POLL: How do you pronounce portage?

Rickhart said:

I prefer "carry" -- why not use English in an English speaking setting? When I feel I should use portage, I mostly use the French pronunciation, but sometimes I slip and use option 2 above.

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what is your "boat" and how do you propel it? If you "paddle" a canoe or a kayak, neither of which originated from English words.

It is assumed that the word canoe came into English from the term 'canoa' that is used for the Caribbean dugout canoe in Columbus' travelogues in 1493. Possibly that word 'canoa' comes from the Taino word `kanawa' that the original inhabitants of the Caribbean used for this vessel. Following its incorporation into Spanish, the term "canoa" made its way into the French language. While the French adopted a form similar to the Spanish, such as "canoë" or "canot,"

In Inuktituk, the language of the Inuit people, the word kayak (or qajak) means “man’s boat” or “hunter’s boat.” originally made from seal-skins stretched over a wooden frame, 1757, kajak, from Danish kajak, from Greenland Eskimo qayaq, literally "small boat of skins."

Paddle:
c. 1400, padell "small, long-handled spade used to remove earth adhering to a plow," probably from Medieval Latin padela, a word of uncertain origin, perhaps from Latin patella "small pan, little dish, plate," diminutive of patina (see pan (n.)). Meaning "short oar with a wide blade"

I hate when snooty people correct my pronunciation of that word. If I wanted to speak French I would have taken it in high school.

I once had a roommate from northern MB that scolded... "You Yanks want to be French in all the wrong places." Therefore I use "Portidge" and also out of fear now say "howkey".

I say carry!

Down here in the south, “carry” means to take a passenger in your conveyance, be it auto or canoe. If we have an obstacle to get around with a canoe, we would “tote” the canoe and gear around it.

I carried my daughters down the Suwannee river, we had to tote everything around the Big Shoals.

Rivercane said:

I'm from Alabama. Nobody knows what I mean if I use either pronunciation

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This. Never heard either term until I spent some time in the North Country walleye fishing.
Around here the geography and geology doesn't really call for a reason to "portage" between two bodies of water. Any 2 streams that close together and you would be likely be hiking over a mountain.
Plus we have very few natural lakes close together, most all our lakes are dammed reservoirs on creeks and rivers.
Most non paddling people down here when explained to what it was what it was would just go "why?"
I say it both ways, the first being more Frenchy sounding, therefore fancier.
But yea, "tote", "walk", "drag", "bushwhack" are terms most likely to be used.
"Decided to walk Bull's Sluice, gimme a break its a class V", or "Short Creek is a fantastic run, but the put-in is a Classs V".
"had to drag my boat half a mile over some shoals, dont try it unless you got at least 2' on the gauge"
"took my chainsaw and bushwacked thru the timber on Mud Creek all the way to the next bridge, but you still gotta tote around a couple of places".

...Most non paddling people down here when explained to what it was what it was would just go "why?"...

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I get that alot around here. (which is ok... I mean, I might like 'em but that doesn't mean I that want 'em along)