Date: Tue, 28 Feb 1995 10:42:35 CST From: "Donald M. Lance" Subject: Re: Looking for some useful arguments The issue of "Ozarks" is more complex than Peter McGraw's response implies. As well as we can determine, the word came from French explorers in the late 1600s who wrote "aux arcs" on maps to indicate where the Arcansa Indians lived and hunted. Liaison in French phonology would yield a pronunciation of this abbreviation that would sound very much like "Ozarks,"* which was the early English spelling. So "Ozark" is more like a folk back-formation used in attributive positions where the "plural" ending is not common in American English -- i.e., Ozark Mountains. All the toponyms on official maps have "Ozark" in attributive position, as do business names in the area. However, in recent decades, the -s form has come into use in attributive position (Ozarks Conservation District, etc.). (*The final -s in French is a further complication in the story.) Further, McGraw's question about "Applachains Mountains" etc. points out that the anti-Ozark copy-editors aren't so smart after all, though they may be following a local trend. Every now and then I try to steer my mind toward this question but haven't done systematic study. In British nomenclature we get "trades unions" but "trade unions" in American English. I think the attributive -s form in similar compounds is on the rise in American English, and the anti-Ozark editors may be reflecting that trend. It's this latter trend that I haven't done anything systematic on. How widespread/sporadic is the trend? DMLance