Rick Just
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Idaho Pronounciations

2/13/2021

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It’s Lazy to say Boyzee. Yeah, I didn’t come up with that one. The point is, if you don’t pronounce a place’s name like the natives, you’re going to out yourself as someone not from around here. The preferred pronunciation for Idaho’s capital city is Boysee, though residents aren’t all that picky about it.
 
In nearby Garden City there’s a street called Chinden. Locals argue over the pronunciation, some insisting on “Shinden.” It’s a contraction for Chinese Gardens, so you decide.
 
Mackey is probably the town name in Idaho that throws most people off. It is pronounced "Mackie" with the accent on the first syllable.
 
Basalt is pronounced bəˈsôlt, with the accent on salt, if you’re a geologist. But if you’re from Basalt, Idaho, you probably pronounce it bay salt.
 
You might think Dubois should be pronounced Dew Bwah, as Blanche did in that Tennessee Williams play. Nope. Dew Boys with a soft s. That’s the way Sen. Fred T. Dubois, for whom it was named, pronounced it.
 
And finally, what about Pahsimeroi? Uh, I’m not having that argument.

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    Author, Speaker

    Rick Just has been writing about Idaho history since 1989 when he wrote and recorded scripts for the Idaho Centennial Commission’s daily radio program, Idaho Snapshots. His latest book on Idaho history is Images of America, Idaho State Parks. Rick also writes a regular column for the Idaho Press.

    Rick does public presentations on Idaho's state park history and the history of the Morrisite war for the Idaho Humanities Council's Speakers Bureau.
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