Do you say Massachusetts "Massa-choo-sits" or "Massa-choo-zits"?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

I say Massa-choo-zits and apparently this is fairly unusual. The friend (a linguist) who first pointed out, years ago, that I said it this way theorizes that it may be a Western Mass thing, which I think might have some merit to it considering that it's the pronunciation provided in this video and that my speech does have some other Western Mass shibboleths such as "tag sale" instead of "yard/garage sale" and the General American "water fountain" instead of the Eastern Mass "bubbler". I'm curious if there are people from elsewhere who also say it this way.

I also say houzes, Jozeph, and Jeruzalem.

[🕴🏼Melior🕴🏼]

Option 1

[DavidB.]

I say "Massa-choo-setts", not really with an "i" (and you barely hear the "e"/"uh"). So no Z.

In Dutch I do say Jozef and Jeruzalem, but still Massachusetts, sorry

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

I say "Massa-choo-setts", not really with an "i" (and you barely hear the "e"/"uh"). So no Z.

This.

[TDAS04]

Option 1

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

Option 1

[Lexii, harbinger of chaos and sexual anarchy]

Option 1

[Leinad]

Massa-choo-sits, and I say Joseph with an "s," but I generally say houses and Jerusalem with a "z" pronunciation.

[Ban my account ffs!]

I say Massa-choo-zits and apparently this is fairly unusual. The friend (a linguist) who first pointed out, years ago, that I said it this way theorizes that it may be a Western Mass thing, which I think might have some merit to it considering that it's the pronunciation provided in this video and that my speech does have some other Western Mass shibboleths such as "tag sale" instead of "yard/garage sale" and the General American "water fountain" instead of the Eastern Mass "bubbler". I'm curious if there are people from elsewhere who also say it this way.

I also say houzes, Jozeph, and Jeruzalem.

Please tell me you don't say greaze instead of the proper grease.  It's a huge pet peeve of mine.

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

with a z, same with houses, Joseph and Jerusalem

[DavidB.]

with a z, same with houses, Joseph and Jerusalem

You say Al Qudz?

[Antonio the Sixth]

"sits", but I do say "houze" "Jozeph" and "Jeruzalem".

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

with a z, same with houses, Joseph and Jerusalem

I'm no longer alone in this world!

[nclib]

I say "Massa-choo-setts", not really with an "i" (and you barely hear the "e"/"uh"). So no Z.

This, though that is closer to Option 1 so I voted that. I didn't realize how many people say "Massa-choo-zits".

[bagelman]

Generally I prefer S for this word, although I do make Z sounds for other names like Joseph and Jerusalem.

However, it's "Massa-choo-sis" or "Massa-choo-ziz" for me.

[dax00]

Mass-a-chooz-its. So option 2.

[Torie]

That's freaking weird of you Nathan. How on earth did you come up with that pronunciation?  I will conduct a little survey myself next time I visit the Mass Birkenstock Belt. We need to get to the bottom of this!

[angus]

I say Massa-choo-zits and apparently this is fairly unusual.

I should think so.  I lived in Massachusetts for five years and the locals never said anything other than Mass.  Where you from?  Sommavul Mass.  Hingham Mass.  Woostah Mass.  Like that.  That was in the eastern part of the state, though.  maybe it's different out in the Boondocks and Berkshires. 

The voiced sibilant is common enough, though.  I noticed that folks from all parts of New England pronounce Qunicy as Kwinzee.  Joseph and Houses are given the voiced sibilant there also.  I think that might be the case in Old England as well.

I did notice that everyone around Boston calls a water fountain a bubbla and a remote control a clikka.  Gimme dat clikka. 

Anyway, I say Massa Chu Setts.  (unvoiced sibilant.)  Sort of like your first choice but the vowel sound in the last syllable being setts, like it is spelled, not sits.

[muon2]

I say Massa-choo-zits and apparently this is fairly unusual.

I should think so.  I lived in Massachusetts for five years and the locals never said anything other than Mass.  Where you from?  Sommavul Mass.  Hingham Mass.  Woostah Mass.  Like that.  That was in the eastern part of the state, though.  maybe it's different out in the Boondocks and BerkshiresBuckshuhs. 

The voiced sibilant is common enough, though.  I noticed that folks from all parts of New England pronounce Qunicy as Kwinzee.  Joseph and Houses are given the voiced sibilant there also.  I think that might be the case in Old England as well.

I did notice that everyone around Boston calls a water fountain a bubbla and a remote control a clikka.  Gimme dat clikka. 

Anyway, I say Massa Chu Setts.  (unvoiced sibilant.)  Sort of like your first choice but the vowel sound in the last syllable being setts, like it is spelled, not sits.

FIFY

I lived in Wall-Tham (equal accent on both syllables) for 8 years during grad school. It was my first time out east, and to my Midwestern ears the language of Eastern MA might as well have been from a foreign country. But I learned how to say and spell the state from a recording played on Captain Kangaroo. There's no z.

