POLL: How do you pronounce portage?

[Pseudonym]

Pretty simple question: How do you pronounce portage?

I've used Merriam Webster as the source for the phonetic spelling of the two most common pronunciations. I tried to embed the audio of each pronunciation example from m-w.com directly in this post but couldn't figure out how to do so, despite ChatGPT's best efforts to help me. For reference, you can find those audio pronunciations here:

Definition of PORTAGE

the labor of carrying or transporting; the cost of carrying : porterage; the carrying of boats or goods overland from one body of water to another or around an obstacle (such as a rapids)… See the full definition

www.merriam-webster.com

 

[Alan Gage]

Rhymes with outage.

Alan

 

[Pseudonym]

Rhymes with outage.

That's how I learned to say it as a boy in Maine.

In deference to its French derivation, and our friends up north, I placed the "long-a, soft-g" version first in the poll.

 

[Alan Gage]

That's how I learned to say it as a boy in Maine.

In deference to its French derivation, and our friends up north, I placed the "long-a, soft-g" version first in the poll.

I completely missed that this was a poll. I've now cast my vote.

Alan

 

[Pseudonym]

*title amended accordingly

 

[recped]

Only Americans use ˈpȯr-tij (at least every (US) east coaster I've every paddled with)

We (Canadians) do not sit on a stoop, it's a porch or veranda. We do relax on a chesterfield not a couch or sofa (but that usage is fading away).

More stuff to learn before you visit Canada Eh?..........

https://www.vec.ca/english/2/pronunciation.cfm

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I prefer to use Adirondacks terminology and use the word "carry" rather than "portage". If I do use it, I say POUR-tij, your second choice.

I also note that dictionaries must now use the syllabic stress apostrophe differently from the way they did 70 years ago when I learned about it. The apostrophe always used to be placed at the end of the stressed syllable, whereas it is now apparently placed before it.

Please ignore my tan-JAHNT . . . and portage on with the topic.

 

[yknpdlr]

Glenn beat me to it. In the Adirondacks any and all such overland movements between paddleable waterways are always called "carries" by residents in the know.

 

[memaquay]

It's actually "port", forget about all the rest.

 

[Ripple]

I use "carries" as well, most of my canoeing is in the adarondacks. Then would be pour tij.
What do new englanders call this exercise? For example the north forest canoe trail?

We do relax on a chesterfield

You got me on that one, I thought it was a cigarette?

 

[PaddlingPitt]

I grew up in Sacramento, California, and I knew that the cloth item that one put on their lap was a napkin. When I moved to Vancouver, BC, I learned that it was a serviette.

 

[PaddlingPitt]

Winnipeg, Manitoba has a strong french history. Yet their major intersection is referred to as ˈpȯr-tij and main. Go figure.

 

[Smokey]

Pretty simple question: How do you pronounce portage?

I've used Merriam Webster as the source for the phonetic spelling of the two most common pronunciations. I tried to embed the audio of each pronunciation example from m-w.com directly in this post but couldn't figure out how to do so, despite ChatGPT's best efforts to help me. For reference, you can find those audio pronunciations here:

Definition of PORTAGE

the labor of carrying or transporting; the cost of carrying : porterage; the carrying of boats or goods overland from one body of water to another or around an obstacle (such as a rapids)… See the full definition

www.merriam-webster.com

In the Adirondacks it’s pronounced, carry

 

[Rivercane]

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

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

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

Aside from its pronunciation, the meaning of portage in French is "a painful and poorly planned canoe route."

 

[Tryin']

My early learning was mostly YouTube, and mostly Canadian paddlers. Portahj has stuck with me, but only when referring to a canoe carry. Locations and such are Portij. I've recently begun referring to portages as carries, probably because I've been watching a lot of ADK paddling content.

 

[recped]

I grew up in Sacramento, California, and I knew that the cloth item that one put on their lap was a napkin. When I moved to Vancouver, BC, I learned that it was a serviette.

Around here a serviette is paper and a napkin is cloth as in "I can't afford to eat there, it's a cloth napkin joint" (in the food service trade "fine dining).

When you pull a section of Paper Towel off the roll, if you fold it and place on the table it becomes a serviette.

 

[MrPoling]

In West Virginia and the Carolinas, it was normally "carry".

Now that I'm listening to myself, I'm confused. Port-taj? Port-aj? Por-taj?

 

[snapper]

I've used all three options for when you run out of paddle-able water and need to walk your gear overland. It all depends on where I am at the time. In the Adirondacks, it's always a carry. Outside of the region, it depends on which side of the border, or what the locals say when they refer to bringing their gear overland when the paddle-able water runs out!

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

 

[clemency]

Not like a French speaker. But I did learn the word in Ontario.