Utahisms: Unique Expressions, Inventions, Place Names & More

by David Ellingson Eddington

Unique Expressions, Inventions, Place Names and more ranges from the characteristic to the bizarre The Beehive State's iconic vistas are singular and distinctive. So too are its colloquialisms, peculiar place names and landmark firsts. Confusion from local dialect ultimately thwarted a would be robber in Salt Lake City. The proper pronunciation of Tooele might surprise visitors, while residents still debate its origins. And, phrases once thought to be solely Utahn often prove otherwise. The world's first department store was born out of xenophobia and religious persecution in 1869. Martha Hughes Cannon followed through on Brigham Young's encouraging women to become physicians. She later became the first female state senator in the United States, defeating her own husband. Examining everything from phonetics to history, BYU Linguistics Professor David Eddington reveals the roots of what is truly, uniquely Utah.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

112 pages, Paperback

Published July 4, 2022

Reviews

[Yaaresse · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping this would be like Katz' Speaking American or Walfam's Talkin' Tarbeel, but it's mostly random trivia about things vaguely linguistic rather than any actual research or concrete info.

There's a smattering of how places got their names (and how to pronounce some of the more unusual ones) and a sprinkle of phrases commonly associated to the state. There's the usual explanations of fry sauce and funeral potatoes and that bastardization of dough they like to call scones. (So, so NOT scones.). Basically, it boils down to some version of "It's probably got roots in Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, or British, and it's not really all that specific to Utah because you'll also find it in other places the LDS live, lived, or got run out of." Given the homogeny of 80% of the state, probably not inaccurate. Also very vague. Honestly, I shouldn't have expected much else. If I want to read about interesting regional language quirks, I'll have better luck with books about places like Detroit or NOLA.

Still, it's a fast read. And if you ever find yourself stopped in Tooele while on a road trip, you'll know how to pronounce it. Similarly, if one that stop you are asked if you want a scone, you'll know to say, "no thanks."

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit right now that although I live in Utah, I am not from Utah. However, I am from an area that was settled by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (you may have heard them described as the Mormons). I say this because many of these things are very much the same from where I grew up, and indeed that area is included in the little bubble in his map where these -isms are familiar. So…long story short. I live where this vernacular is based, and I come from where most of this is very familiar and exactly as it was where I grew up. Do I feel called out? Yes.

Have you been to Utah? Have you tried to find your way around only to be laughed at when you say a place name and—even though it seems obvious—the locals correct you because you’re pronouncing it incorrectly? (Looking at you, Hurricane). This is your book! You’ll feel so justified. Utah is a great place. We love living here. Utah is also a strange place, and I can see how we are very different from any other place in the world. I can tell it by the looks we get from visitors (lots of tourists come here for our great national parks), I can even tell it just being part of it. That’s how weird it is. I like to think it’s charming in its weirdness. If you’re curious about all that, you should read this book! I think you’ll find the linguistic weirdness very amusing. If you're from Utah or surrounding area, you should read this just to feel called out like me. Even my children were delighted in the familiarity of it. Sometimes it's fun to be the butt of the joke, right?

This book is written by a Brigham Young University (BYU) Linguistics professor, so it is a mix of observation of language and also some discussion of obviously linguistic parameters that were a little confusing without context. I would have liked more description of some of the measurements he was using (like when he talked about people seeming less friendly depending on their accent). I think it could have warranted more discussion. Also, the subheadings in each chapter that had linguistic examples were really small. I wish these could have had a lot more description and been expanded upon. I know this research is there, it just wasn’t shown. It’s like he had an idea for a linguistic paper, decided that the audience would be lay readers, and therefore cut out everything that wasn’t just really pop-culturish and fitting in a small paragraph. It’s true that if I were to pick this up at a gas station or something it would be fun, but I did pay $21.99 on Amazon and was hoping for a lot more nerding out than I actually got. I really wanted more cultural discussion, especially because there is so much interesting information about the genealogy of people in the area and the leftover language remnants that have led to the accents in many different parts of the state. I would have liked a lot more than that.

Overall, this is a fun book and a fun introduction to the Utah linguistic weirdness that we have going on. I think that if you weren’t familiar with Utah, or familiar enough with it that you want to read a small snippet of it, and be amazed at the Utah weirdness, you’ll love this book. If you’re looking for some deep descriptions and cultural anthropological stuff, you may not find that here. It’s a little bit light on that. It’s the perfect easy and fast read and you can just keep on laughin’ at Utah with justification.

Read my full review here: https://www.readingforsanity.com/2023...

[Cathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a blurb about this book in the BYU Humanities magazine, and it made me curious. I love language, and I love the quirkiness of various parts of the United States. And hey, I was born and grew up in Utah!

This was a fun book, with stuff about pronunciation, vocabulary, geography and place names (think Toole, Hurricane, and Duchesne), and other oddities about Utah. For example, it's kind of comical that Kentucky Fried Chicken began in Utah. My dad always referred to Kentucky Fried Chicken (now known as KFC) as Harman's because of the originator, Pete Harman. Oh, the memories of eating dinner at the Harman's Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Salt Lake (in Sugar House, I believe)! But I digress...

Fun book. Nothing spectacularly funny or eye-opening but kind of a kick.