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Show LET'S SAY IT RIGHT Guest Editorial by Nethella Woolsey Chairman "Lef s Say It Right Committee". n Escalante, Utah If you are a former resident of the town of Escalante, Escal-ante, or one of the other towns in the southern Utah region, you probably know by now that the name should be pronounced ESCALAN'te, not Escalant'. You probably know for whom the town was named back in 1876, after the Escalante River had been nam-! '" ed by the John Wesley Powell map-makers. You may not know that it was called by its right name for at least 60 years, until the unfortunately slangy escal-ant escal-ant crept in. '! You know, of course, how California and other j" states cherish the musical right of their Spanish place-names. I Perhaps you are one of those who say, "I know Escalant' is wrong, but I have the habit of using it, and I just can't quit." i".. . . If so, perhaps you had better try strengthening . your fiber by practicing on something easier, for instance, in-stance, you should quit smoking, if you smoke. If you are overweight, you could adopt a slimming diet and stick with it. After that you might be strong enough to kick the habit of using one word of tired old slang for the name of your home town or that of a neighboring town. We won't promise it will lengthen your life or make you beautiful, but it will make you sound better to many Escalante people. And you won't have educated edu-cated people everywhere looking at you in disdain. By educated people we mean anyone who has ever read the first two pages of a Utah history wherein will be found the name of the great Spanish priest-explorer, priest-explorer, which is never called Father Escalant'. Just say it the way you say Escalante Valley and Escalante River. |