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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum Listening Point - General Discussion Pronounce "portage" |
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03/20/2012 06:07AM (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
When you say "That was a really tough portage"
Does that last word there rhyme with "luggage" or does it rhyme with "garage."
Or some other way?
I've always been a rhymes with luggage person. but recent conversation makes me wonder whether that is my Southern Illinois (closer to Memphis than Chicago) accent coming through.
What do most people say. The dictionary is of no help. Says both are correct.
Does that last word there rhyme with "luggage" or does it rhyme with "garage."
Or some other way?
I've always been a rhymes with luggage person. but recent conversation makes me wonder whether that is my Southern Illinois (closer to Memphis than Chicago) accent coming through.
What do most people say. The dictionary is of no help. Says both are correct.
03/20/2012 06:30AM
Garage if I'm feeling Anglo-French. Otherwise I stick with the more common luggage version.
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” Ralph Waldo Emerson...and...“Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading".
03/20/2012 07:26AM
It really seems to be the difference between Canadians and Americans.
When I'm in Canada and everyone says por - tahj' and I make fun of them.
When in the US and I say port' - age, all the Canadians make fun of me.
A portage by any other pronunciation is still carrying a boat on your shoulders for too long of a time.
When I'm in Canada and everyone says por - tahj' and I make fun of them.
When in the US and I say port' - age, all the Canadians make fun of me.
A portage by any other pronunciation is still carrying a boat on your shoulders for too long of a time.
We all have to believe in something. I believe I'll go paddle.
03/20/2012 08:29AM
being from Our East and doing my canoeing in Canada i use the "por-taj"
if i was in Up State NY i would say i was using "the carry".when the East Coast Buddys come out we say lets take that Carry to Kawnipi because the other Carry comes out to far East--or something like that.
when folks from Minnesota talk about the path to the next lake i think they are talking about the oat meal breakfast.
if i was in Up State NY i would say i was using "the carry".when the East Coast Buddys come out we say lets take that Carry to Kawnipi because the other Carry comes out to far East--or something like that.
when folks from Minnesota talk about the path to the next lake i think they are talking about the oat meal breakfast.
it's just a level trail thru the woods.
03/20/2012 08:52AM
It's always interesting for me to hear someone say it "por-taaaj" because I hear the word constantly living about 15 miles from Portage, WI. This is where the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers have about a 1 mile distance (shortest walk) between them and it was the logical place for indians and early travelers to unload and carry their gear. Naturally a town began there and there was a canal dug between the two rivers. Around my neck of the woods someone is being goofy to call the place "por-taaaj". Commonly it's "portij" in this part of the state.
My superhero name is TYPOMAN. Writer of wrongs.
03/20/2012 09:22AM
When in Canada (where I guided canoe trips during my college summers) I always use the "por-taaj" pronounciation. The vast majority of the canoe country is in Canada, and that is the proper way to say it.
In the BWCA I use the American pronunciation just to avoid funny looks.
In the BWCA I use the American pronunciation just to avoid funny looks.
“Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.” -Edward Abbey
03/20/2012 03:04PM
quote BWPaddler: "Depends if I've listened to Kevin Callan lately or not.
Usually it's port-uj for me."
I talked to Kevin at Quiet Water Symposium a couple weeks back. I commented that Canadians said por-TAHJ while in the States we say PORTage. He said that by the time he got home after Canoecopia he would be pronouncing it our way and it would take him a week to get back to saying it right.
I really enjoyed talking to him. He's really friendly and outgoing. Enjoyed both of his presentations to.
03/21/2012 05:28AM
Portage, Wisconsin is pronounced Port-ig. If you go into a bar and call it Por-'taahg you'll probably get a few stares not to mention beat up. I prefer the French/Canadian pronounciation as the French language seems very sexy to me. Try changing your vehicle's GPS unit to French and you'll see what I mean. "Turn left in one mile" takes on a whole different meaning!
