U.S. States, Capitals, Regions & Time Zones | English with Jennifer

Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer from English with Jennifer, and I'd like to meet the

request of some viewers who asked me to say the names of the 50 U.S. states and

capitals. But did you know I already did this? Yes. Way back when in 2008, I went

over all the names in a four-part video. I'll put the links to that older lesson

in the video description just in case you'd like to take a trip down memory

lane. YouTube and my video making were quite different then. And by the way, to

those who subscribed early and stuck with me all these years, thank you.

And to newer viewers, please subscribe. There's still so much more we can learn together.

When my children were younger, I gave them place mats like this one to

help them learn geography. I remember when they were in fourth grade, they had to

pass a test on the 50 states and capitals, and I helped them prepare, which

was a good review for me because most adults tend to forget a bit of geography

as the years pass. But actually, I think it's a little unfair. If I'm not mistaken,

Canada has ten provinces. Australia has six states. American schoolchildren have

to learn 50 states: how to spell them, how to say them, their capitals, and their

locations. It's a lot. Don't you think?

Well, the point of going over all the names is for you to hear my model and

some possible variations. But before we get to the states,

let's talk about regions. As I said, we adults tend to forget some of the

specifics, but we have a general idea in our head. Sometimes we talk about the

North and the South. We're referring to the Northeast and the Southeast.

Our associations may be connected to history, particularly pre-Civil War. The

Mason-Dixon Line is a boundary between the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland.

This line became away Americans separated slave states from free states.

Slave states in the South. Free states in the North. We can also talk generally

about the East, the West, and the Central States. The East Coast is here along the

Atlantic Ocean. And the West Coast is here along the Pacific. The East Coast

breaks up into three regions: New England, the Mid-Atlantic and the Southeast. Not

everyone agrees on which states belong to which regions. For example, Texas. Some

classify it as part of the South. Others see Texas as part of the Southwest. Yes.

Just like we broke up the East, we can also break up the West. We talk about the

Midwest, the Southwest, and the West Coast or Pacific Coast States. We can also talk

specifically about the Pacific Northwest.

Not surprisingly, the oceans and the mountains help determine the regions. Out

in the West we can talk about the Mountain States or the Rocky Mountain

States. Do you know the short name for that mountain range? The Rockies.

So, the next time you hear an Americans say where they're from, you can clarify

by asking questions like, "Arizona...is that in the Southwest? Is that a Southwestern

state?" "Kentucky...is that in the South or the Midwest?" Okay. While we're talking

about regions, let's briefly mention time zones. How many time zones are there in

the US? 3, 4, 5, 6? Six. On the mainland, the 48 states have four time zones: Eastern,

Central, Mountain, and Pacific. Then there's Alaska and there's Hawaii.

Hawaii doesn't observe Daylight Saving Time, so it gets confusing sometimes for

us to make the time conversions.

Okay. Now that we've gone over all the regions, let's go through the states and

capitals. I'll use the map, and we'll go region by region.

I'll also list the state abbreviations, the two letter postal code. For example,

Massachusetts is MA. Maryland is MD. Did you know when I was

in school, I also got quizzed on the postal codes? At one point I had to

memorize all 50 abbreviations. And did you know that each state has at least

one nickname? Something that the state is known for. We become familiar with these

nicknames because we see them on license plates of cars. I've spent a lot of time

in the East so I know the nicknames of most of these states. I don't know the

others as well. But to be fair, I'll include the nicknames of all the states.

Okay. Here we go. Augusta, Maine. Maine is the Pine Tree

State. It's also called Vacationland.

Montpelier, Vermont. The Green Mountain State. Concord, New Hampshire. The Granite

State. Now, I say kon-kerd. Some might also say kon-kord. Let's not talk about right

or wrong. Let's just talk about the variations you may hear. I say kon-kerd.

Concord, New Hampshire. Boston, Massachusetts. My state. Massachusetts is

the Bay State. Providence, Rhode Island. The Ocean State. Hartford, Connecticut. The

Constitution State.

Albany, New York. The Empire State.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Did you know that Pennsylvania is the only state that

uses the two-letter abbreviation in conversation? For example, my hometown is

Pittsburgh, PA. Pennsylvania is known as the Keystone State because of its

central position within the original 13 colonies. Trenton, New Jersey. The Garden

State. Most Americans will use a glottal stop when they say that capital city. You

could say Trenton, but most will say Trent'n. Trenton, New Jersey.

Dover, Delaware. The First State. Annapolis, Maryland. It's called the Old Line State,

but personally, I know it as the Crab State. They have wonderful steamed crabs

in Maryland. Charleston, West Virginia. The Mountain State. Richmond, Virginia. The Old

Dominion State. It was one of the 13 colonies. Frankfort, Kentucky. The

Bluegrass State. Nashville, Tennessee. The Volunteer State, and I'm not sure why it

has that nickname. If you're curious about any of the nicknames, Google them.

