AL”MAN”ZO vs AL”MON”ZO (Tomato/To”mah”to, Potato/Po”tah”to
When I first started working on Little House there was no debate or doubt…the name of the character was pronounced Ala”MON”zo. Years later, when I began to connect with the Little House book community I was told in no uncertain terms that the name was pronounced Al”MAN”zo. For whatever reason I decided to cede to the book community because they were so certain and I decided that it wasn’t fun to be continually corrected. But yesterday I had an interesting conversation with Noel Silverman, the attorney for the Wilder Heritage Trust located in NYC. As we were speaking about ALMANZO WILDER: LIFE BEFORE LAURA he asked me about my pronunciation of the name. I explained myself as above and they he said something that blew me away and confirmed that maybe…just maybe we got it right on the series after all. Roger McBride, the adopted grandson of Rose Wilder Lane…the man who inherited the book rights from Rose and eventually sold the TV/Film right to Ed Friendly…told his attorney, Noel Silverman, that the name was Al”MON”zo and was certain of it because that’s the way Al”MON”zo’s daughter, Rose — pronounced the name. If his daughter pronounced his name Al”MON”zo that’s definitive. I was shocked and really gratified.That being said, there is great certainty in the book community that the name is Al”MAN”zo. Can anyone provide proof that Al”MAN”zo is factually accurate? If your proof is stronger or more credible than Al”MON”zo’s daughter I’ll be anxious to hear. While I’ve spelled the name differently to illustrate the pronunciation, there is no debate that the name is spelled AlMANzo. At least we can count on the spelling. Dean
July 9th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
I’ve always presumed that the Al-MAN-zoe pronounciation was an assumption readers made when Almanzo explains where his name came from. In (I believe; I don’t have my books in front of me) “Little Town On The Prairie,” he explains the origin of his name as having come down through the family’s history. A Wilder ancestor was saved during the Crusades by a man named “El Manzor” (or thereabouts; again, no book handy) and the family tried to Anglicanize it a bit.
Which is probably too many words to say: the book indicates it’s pronounced “MAN,” and that may be what a lot of folks are falling back on as evidence.
I think you can make a good case for “MON” using the information about Rose Wilder Lane and Roger McBride, but I’m cautious even there, too. I don’t mean this to be a necessarily negative observation, but I’ve read a fair amount about Rose that indicates she wasn’t always very happy with her parents’ situation in life and wanted more out of life than that, so I could see the possibility that she pronounced it in a way she thought more noble, more patrician, that sort of thing. That’s why I’m hesitant to point to the Lane/McBride evidence as completely solid.
All that being said, now I’m not sure what side I fall on!
July 10th, 2008 at 4:34 am
I think Roger Lea MacBride was mistaken, and I have two “proofs” to offer to support my opinion.
First, there is a recording of Laura’s voice, sold at the gift shop in Mansfield. If you listen to that recording, both Docia Holland (the Mansfield librarian) and Laura herself very clearly pronounce the name Al-MAN-zo.
Also, when specifically asked about the pronunciation of the name, Neta Seal — very close friend of the Wilders for decades — answered that both Almanzo and Laura definitely pronounced it “Al-MAN-zo.”
July 10th, 2008 at 7:19 am
On the recording “Laura Speaks” sold by the LIW/RWL Home & Museum in Mansfield, Laura Ingalls Wilder herself pronounces his name Al”MAN”zo.
That’s proof enough for this book person .
July 10th, 2008 at 8:53 am
I have to second that: I’ve heard the tape years ago (although I don’t own it) and I may have felt my brain turn like a rubicks cube when I heard it (I grew up watching the TV series).
That said, this sounds to me like one more example of Rose and Laura, two wonderful and strong-willed women, not always getting along… no wonder Almanzo occasionally left the house for peace and quiet (grin)!
July 10th, 2008 at 9:31 am
I was just going to say what Nansie said. This recording used to be available as audio online, but I don’t believe it is any longer. It might be worth contacting the organization to see what they have to say.
I’ve read William Holtz’s book, “The Ghost in the Little House”–one of the few biographies of Rose Wilder Lane that I’ve found. She traveled widely and spent a great deal of time overseas. I wonder if her accent changed as a result.
Best of luck in finding out the answer.
Cheryl
July 10th, 2008 at 9:40 am
In all the letters between RWL and LIW, Rose never refers to her father by “Almanzo”. She calls him Papa, and Father, and A.J. Wilder. Laura is never called Laura by RWL. Mama, or Mama Bess, or Mrs. A.J. Wilder were all used by Rose.
All letters to her parents were addressed to Mr A.J. Wilder, or Mrs. A.J. Wilder.
LIW always refered to “your father” or “Manly” in letters to her daughter. Letters were always signed “Mama Bess” with variations with the endearment used. On one occasion he was called the oyster, because he was a man of very few words.
Never, ever have I heard Laura Ingalls Wilder called Beth.
July 10th, 2008 at 9:57 am
I have also heard the recording of Laura’s voice and it clearly said All-MAN-zo.
I have to admit that I was stunned to hear the the middle syllable was pronounced MAN instead of MON. Even as a child reading Farmer Boy I had always pronounced it the way it was on the TV show. I think it is because something in our language that has taught us to try to keep similar sounds together. The first “A” in the first syllable has a softer tone to it, so why not put a softer tone to the second “A” in the second syllable?
Maybe that is why Rose changed the pronounciation, or maybe her travels and/or her education shaped the way she pronounced it.
It makes sense for it to be pronounced MAN since his first nickname was Mannie and not Monnie.
I also recommend that you get the chance to hear the recording of Laura. The clip I heard is fairly short, but it is really neat to hear her voice and think about how we take for granted, in this day of technology and broadcasting, to know exactly what everyone sounds like, while her life ended just as this form of communication was in its infancy.
