Michiganders or Michiganians? A linguist explains why the reply is obvious

When I used to be growing up within the late Nineteen Seventies, my best friend was from Michigan. Early in our friendship, I asked her what someone from Michigan was called. “Michigander,” she replied. I laughed and said, “You mean like a goose?” Her older sister then agreed that the name could be modified to “Michiganian.” Michigander is sexist, she said, because gander only refers to a male goose.

I spent the following 20 years never questioning or particularly desirous about Michiganian.

Then I moved to Michigan. In the 20+ years I've lived here, I've never heard anyone say “Michigan.” People from Michigan call themselves Michiganders.

Although it could seem relatively trivial, there may be great interest within the Michigander-Michiganian query. News article Posts on this topic pop up fairly commonly, inevitably saying:

1. Both terms are recognized.

2. Abraham Lincoln coined “Michigander” in 1848 to insult Michigan Governor Lewis Cass, meaning he was silly, weak and untrustworthy.

3. Governors. James Blanchard, John Engler and Jennifer Granholm uses “Michiganian”, while governors. Rick Snyder and Gretchen Whitmer prefer “Michigander”.

4. The debate about which term is the appropriate one continues.

Most of the time, nevertheless, the controversy appears to be long over. Many Michiganders have never heard of Michiganian, as a recent text thread with my 19-year-old neighbor shows:

Regardless of whether there may be or ever was a debate, the pas de deux between Michigander and Michiganian has an unusual history and strange twists.

As a linguist working on topics related to authority in language And linguistic justiceI prefer to examine how concepts are understood to be correct and on whose authority these decisions are based.

In the case of Michiganian and Michigander, Michiganian appears in style guides, and Michigander is the term mostly utilized by Michiganders.

Rooted in an insult

It is true that Lincoln Cass “the good Michigander” as a transparent insult, the term Michigander appeared in print as early as 1838.

Although Lincoln didn’t coin the term, he likely contributed to its popularization through the use of it to denigrate Cass.

Google's NGramwhich tracks how often terms appear in a big collection of printed sources, shows that “Michigander” has been used more steadily in print than “Michiganian” since about 1845.

There isn’t any specific law requiring the usage of one term or the opposite, however the terms appear in two Michigan statutes.

The first is within the Elderly Michiganders Actwhich was passed in 1981.

The second is tied to the Historical Markers Act. The original act, Founded in 1955used the term Michigander, but an addition to it in 2002 modified the term to “Michiganian.” In 2017, the law was updated and the nickname modified back to Michigander.

Interestingly, the federal government in the shape of the US Government Publishing Office Style Guidegives Michiganian as the proper term. This represents a change from Michiganitethe term laid out in the 1945 to 2000 Style Manual, probably as a coincidence with terms akin to “Wisconsinite.”

It is difficult to know the origins of Michigander before 1848, but Lincoln likely coined the term Michigander as a mixture of Michigan and Gander, which opened up the chance for goose jokes and humor. While other states have unusual nicknames — like “Hoosiers” for Indiana — none involve an animal pun like “Gander.”

The humorous aspect of Michigander might be what keeps it that way Article, Reddit threads and friendly banter.

In 1947, the American journalist and essayist HL Mencken wrote“The main objection to Michiganders is that it inspires idiots to call a Michigan woman a Michigoose and a child a Michigosling, but the people of the state have gotten used to it…”

Funny or sexist?

Gander humor reigns with regards to Michiganders. But perhaps more importantly, Michiganders provide a greater sense of belonging and identity than Michiganders, although there are those that find this Michiganian has more finesse.

This sense of identity is obvious in the numerous pairings of Michiganders with other charming animals Things which might be a part of life in Michiganlike for instance together with your hand to indicate where you come from within the mitten-shaped state.

Given that Gander refers to a male goose, Michigander actually raises questions on sexism.

The rise in use of Michiganian and the decline of Michigander from the late Nineteen Seventies to the early 2000s were accompanied by a broader recognition of sexism in various areas of social life. It corresponds to a wide range of Changes to the terms people uselike chairman, waitress and fireman. In 2024, it’s unremarkable to as a substitute confer with a boss or chairman, a server, or a firefighter.

So why hold on to Michigander?

Given that Whitmer is a proud and consistent user of MichiganderThe more than likely answer is that folks from Michigan don’t find the term exclusionary. A colleague of mine, a feminist activist within the Nineteen Sixties who grew up in Michigan, said to me, “Don't we have real problems with sexism in the vernacular? Growing up, I never heard anyone use any other term.”

Over the previous few days, I've asked over two dozen individuals who were born and raised in Michigan what they call someone from Michigan. To one person they said Michigander. They are between 19 and 89 years old, have different gender identities and races, and have a wide selection of occupations and political orientations.

Only one had ever heard someone known as a Michigander, while a 3rd had never heard the term Michigander.

My results are reflected further survey results about these terms. A transparent majority Vote Michigander.

When people in Michigan say they’re Michiganders, it’s strange to insist that they’re Michiganders. And even these few, akin to The Detroit Newsthe Michiganian prefer acknowledge that Michigander is more generally preferred.

Ultimately the controversy is about whether we’re talking concerning the people of Michigan or another entity like that Government Publishing Officethat decides which term needs to be used. If we give the people of Michigan the appropriate to call themselves, the decision is obvious.