[Dr. Arch]

[mæ.sʰɑ.t͡ʃʰu.sʰɛtsʰ]

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

in between:  Mas-sa-choos-zits.

[Figueira]

Weirdly I pronounced it Massa-choo-sidz until I moved here. Now I mostly pronounce it "Massa-choo-sits."

[Antonio the Sixth]

I say Massa-choo-zits and apparently this is fairly unusual.

I should think so.  I lived in Massachusetts for five years and the locals never said anything other than Mass.  Where you from?  Sommavul Mass.  Hingham Mass.  Woostah Mass.  Like that.  That was in the eastern part of the state, though.  maybe it's different out in the Boondocks and BerkshiresBuckshuhs. 

The voiced sibilant is common enough, though.  I noticed that folks from all parts of New England pronounce Qunicy as Kwinzee.  Joseph and Houses are given the voiced sibilant there also.  I think that might be the case in Old England as well.

I did notice that everyone around Boston calls a water fountain a bubbla and a remote control a clikka.  Gimme dat clikka. 

Anyway, I say Massa Chu Setts.  (unvoiced sibilant.)  Sort of like your first choice but the vowel sound in the last syllable being setts, like it is spelled, not sits.

FIFY

I lived in Wall-Tham (equal accent on both syllables) for 8 years during grad school. It was my first time out east, and to my Midwestern ears the language of Eastern MA might as well have been from a foreign country. But I learned how to say and spell the state from a recording played on Captain Kangaroo. There's no z.

Until yesterday, I thought Berkshires were pronounced "burk-shyres" or at least "burk-shures", but this guy says "burk-sheers".

[Figueira]

I say Massa-choo-zits and apparently this is fairly unusual.

I should think so.  I lived in Massachusetts for five years and the locals never said anything other than Mass.  Where you from?  Sommavul Mass.  Hingham Mass.  Woostah Mass.  Like that.  That was in the eastern part of the state, though.  maybe it's different out in the Boondocks and BerkshiresBuckshuhs. 

The voiced sibilant is common enough, though.  I noticed that folks from all parts of New England pronounce Qunicy as Kwinzee.  Joseph and Houses are given the voiced sibilant there also.  I think that might be the case in Old England as well.

I did notice that everyone around Boston calls a water fountain a bubbla and a remote control a clikka.  Gimme dat clikka. 

Anyway, I say Massa Chu Setts.  (unvoiced sibilant.)  Sort of like your first choice but the vowel sound in the last syllable being setts, like it is spelled, not sits.

FIFY

I lived in Wall-Tham (equal accent on both syllables) for 8 years during grad school. It was my first time out east, and to my Midwestern ears the language of Eastern MA might as well have been from a foreign country. But I learned how to say and spell the state from a recording played on Captain Kangaroo. There's no z.

Until yesterday, I thought Berkshires were pronounced "burk-shyres" or at least "burk-shures", but this guy says "burk-sheers".

The second way is how I pronounce it, and I think it's how most locals pronounce it.

Other weird Massachusetts pronunciations: Charlemont is pronounced "Tcharlemont," and the first syllable in "Monroe" is stressed.

Also I don't think both syllables of Waltham are equally stressed; it's just that last syllable is pronounced like "am" rather than "um."

[angus]

Muon's right about Waltham.  I'd always assumed it was Walt (as in Walt Disney) and "am" as in birmingham (as in the video Al posted, not in the city of MLK, Jr's experiences).  Walt (stress on Walt) followed by a barely audible "am"  You'd think that might be the case.  Hingham, MA is pronounced like that (Hing, as in Hing 'em High, which is what a friend of mine from Hingham called his high school) followed by a barely audible "am".  Almost, HINGmm"  So WALTmm made sense.  (It still makes sense to me internally.)  Walt is part of one syllable.  Ham is part of another.  There's no reason to do the theta thing, because the T followed by the H is incidental, not etymological.  Still, the locals there pronounce it as though it is.  There's a definite TH, as in theta or theological or catharsis.  Maybe it's just cathartic for them, although there's really not an etymologically correct reason that folks should pronounce it that way.  It should, technically, just be WALTmm.  Kinda like a remote should just be a remote, not a clikka.

If it's any consolation, massholes aren't the only ones who do this.  I live in Lancaster PA.  (Note, people from PA say PA.  Not like an acronym as in "mah and pah kettle."  They actually always say PA, as in PA system.  Where you from?  Sranton PA.  Erie PA.  Like that.)  People from Lancaster County invariably break the syllable between the C and the A, as in Laenk ister, unlike everyone else in the known universe.  There's a Lancaster in California, a Lancaster in Texas, and a Lancaster in England.  Probably in lots of other places as well.  They all speak differently in those places, but one thing they have in common is that they break the syllables between the N and the C.  Lan  Caster.  Not so in Laenk  ister  Pee Ayy.  Here, they always break it between the C and the A.  As weird as massholes talk, and they do talk weirdly, the Lancaster people talk pretty weirdly too.