It will be interesting reading in English. Raleigh, North Carolina. The Tar

Heel State. Another nickname worth researching. Columbia, South Carolina. The

Palmetto State. I hear pal-metto, pahl-metto. The Palmetto

State. Atlanta, Georgia. The Peach State. You may hear that second T dropped

sometimes. at-lan-a Atlanta, Georgia.

Tallahassee, Florida. The Sunshine State. Now, as someone from the Northeast,

I say flor-da. Flor-da with two syllables. Some people say flor-i-da with 3 syllables,

and there are also vowel variations: flor-da, flar-da, flar-i-da. Let's not talk about

right or wrong. It's just about what you'll hear. Personally, I say flor-da.

Tallahassee, Florida.

Montgomery, Alabama. The Yellowhammer State. That's a bird. Jackson, Mississippi.

The Magnolia State. Little Rock, Arkansas. The Natural State.

I say ar-kan-saw without an S. Some people say the s: ar-kan-saws. I actually saw in

the dictionary ar-kan-ses as a possible variation. I don't hear that much, but

apparently it exists. I say ar-kan-saw. Little Rock, Arkansas.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Pelican State. Notice how I use a

glottal stop Bat'n, like Trent'n, New Jersey. Baton Rouge,

Louisiana. Columbus, Ohio. The Buckeye State. Lansing, Michigan. The Great Lakes

State. You know that we have five Great Lakes. Right?

Lake Michigan is one of them.

Indianapolis, Indiana. The Hoosier State.

Springfield, Illinois. Land of Lincoln, as in President Abraham Lincoln. Some people

may say ill-uh-noiz, but I think that's far less common,

I say Springfield ill-uh-noy. Madison, Wisconsin. The Badger State. A badger is

an animal. St. Paul, Minnesota. The North Star State. Des Moines, Iowa. The

Hawkeye State.

Bismarck, North Dakota. The Peace Garden State. Pierre, South Dakota. The Mount

Rushmore State. Lincoln, Nebraska. The Cornhusker State. Topeka, Kansas. The

Sunflower State. Jefferson City, Missouri. The Show Me State.

Denver, Colorado. The Centennial State.

Cheyenne, Wyoming. The Equality State. I say shy-en, but I've also heard

shy-an. Helena, Montana. The Treasure State. Boise, Idaho. The Gem State. Salt

Lake City, Utah. The Beehive State. Carson City, Nevada. The Silver State.

I say ne-va-da. I also hear ne-nah-da sometimes, so take your pick. Austin, Texas.

The Lone Star State.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Sooner State.

Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Land of Enchantment. Notice how I drop the T in

"Santa." san-a fe. You don't have to, but it's very common.

Just like we dropped the T often in Atlanta: at-lan-a, Georgia and san-a fe, New

Mexico. Phoenix, Arizona. The Grand Canyon State. Olympia, Washington. The Evergreen

State. Salem, Oregon. The Beaver State. I think I usually say or-uh-gin, but sometimes

I may say or-uh-gone. People may think that one variation is right and another is

wrong, but be prepared to hear both. Go to a tool like YouGlish. Listen to about a

dozen speakers and you'll start to hear a preference. or-uh-gin is probably what

most American English speakers say. Salem, Oregon. Sacramento, California. The Golden

State. We can drop the T in "Sacramento." Sacramento can become sa-cra-men-o, just

like Santa > sa-na fe. Atlanta > at-lan-a. Sacramento, California. Juneau, Alaska. Our

49th state and our largest state.

Honolulu, Hawaii. The Aloha State. Hawaii is our 50th state. By the way, do you know

that half or more of our states have Native American names? Massachusetts is

one of them. Interesting history. In terms of pronunciation, look for word stress

patterns. This will help you develop a better instinct for saying unfamiliar

names. For example, all the states with "New" have

stress on the syllable that immediately follows: New Hampshire, New York, New

Jersey, New Mexico. And the states with "North" and "South" share the same stress

pattern: North Dakota, South Dakota. North Carolina, South Carolina. Search for other

stress patterns based on syllable count. For example, find the states with four

syllables. Say the names aloud. Do you notice a pattern? Listen. Pennsylvania,

Indiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Arizona, California. And hey! Let's not forget the

capital of the United States: Washington, D.C. If you just say "Washington," you may be

asked, "Washington, D.C. or Washington State?" Washington, D.C., our capital, is right there.

It's between Virginia and Maryland. What does D.C. stand for? District of

Columbia. Remember Washington, D.C. isn't part of any one state, it's a district

all by itself. I hope you found the lesson useful. If you'd like to compare

this presentation to the lesson back in 2008, then check out the links in the

video description. In that older lesson, you'll hear the pronunciation of other

native speakers, and I also included the dates of statehood and the state flags.

We'll end here. Don't forget to subscribe and like this

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