laura speaks
In his blog today, Dean Butler discusses why Noel Silverman, attorney for the Wilder Heritage Trust, believes that the way Almanzo Wilder's name was pronounced on the television show is the correct pronunciation: in other words, as Al-MON-zo, not Al-MAN-zo.

Those of us who say Al-MAN-zo base our pronunciation on Laura Ingalls Wilder's own. When Mrs. Wilder was 62 years old, she was recorded during a scripted interview by Docia Holland, librarian in Mansfield. A set of "character dolls" (on display in Mansfield) had been given to Laura by fans in California, and the recording was sent in thanks.

On the recording, both Wilder and Holland pronounce the name the same: Al-MAN-zo. If you haven't heard the recording, it is well worth having, and is sold by most of the "Little House" museum gift shops. In addition to Laura's voice, there are songs played on Pa's fiddle.

After reading Dean's blog this morning, I copied the three times Laura says "Almanzo" and you can listen to it HERE. Give the .wav file a few seconds to open. I think I'm going to make that the ring tone on my cell phone...

I have a couple of videos from the early 1990s in which Neta Seal - friend of the Wilders - repeatedly says Al-MAN-zo. I have one from 1993 in which Roger MacBride (who never met either Laura or Almanzo, btw) uses that pronunciation. I didn't record Norma Lee Browning's speech at Rocky Ridge Day, but I have talked to a number of people over the years who did know both Laura and Almanzo, and they always pronounced his name Al-MAN-zo.

Let's face it: It's Al-MON-zo on Little House on the Prairie and there's nothing wrong with that. But until a recording of Almanzo surfaces, I think the best authority we've got is Laura's own voice, and hers is the pronunciation I'll continue to use, unless I'm talking about Dean Butler's character on the television show.

It's not straight from the horse's mouth, but it's pretty darn close.
- posted by pioneergirl at 2:38 PM