Also, why is "climb" spelled C-L-I-M-B instead of C-L-I-M-E?

Because it comes from the Old English "climban." English is strangly conservative for a language that lets you add words willy nilly.

And I still don't understand people who say "Missour-UH" and "Cincinnat-UH." There's a freaking I on the end of the names, people.

There's an S on the end of Illinois.

t lived in a part of Missouri that said "Missour-uh"

How would y'all say Sequim, Puyallup, or Tsawwassen?

I would get a concerned look on my face and point at the words.

There's an S on the end of Illinois.

Also there's Des Moines.

Ooo: Phonoblog

I would get a concerned look on my face and point at the words.

We have a lot of placenames that have that effect on people up here in the PNW.

Dude, even cow looks wrong if I write it enough times.

Cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow...

Huh. I wonder if that's why Gary Larson quit doing the Farside.

Tchopatoulis. IJS.

How would y'all say Sequim, Puyallup, or Tsawwassen?

*opens mouth*

*realizes would be cheating*

*closes mouth*

(To be fair, I don't know how to pronounce Tsawwassen. "tsaww-WAWW-sen" is probably what I'd try.)

And I still don't understand people who say "Missour-UH" and "Cincinnat-UH." There's a freaking I on the end of the names, people.

There's an S on the end of Illinois.

Okay, good point. But I'm just thinking -- are there words that end in "i" where it's meant to be pronounced "uh"? All I can think of are Italian entrees -- capellini, linguini, etc. -- and they aren't pronounced "uh."

That's largely my objection to it -- I don't hear it done to other words that end in "i", and so -- to me -- it doesn't make sense. YiMV.

Des Moines.

Yes, this. How does one pronounce it? Were one an ignorant unAmerican?

I live in a place called Dun Laoghaire. Have fun with that.

Of course, I was the annoying friendless pedantic second-grader who RAILED against my classmates' pronunciation of "PUH-sketti" and "crown" (for "crayon").

Ahhh, nothing like trying to win friends through pedantry and correction.

And I still don't understand people who say "Missour-UH" and "Cincinnat-UH." There's a freaking I on the end of the names, people.

Apparently old-timers used to be distinguished by calling Miami, "Miam-uh." Like old-time Angelenos used to pronounce Los Angeles with the hard "G."