03/21/2012 07:29AM
Learned from the Candians on my first trips so I have always been a por-taaj, or garage guy. Living in the Midwest has nothing to with my pronunciation. (Being from Wisconsin Portage, WI has always rhymed with luggage, so go figure)
03/21/2012 07:37AM
quote Chicken: "Learned from the Candians on my first trips so I have always been a por-taaj, or garage guy. Living in the Midwest has nothing to with my pronunciation. (Being from Wisconsin Portage, WI has always rhymed with luggage, so go figure)"
Same here. We firtst started tripping out of Atikokan, so we have a little French Canadian twist to our pronunciation.
"Half the things you read on the internet are false"-Abraham Lincoln
03/21/2012 11:09PM
Always have called it a port-ij. Don't mind if someone from Canada or the likes call it a port-ahj. But it does bug me some when you know someone is just saying it that way just because they seem to think they "need" too, to sound "kewl" :-)
03/22/2012 06:37AM
I usually say port-ij, but sometimes I just call it a trail to get a rise out of TGO and his wilderness snob possy. If the trail is long and/or steep I'm with oldgentleman.
"Man's heart away from nature becomes hard." Standing Bear
03/22/2012 07:50AM
quote Savage Voyageur: "I pronounce it like it rhymes with luggage, even though I spell my name Voyageur and not Voyager. "
I say port-uj, as I am from the US.
-- HIJACK PORTION --
But SV, using the french spelling of voyageur, I believe, is appropriate because it signifies that you are referring to canoeing, and not genearlly wandering or going on the open seas. I think the distinction is generally accepted in the English speaking world.
-- END HIJACK PORTION --
(If anyone wants to chew on this usage question, let's start another thread.)
LNT - The road to success is always under construction. http://hikingillinois.blogspot.com/
03/22/2012 07:57AM
quote The Great Outdoors: "The normal human says: PORT'edge.
A Wilderness Snob would say: Por TAHJ'
These same people also take out the: GAR' bahj :)"
No, they don't...they have valets for that! :)
LNT - The road to success is always under construction. http://hikingillinois.blogspot.com/
03/22/2012 08:45AM
quote jcavenagh: "quote Savage Voyageur: "I pronounce it like it rhymes with luggage, even though I spell my name Voyageur and not Voyager. "
I say port-uj, as I am from the US.
-- HIJACK PORTION --
But SV, using the french spelling of voyageur, I believe, is appropriate because it signifies that you are referring to canoeing, and not genearlly wandering or going on the open seas. I think the distinction is generally accepted in the English speaking world.
-- END HIJACK PORTION --
(If anyone wants to chew on this usage question, let's start another thread.)"
Might it depend on the colour of your parcel?
Perhaps if you carry Louis Vitton, eh.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." -- Yogi Berra
03/22/2012 10:20AM
quote jcavenagh: "quote The Great Outdoors: "The normal human says: PORT'edge.
A Wilderness Snob would say: Por TAHJ'
These same people also take out the: GAR' bahj :)"
No, they don't...they have valets for that! :)"
This is true!! :)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Outdoors-Bait-Tackle/1606420532911075?skip_nax_wizard=true
03/23/2012 10:11PM
Never used the word portage, have another beer!
Remember that long, one mile thingy, we used to walk all the time when we were kids that went over to Crab Lake??
One of those, sheeeeeeeeeeesh!!!!!
Remember that long, one mile thingy, we used to walk all the time when we were kids that went over to Crab Lake??
One of those, sheeeeeeeeeeesh!!!!!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Outdoors-Bait-Tackle/1606420532911075?skip_nax_wizard=true
03/23/2012 10:28PM
quote Rapid Runner: "quote Drab: "quote Rapid Runner: "port-ij kinda sounds like luggage.
where from southern illinois?"
Nashville."
ill be going thru there tomorrow after work. how long have you lived there?"
I've lived here about 38 out of my 40 years.
03/24/2012 02:25PM
quote oldgentleman: "I think what I say is closer to prtj. Sometimes it's ##*@$$ of a &*&% !
"
LOL Have to agree. I have several portages that have my given names for them and they aren't pretty! There's the Big Misery and the Little Misery, back to back port-idges and that MF one up in Quetico! haha
03/27/2012 09:28AM
Any Italian paddlers out there? Portaggio?
A buddy and I often just call them "hops".
In Russian, it's ????? (volok - long "o" sound).
A buddy and I often just call them "hops".
In Russian, it's ????? (volok - long "o" sound).
“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” ~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
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