Talk:Arkansas

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[edit] Miscellaneous comments

The possesive form of Arkansas is Arkansas', Not Arkansas's --

Someone decided to vandalize the page.... I reverted it back to an older state.

I am almost certain Arkansas was admitted in 1836, but I'll hold off until I confirm it.

The article already says that... In the table. --mav 07:11 21 Jul 2003

(UTC)

Is THE BOB STATE Ark's real name, na im playin its really NICK

[edit] Arkansas State Code

This article states,

Section 104 of Chapter 4, Title 1 of the Arkansas code determines the official, codified pronunciation of Arkansas: 'It should be pronounced in three (3) syllables, with the final "s" silent, the "a" in each syllable with the Italian sound, and the accent on the first and last syllables.' The same section states that the oft-mistaken variation "are-KAN-sas" 'is an innovation to be discouraged.' It is believed that Arkansas is the only US State with such a law on the books.

What is the "Italian" sound? Where can I reference the Arkansas state code on the Internet?—GraemeMcRaetalk 08:58, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

I've added the link to the Arkansas State Code on the article. Please take a look. --Nlu 15:47, 30 October 2005 (UTC)
Thanks, Nlu, I looked. I see the section cited in this article is wrong -- it should be 1-4-105, so I'll go and fix it. Here is the section, verbatim:
 1-4-105. Pronunciation of state name.
      Whereas, confusion of practice has arisen in the pronunciation of the name of our state and it is deemed important that the true pronunciation should be determined for use in oral official proceedings.
      And, whereas, the matter has been thoroughly investigated by the State Historical Society and the Eclectic Society of Little Rock, which have agreed upon the correct pronunciation as derived from history, and the early usage of the American immigrants.
      Be it therefore resolved by both houses of the General Assembly, that the only true pronunciation of the name of the state, in the opinion of this body, is that received by the French from the native Indians and committed to writing in the French word representing the sound. It should be pronounced in three (3) syllables, with the final "s" silent, the "a" in each syllable with the Italian sound, and the accent on the first and last syllables. The pronunciation with the accent on the second syllable with the sound of "a" in "man" and the sounding of the terminal "s" is an innovation to be discouraged.
      History. Concurrent Resolution No. 4, Acts 1881, p. 216; C. & M. Dig., § 9181a; Pope's Dig., § 11867; A.S.A. 1947, § 5-102.
—GraemeMcRaetalk 20:02, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

Good to know that was official. In Kansas, and a few other parts of the North, they sometimes pronounce it like "Are" then the word "Kansas."("Are-Kansas") Hard to explain but as someone born in Arkansas I consider that pronunciation grating, even offensive somehow. We were a US state first and besides that the origin of the two names are even different.--T. Anthony 14:41, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Population

Entering newer data in the demographic data section is not possible (population for 2004) due to limitations in the template, so I changed it back to the 2000 population.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Senarclens (talk • contribs) 20:46, March 9, 2006.

  • What is the deal with the "2004 Census" mentioned in the opening section. There is no 2004 census. There was a 2000 Census, and there will be a 2010 Census. --JW1805 (Talk) 22:09, 9 March 2006 (UTC)


You are both correct. The 2000 Census gets updated every few years by the American Community Survey. You can find the 2004 American Community Survey for Arkansas at:

http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=&geo_id=04000US05&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US05&_street=&_county=&_cityTown=&_state=04000US05&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=040&_submenuId=population_0&ds_name=DEC_2000_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=

via the American Factfinder website (official website for the 1990 and 2000 Censuses).

For information about the American Community Survey, go to: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/


I do have a problem, however, with the following description under the DEMOGRAPHICS heading.

              The five largest ancestry groups in the state are: 
                American (15.9%), 
                African American (15.7%), 
                Irish (9.5%), 
                German (9.3%), 
                English (7.9%).

Can anybody tell me what constitutes an American as an ancestry group? I don't believe there is such a thing as an American ethnic description.

