of the Sierra Nevada mountain range (Sierra Nevada meaning “Snow-covered Mountains”). In light of this, it of course makes sense that any Spanish word should be said with a Spanish pronunciation. Hence, Nuh-vah-duh. Right?

Wrong.

Sure, Nevada is of Spanish origin, but it was adapted to be the name of an American state; one piece of these United States. Hence, the word, having been adapted in such a way, also becomes an American word, and as such, would thus adopt an American pronunciation. This is similar to how specific words are spelled exactly the same in both English and Spanish, yet have different meanings and pronunciations.

If the state of Nevada was in Mexico, then yes, I would say Nuh-vah-duh. But it’s NOT. It’s in the United States of America. As such, I pronounce the word like an American, as do all Nevadans. Nuh-vad-uh.

I can’t count how many times I’ve heard this word mispronounced. Living in California, especially in such close proximity to Las Vegas, there is frequent mention on the evening news of events and activities occuring in Nevada, often with the newscaster uttering the dreaded Nuh-vah-duh.

It is so easy to see just how many Spanish words are commonplace in the English vocabulary. Millions of Americans eat at Mexican restaurants everyday, ordering tacos, burritos, nachos, and more. We don’t say “boor-ree-taw.” We give it a good American “buh-ree-toh.” The Americanized pronunciations are standard for the names of our food; it should be the same for the names of our states.

Of course, you could probably argue that the words pronunciation is a matter of opinion, or that it is listed with either pronunciation in the English dictionary, but my rebuttal would be simple: I don’t care! I was raised a Nevadan for half my life, and I take my roots very seriously. Yes, the pronunciation of the word is open to interpretation, but like any niche constituent I have an internal knowledge of how the word Nevada is pronounced within the state of Nevada, by the residents of Nevada. I consider this to be canon and thus cry foul on those who would say Nuh-vah-duh.