KANSAS and ARKANSAS

I have posted this here as it seems the most likely place for the subject. My apologies if it is in the wrong forum.

I would like to know how adding two letters to the front of a name changes how it is pronounced. My reason for asking is such:
The US State of KANSAS is pronounced, as it is spelt, not hard to work out, but then there is this US State name, ARKANSAS, which has the letters AR attached to the front of KANSAS, but is then pronounced AR-KAN-SAW.
Very unusual, maybe some one who is living in one or other of these States could explain it to me. I have asked around locally but no one has been able to give me a straight answer.

Well.. The name Kansas is derived from the name of an American Indian tribe that once resided here before the white man stole it from them. They were called the Kansa, Kanza, or Kaw. So the pronunciation of Arkansas makes sense, I suppose.

But really, why do people that live in Missouri pronounce it MIZ-UR-UH. The world may never know.

Interesting fact. In Kansas they call the Arkansas River the OUR-KANSAS river. Probably because we dumped so much crap in it that the people in Arkansas refuse to acknowledge that it is the same river.

[edit on 6/9/2008 by apolluwn]

reply to post by apolluwn


Hi apolluwn, thanks for your reply to my query, so far you have provided me the most reasonable response to my query. I appreciate your time and explanation.

Arkansas is a French pronunciation of a Quapaw indian word which means "land of downriver people" or "people of the south wind".

I'm inclined to think, because it was a frenchmen (Father Jacques Marquette) who named the Arkansas River, that the good people from Kansas are simply pronouncing it wrong.

Fun Fact: it is illegal to pronounce Arkansas "Ar-Kansas" in some parts of the state.