Lynne
July 10th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Laura called him MAnly, his friends used to call him Mannie - for me that’s undoubtedly that his name has to be pronounced AlmAnzo.
July 10th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Great replies to the post. I think you all have a very good point, but Roger MacBride is the only one to have direct contact with the Wilder family and he says Rose pronounced it AlMONzo. I haven’t heard the recording made of Laura. Looking forward to it.
Dean
July 11th, 2008 at 12:40 am
Wow, nansie and rebecca - I just heard the real Laura recording and she definitley said “Al-mAn-zo”.
So no further doubt about it from my side.
Dean, even you will be convinced, once you hear this.
Martha
July 11th, 2008 at 7:23 am
Dean,
When I first started reading the Little House Books as a little girl, I would pronounce the name as, “Al-MON-zo”. That is how I heard it on the television show and hey, isn’t everything you hear on tv true?
As an adult reader, I found the “Laura Speaks” recording. After hearing Laura pronounce her husband’s name as, “Al-MAN-zo” I took that to be the proper pronunciation.
Just my two-cents worth–
Nicole
July 11th, 2008 at 8:58 am
Dean, I have to agree with all these gals who have done their homework. I just listened to my CD once more, just to be sure, and Laura definitely pronounces it “Al-MAN-zo”. So, if that is the way Laura pronounces it, then that’s good enough for me. I usually talk about the pronounciation in my “Ingalls Family Travels” presentations, and will continue to do so until I get proof otherwise.
I’m sure you will enjoy the CD, Dean. I’m going to Mansfield in a couple weeks and I’d send you one…..but don’t know how to get it to you. But if you contact the museum they will send it to you, I’m sure.
Beth Ingalls Leisses
July 13th, 2008 at 6:51 am
I would love to hear Laura’s voice. I have been an avid LIW fan since the 6th grade and am so excited to hear about the new DVD coming soon about Almanzo. I, too, have always been a bit clumsy when pronouncing his name outloud, but in my head all these years it has always been ‘Al-MAN-zo’ to me. I would be interested to know where I could obtain the audio of Laura’s voice. It would be a welcome addition to my collection of all things Laura!
July 14th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Interesting! I too have heard Laura Speaks — wish it was a better recording, and done when Laura was younger; it sounds very much like a voice that is much aged. But indeed, that’s the way Laura says it.
What strikes me as slightly odd about hearing this story about Rose … I’ve just tried to think of how often I’ve actually said my father’s name. He passed away many years ago, so I would be speaking of him posthumously, as Rose would have. I can’t imagine ever saying his first name. He’s “Dad” or “my father,” never “Tom.”
Still, interesting discussion. As for the mis-speak, I’ve decided to blame Lucy Lee Flippin.
sandra
=========
Sandra Hume
Editor, the homesteader
http://www.homesteadernewsletter.com
Blogging about Laura at lauraingallswilder.wordpress.com
July 14th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
I just wanted to mention that in german the name is Al-MAN-zo anyway…
The german speaking fans are surprised about the discussion that there probably could be a different pronounciation.
July 16th, 2008 at 4:13 am
I don’t mean this against Rose, but could she have been putting on airs, affecting a snobbish tone? Al-mon-zo sounds more sophisticated than Al-man-zo. Just a thought . . .
July 17th, 2008 at 9:49 am
Sue, I think your comment re: Rose is more than possible on one level. She definitely had a need to seem more accomplished and distanced from her Midwestern roots, especially early on in her career. But on another level, and later in life, as she began to articulate her political views and extreme Americanism, she elaborated on the greatness of her father. Rose was proud of him and his hard work, and I can’t think that she’d deliberately mispronounce his name to make it seem more upper-crust. I wish we had a recording of Rose’s voice somewhere, because we’d be able to tell if her accent might have contributed to the confusion. By the end of her life, she spoke several languages, so it wouldn’t surprise me if there was an elongated “ah” in her speech at that point.
July 20th, 2008 at 10:40 am
There is a recording of Rose’s voice. They sell it in De Smet now.
August 6th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
I love the TV show and everything about it, including how they pronounced Almanzo. However, when you get right down to the heart of it, the only author noted on the cover of the “Little House” books is LAURA INGALLS WILDER, not Rose or Roger or anyone else that has been mentioned here. So push away the rumors and commercialization and listen to Laura. I too heard the the recording of her voice. She definitely says “AL-MAN-ZO.” In my opinion, since they are Laura’s books, she is right. The TV show, Noel Silverman, and Rose Wilder Lane are wrong. Of course the fans already know this, just as we know Albert Ingalls never really existed, Carrie was born in Kansas, the Ingalls family only lived in Walnut Grove for a few years, and she actually met/married Almanzo in De Smet. So I suggest the same as those who commented before me… Mr. Butler, go directly to the source. THE RECORDING OF LAURA’S VOICE. Laura Ingalls Wilder is right because it’s her life, not theirs.
August 25th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
There are very different ways to pronounce names. Here in NY there are two versions of Houston (HOUSE-TON for the street) and Houston (as in Texas). Both names I have heard are from the same family. There are also the Roosevelts (some people pronounce it with the OOO sound and some pronounce it ROSE).
I don’t believe there is a right and a wrong way, just different pronunciations of the same name. Al-mon-zo on Little House was one way,
and the way Laura pronounces Al-man-zo is another way. You always have to go with what you think is the right way.
August 30th, 2009 at 6:02 am
Well, having been a Wilder fan since I was a child, I think it must have been Al MAN zo. Reason I say this, is that Royal always called him Mannie, which Laura changed to Manly. I can’t see them calling him Monly.
As for Rose, remember that she was very cosmopolitan, having traveled the world, so its possible she did say Al MON zo.