Census ancestry groups are self-identified; the "American" ancestry group could indicate a number of different things. Some people may feel very strongly about being American, and identify as American ahead of any specific European ancestries. Others may not know their exact ancestry. I've noticed from Census data that this seems to be the largest ethnic group in the South, particularly in rural areas. Some people might just put it to be patriotic.Tomdaddy 08:37, 17 June 2006 (UTC)
It also can mean people who've been in America so long they don't care to explore their ethnic orgins, which were probably Great Britain: England, Scots-Irish, Scots. This was the majority of early European ancestry in the South. Many people don't know they may also be related to a cluster of French Huguenots in VA and SC in the early 1700s. Also some Germans and Swiss-Germans immigrated about the same time as the Scots-Irish in the late 18th c., but before the Revolution, and many came down to the backcountry of the South along the Appalachian Trail.--Parkwells (talk) 11:28, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Request pronounciation?

I think this article could do with a pronounciation sound file by a native. Arkansas is one of those words where the pronounciation is not 'obvious'. 138.237.165.140 22:56, 5 April 2006 (UTC)

It's pronounced "Are-can-saw." Alphabetagamma 17:06, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

Oh, that would be awesome to hear a native pronounce it with his or her thick southern accent. I'll try to collect some samples. Jecowa 20:03, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

We really should include that the modern French prononciation is "Ar-kan-sass". It goes against everything you'd ever think, but every single person I have heard say the name of the state in french has deliberately added the s at the end. I would have edited it in already but no one would believe me. rubah (talk) 17:47, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] NPOV

  • I have updated the lead paragraph to read "Southeastern" and I removed the NPOV tag. --Bookofsecrets 20:09, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

Famous People: Entertainers; If we are going to list little known porn stars (famous for their anal scenes) among the notables from our state, why don't we just list everyone who ever lived here? What a sad commentary.

First, please sign your comments (by putting 4 ~'s in a row at the end of your comment). Second, I only see one porn person mentioned (Gauge). I don't even know anything about the porn industry and I am familiar with that name, so I assume she is fairly famous. Encyclopedic entries do not discriminate why a person is famous, only if a person is famous. Since there is nothing factually incorrect about what you have a problem with, and it is just because you have a personal problem with the career that the individual is famous for, then I personally see no need for a removal. (Cardsplayer4life 01:47, 16 May 2006 (UTC))

Removed again (different person). Would World Book or Britannica's entry on Arkansas have such information? No. There is no need to put useless info about strippers, etc. in a professional encyclopedia. 24.144.40.69 17:11, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Some Famous People

Why do famous people from states like Mississippi, Oklahoma, Arkansas, leave and dont come back, Bill and Hillary Clinton are from Arkansas, after they got to the White house they are in New York, I wonder why...:) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.139.160.122 (talk • contribs).

Because nobody would like Evanescence if they found out they started in Arkansas. Amy Lee wasn't even from the area, she moved there. I have even heard the phrase from locals, "Nobody cares about Arkansas" I currently live there, and want to get out as soon as possible. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.144.40.149 (talk • contribs).

Comment: Hey guess what? No one cares what you think and we don't want you here anyway, so go home Yankee. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Longstreet09 (talk • contribs)

I happen to live in Arkansas, in case you were wondering. 24.144.40.69 17:12, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

looks like a couple people care,

[edit] About Famous Arkansans

Anyone else think the section on famous Arkansans is getting to big? IMO, some serious reduction needs to take place, particularly under the Entertainment and Sports subsections. akuyumeTC 03:17, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] New Sports teams section title added to updated Wikipedia:WikiProject U.S. states format

The Wikipedia:WikiProject U.S. states format has been updated to include a new Sports section title, which covers collegiate sports, amateur sports, and non-team sports (such as hunting and fishing). Please feel free to add this new heading, and supply information about sports in Arkansas. Please see South_carolina#Sports_in_South_Carolina as an example.NorCalHistory 13:28, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cimate

The article states that Arkansas is not in tornado alley and links to an articled on tornado alley, however the tornado alley article states that Arkansas does lie entirely within tornado alley. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Pammb (talk • contribs) 23:38, 23 December 2006 (UTC).

