#357 US State Name Stories - Midwest

Hi, I'm Georgiana and I'm back with a new episode of the Speak English Now podcast. The podcast that helps you speak English fluently with no grammar and no textbooks. On my website, you can find the 5C grads to Speaking English and my premium courses. Okay, let's start.

This is the third episode of our state name series. This time we're traveling to the Midwest. Let's quickly list all the states in the Midwest. They are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan,

Minnesora, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. That's 12 stays in total. I'll just focus on a few of the most representative ones. Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

Many names come from Native American languages, rivers, and the land itself. So let's discover the hidden stories of the Midwest. The Midwest is famous for friendly people, farms, big lakes, and very cold winders. So yes, bring your warmest coat for this trip.

But as always, we're here for the names and the Midwest has some really interesting ones. Let's start with Michigan. The name comes from a Native American word, Michigan, which means great water or large lake.

And it makes sense, right? Michigan is surrounded by great lakes. Love water, then Michigan is perfect, except in the winter when everything freezes. Our next stop is Ohio.

This name comes from another Native American language, the Senacca. It means good river. The Ohio River was very important in the past for travel, fishing and trade. That's why they called it the Good River.

Today, Ohio is known for cities like Cleveland and Columbus, and also for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Yes, music again. Now let's go to Illinois. The name comes from a French version of a Native American word.

It means the people, or tribe of superior men. The French explorers change the spelling and pronunciation. So now we have Illinois with a silent S. Don't say Illinois's.

It's Illinois. Can you try it? Illinois. Americans will notice immediately if you say the S.

So here's a little pronunciation secret for you. Okay, Wisconsin. This name also comes from a Native American language. It probably means river running through a red place.

French explorers wrote it down and the spelling changed over time. Today Wisconsin is famous for cheese. Yes, cheese. Rivers, red land and cheese. Lots and lots of cheese. And finally, Minnesota.

The name comes from the Dakota Su language. It means sky tinted water or cloudy water. Beautiful, right? It makes you imagine lakes and reflections of the sky.

And that's perfect because Minnesota is called the Land of 10,000 lakes. Honestly, I think they stopped counting at 10,000. There are even more. In winter, those lakes freeze, and people even drive cars on the ice.

Crazy but true. So, what did we learn today in the Midwest? Michigan means Great Water or Great Lakes. Ohio means good river. Illinois means the people or tribe of superior men. Also remember about the silent S.

It's pronounced Illinois. Wisconsin means river through a red place. And today is famous for cheese. Minnesota means sky tinted water and the land of 10,000 lakes. The Midwest shows how native American languages shape the US map. Almost every state comes from those languages and now you know what they mean.

Let's continue with a point of view story. I will tell you the same story, but in different points of view. This will help you practice grammar in a natural way. You can find more about this method in my Premium Quarces.

Visit SpeakEnglish.cast.com slash courses to get my Premium Quarces. They are designed for learning by listening. First I'll tell you the story in the future tense. Let's start.

Next winter I will take a trip to the Midwest of the United States. My first stop will be Michigan. I'll imagine beautiful lakes, but they'll be frozen solid. And instead of swimming, I'll sleep on the ice.

Great water, I'll matter. More like great skating rink. Then I will go to Ohio. I'll want to see the good river, but it will be brown and muddy after a storm.

I'll laugh and say, good river. Maybe not today. I'll visit Illinois. I'll carefully practice.

Illinois's. But people will correct me right away. It's Illinois. The S. is silent.

I'll think why are silent letters everywhere. After that, I'll arrive in Wisconsin. I'll expect rivers and forests. But the first thing I'll see is cheese.

Cheese shops, cheese hats, cheese everywhere. I'll shake my hand. Forget the rivers. This is definitely cheese content.

Finally I'll reach Minnesota. I'll imagine 10,000 beautiful lakes. But of course, it will be winter, and the lakes will be frozen. People will drive cars on the ice.

I'll gasp. Are these lakes or parking lots? When I return home, my friends will ask. So how is your trip to the Midwest?

I'll smile and say, Well, Michigan will freeze me. Oh, higher will this appoint me. Illinois will embarrass me.

Wisconsin will feed me. And Minnesota will shock me. But hey, at least I'll never forget the state names. Great.

Let's listen to the story in the past tense. Last winter we took a trip to the Midwest of the United States. Our first stop was Michigan. We imagined beautiful lakes, but they were frozen solid.

Instead of swimming, we slipped on the ice. Great water, we muttered. More like, great skating rink. Then we went to Ohio. We wanted to see the great river, but it was brown and muddy after a storm.