Lawmaker seeks official pronunciation of ‘Concord,’ New Hampshire’s capital city

CONCORD, N.H. — I came. I saw. I agree.

A New Hampshire lawmaker wants to change state law to include an official ruling from the state capital, one of many communities across the country called Concord. While North Carolinians pronounce the second syllable to rhyme with “bored,” New Hampshire, Massachusetts and California are among those who prefer something closer to—in the words of Julius Caesar—”conquered.”

Rep. Eric Gallager, a Democrat from Concord, also wants to write an official pronunciation of “New Hampshire” into state law to clarify that “shire” rhymes with “fur” and not “fire.” He proposes that the official pronunciations, written according to the International Phonetic Alphabet, be included in an article of law listing state symbols, such as the official state sport (skiing), song (10 different tunes, including “Old New Hampshire”) and spider ( daring jumping spider).

“These are the symbols that identify you, and branding is actually something that organizations take very seriously and spend a lot of money on,” Gallager told a House committee on Tuesday.

Rep. Dianne Schuett, a Democrat from Pembroke, asked Gallager if he discussed his bill with “old Yankee people” who pronounce the capital “Con-kid, New Hamp-shah.”

“I will tell you that I am concerned that some of them will be offended if we impose a specific ruling that is inconsistent with their heritage,” she said.

Gallager said his bill would not be a mandate, just as the other state symbols are not universally embraced.

“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.

And while he acknowledged the legislation may seem trivial, Gallager said he is trying to “do things that other people aren’t also legislating.”

“On many other, more important issues, the trenches have already been dug and the people have already made up their minds,” he said. “But with something as small as this, I think we can have a chance to bring people together and actually pass some legislation.”