Inside 43215: Building Blocks
TOMATO/TO-MAH-TO/SCIOTO/TOYOTA
Wait a second.
Scioto rhymes with Toyota?
What is wrong with the world?
What is wrong with the lexicons?
Name one other word that rhymes with Scioto that ends in “o.”
Time to call in an expert to explain this phenomenon. We need Dr. Sara Garnes, OSU professor emeritus and one of the smartest linguists around. According to Garnes, “Pronouncing Scioto like ’sciotoe’ indicates speakers know how to spell… or maybe that they aren’t acclimated to central Ohio (”ahiah”)… or maybe they’re just pretentious snobs.”
Ooopf. Hate to be snooty. She continues, “Pronunciations like ’sciodah’ indicate that speakers belong to the club, so to speak. They are part of the Buckeye family.”
So glad that we’re part of a big Buckeye family – because we’re this close to taking a bath together. The next phase of the Sciot-ah Mile project is about to kick off. It’ll launch the development of the Promenade area where Columbus Downtown Development Corporation’s Ed Mendelson promises, “The Promenade will have a canal which people can dip their feet into.” If that’s not enough, Bicentennial Park gets a whole big fountain for kids to romp in.
And unlike Zoombezi Bay, these waters are free.
Meanwhile, we’re still looking for words that end in “o” that rhyme with Sciotah…
September 9th, 2008 at 8:22 am
Who gives an iota,
what rhymes with Scioto.
September 9th, 2008 at 8:22 am
Ohio. At least as it’s pronounced here in Klumbus, Ahia.
September 9th, 2008 at 8:51 am
I give an io-tah,
what rhymes with Scio-tah!!
But since there’s no rhyme,
Let’s take the time,
to say GO BUCKS!!!!
LOL, great story.
Go Klumbus!!! Keep on moving forward. Free swims for kids,
now that’s something to write about!
September 20th, 2008 at 3:37 am
Guess I’m a snob. I have lived here 38 years and it will always be Scio-toe to me. Now can the good professor explain Bell-fountain? (Bellefontaine)