N.H. state lawmaker's bill seeks an official pronunciation of 'Concord'

Feb. 14 (UPI) -- A state lawmaker in New Hampshire is promoting a bill that would give the state an official pronunciation for the name of its capital city, Concord.

State Rep. Eric Gallager, D-Concord, appeared before the House Executive Departments and Administration committee on Tuesday to discuss his proposal that an official International Phonetic Alphabet pronunciation for Concord be instated alongside the official state animal, state sport and other state symbols.

Gallager, whose preferred pronunciation resembles the word "conquered," ran into some opposition from Rep. Dianne Schuett, D-Pembroke, who asked Gallager if he had run his proposal past "old Yankee folks" whose pronunciation of the city name is closer to "con-kid."

"I'll tell you, I'm fearful that some of them may be offended if we mandated a specific pronunciation that doesn't jibe with their heritage," Schuett said.

Gallager responded that the official pronunciation would only be a symbol, not a mandate.

"Even though the state fruit is the pumpkin, you can still grow other fruits besides pumpkins, which I'm sure our apple growers appreciate," he said.

Gallager admitted his bill addresses a "minor issue," but argued it was no less trivial than having an official state fruit.