Map Shows Different Ways States Say Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving can be a day to unite the nation, but Americans are very much divided in the way they pronounce it.

Depending on how you emphasize the syllables, you might say “Thanks-GIV-ing,” or “THANKSgiving.”

Newsweek has mapped which states are which, according to a study by online language learning marketplace Preply.

Preply surveyed 1,000 Americans in order to determine the most common pronunciation for Thanksgiving.

Drawing on the Harvard study, it said 74 percent of Americans placed emphasis on the “giv” in giving, and 16 percent emphasizing the “thanks.”

According to the research, the states that say THANKSgiving are:

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Georgia
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas

On the other hand, the rest of the U.S. states generally say ThanksGIVing, the study said.

But the research also found that a third common pronunciation of the word existed.

“The study found that 48 percent of respondents pronounced the holiday as THANGS-giv-ing. A small distinction that could be a result of a more modern dialect rounding off the harsh “k” sound,” read its accompanying release.

Commenting on the report, professor of linguistics at the University of Chicago Melissa Baese Berk told Preply: “While there is no one correct way to say ‘Thanksgiving’, there are regional differences which are consistent with other regional differences in pronunciation for other words.

“Many Americans have first-syllable stress for Thanksgiving and common knowledge is that the southerners say ‘THANKSgiving’ while northerners say ‘thanksGIVing’. This is consistent with an overall tendency which also manifests in cases like ‘UMbrella’ vs. ‘umBRELla.'”

“The pronunciation of ‘THANGSgiving’ is also consistent with other trends in language production. We often ‘reduce’ the pronunciation of words when we are speaking casually, and sometimes these pronunciations end up becoming the default pronunciation through language change,” the professor said.

“For example, in many varieties of American English, some instances of the phrase ‘going to’ are pronounced as ‘gonna’. ‘THANGSgiving’ is probably a similar process, though time will tell if it’s a short-term pronunciation or is a longer-term shift.”

Newsweek has previously mapped the most popular Thanksgiving side dishes in each state, as well as the 10 best cities to visit for Thanksgiving.

And, after Thanksgiving, you might like to know where people are most excited about Christmas.

Looking to watch this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade? See Newsweek’s guide here.

Do you have a story we should be covering? Do you have any questions about this article or the holiday season? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com