A Pronunciation Guide To Missouri Place Names

A to Z Missouri is a dictionary of Missouri place names and includes more than 1300 names of counties, cities, towns, villages, creeks, rivers, river bends, lakes, hills, mountains, points, parks, etc. Each entry presents truths and traditions about place names and place history and are arranged in easy to use alphabetical order. McMillen, the author of Paris, Tightwad, and Peculiar (University of Missouri Press, 1994) presents A to Z Missouri as a book of entertainment rather than a scholarship. Each brief story is fun to read and the humorous illustrations by Dennis Murphy are delightful. However the scholarship involved in collecting and verifying these Missouri place names is evident as in her many other Missouri history titles, such as The Golden Lane and Evolution of a Missouri Asylum

This bulletin is one in a series published by the College of Arts and Science in which pertinent and interesting information that has been collected and analyzed in the research activities of regular departments of the College is made available to the public. The study of Missouri place names has been a project of Professor Robert L. Ramsay of the Department of English for a number of years. He has directed a series of eighteen masters theses in the field, and as a result of the research conducted by his students and through his own activities, a master file of Missouri place names has been prepared. This bulletin is only a sample of the information that has been collected and classified. The College of Arts and Science is making it available to the citizens of the State at a nominal price so that the public can have some knowledge and appreciation of this interesting and worthwhile study. The bulletin records a very significant part of our history and culture.

This volume combines historical research and linguistic fieldwork with native speakers from across the United States to present the first comprehensive, up-to-date, scholarly dictionary of American placenames derived from native languages." "Linguist William Bright assembled a team of twelve editorial consultants - experts in Native American languages - and many other native contributors to prepare this lexicon of eleven thousand placenames along with their etymologies. New data from leading scholars make this volume an invaluable reference for students of American Indian culture, folklore, and local histories. Bright's introduction explains his methodology and the contents of each entry. This comprehensive, alphabetical lexicon preserves native language as it details the history and culture found in American indian placenames.