Date:  Tue, 28 Feb 1995 10:42:35 CST

From:  "Donald M. Lance" <ENGDL[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MIZZOU1.BITNET>

Subject: Re: Looking for some useful arguments



The issue of "Ozarks" is more complex than Peter McGraw's response implies.

As well as we can determine, the word came from French explorers in

the late 1600s who wrote "aux arcs" on maps to indicate where the Arcansa

Indians lived and hunted. Liaison in French phonology would yield a

pronunciation of this abbreviation that would sound very much like "Ozarks,"*

which was the early English spelling. So "Ozark" is more like a folk

back-formation used in attributive positions where the "plural" ending

is not common in American English -- i.e., Ozark Mountains. All the toponyms

on official maps have "Ozark" in attributive position, as do business names

in the area. However, in recent decades, the -s form has come into use in

attributive position (Ozarks Conservation District, etc.). (*The final -s

in French is a further complication in the story.) Further, McGraw's

question about "Applachains Mountains" etc. points out that the anti-Ozark

copy-editors aren't so smart after all, though they may be following a local

trend. Every now and then I try to steer my mind toward this question but

haven't done systematic study. In British nomenclature we get "trades unions"

but "trade unions" in American English. I think the attributive -s form in

similar compounds is on the rise in American English, and the anti-Ozark

editors may be reflecting that trend. It's this latter trend that I haven't

done anything systematic on. How widespread/sporadic is the trend?

                               DMLance