That does seem strange. I always assumed that Arkansas was in tornado alley. (Cardsplayer4life 05:43, 24 December 2006 (UTC))

[edit] Blue map of the state

Image:Bluear.png - Patricknoddy 22:28, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] name for citizens of Arkansas

I came to this article to find the proper term for a citizen of Arkansas. What word is defined as "a citizen of Arkansas?" For example, a Texan is a citizen of Texas. Would it be an Arkansan or an Arkansasian or an Arkanser or an Arkansish? Jecowa 20:08, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

The proper term is Arkansan.17:58, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

I've always liked the competitor Arkansawyer, but seem to remember (but can't find a citation for this) losing out to Arkansan as the "official" term. (There's also Arkie — but that seems to have a narrower meaning related to the out-migration during the Dust Bowl.) --ScottMainwaring 06:56, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

Its Arkansan. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.119.70.65 (talk) 22:50, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Old Names of Places needed

There is a Web Page that states, that there is a region in Arkansas, where some German village names were used from the immigrants for new founded villages. Is there a list, database or any other source for old village and city names around? Does anybody lives in such a place which a German name? I'm interested in setting up a list of double names. Especially I'm looking for a place named Bamenohl - for the German Wikipedia. --Sophis 19:32, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Tyson, Wal-Mart etc.

"The effect of Tyson Foods, Wal-Mart, J.B. Hunt and other multinational companies located in NW Arkansas cannot be overstated. The area is currently in a long-running economic boom due to being the forefront of global trade. Wal-Mart alone accounts for $8.90 out of every $100 spent in U.S. retail stores." I'm having trouble seeing the relevance of this part. Christopher Reuter 01:53, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

I agree. Interesting if true and specifically related to this state, but as it stands, vague and unsourced. So I've removed it. Barnabypage 02:02, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

It cannot be overstated. There's a good reason why the university of arkansas campus in fayetteville has a building for each of those business mentioned. I'm sorry I don't have any concrete facts, but whoever put that in originally was entirely in the right. rubah (talk) 17:52, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] How do I pronounse Arkansas?

Sorry I don't read IPA. ► Adriaan90 ( Talk ♥ Contribs ) ♪♫ 17:53, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

As an Arkansan myself, I pronounce it similar to "are-ken-saw". akuyumeTC 00:12, 14 June 2007 (UTC)
Kool, thanks! ► Adriaan90 ( Talk ♥ Contribs ) ♪♫ 11:07, 14 June 2007 (UTC)

I'm not native english speaking, so I have a question about the pronounciation: Why is it "are-ken-saw" and not "are-ken-ses"? Like in Kensas (it's not kensaw, but actually kensas). --84.183.237.213 12:00, 25 August 2007 (UTC)

Nevermind, I found it: http://www.sos.arkansas.gov/educational_arkansas.html
(but it's still a stupid reason... They first decide the pronounciation and then say "but we spell it in another way", they could have spelled it Arkansaw, too, then, if they wanted it to be pronounced that way...) --84.183.237.213 12:30, 25 August 2007 (UTC)

As far as a "stupid reason". Yea, it may be a strange case, but we have plenty of those cases in the English language and especially in the French, so I would not go so far as to say its "stupid"

I say it Ark N saw.

[edit] About geography

Inserted in lead (possible copyvio?), needs to be rewritten for placement in geography section.

Arkansas is also classified as as one of the west south central states. The term is appropriate, for west, south, and Midwest states seem to meet in Arkansas. The southwestern section of the state, with its cattle and oil fields, has the feeling of the Western Plains. Dairy farms and orchards in the northwest seem more akin to parts of the Corn Belt, while the cotton plantations in the east toward the Mississippi River are reminiscent of the Deep South. According to MSN Encarta

-- phoebe/(talk) 21:40, 23 December 2007 (UTC)