High Sierra Topix

How do you pronounce this word?!

Mo-kull-o-mee.

Or...muh (like uh with a short U)-kuh (again sounds like uh)- luh (once again like uh)-mee

Thanks guys!

i'm not sure why you think the N is silent. From wikipedia (if you trust it):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mokelumne_River" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

( /məˈkʌləmni/) the text walks you through how to pronounce it.

Locals leave the N silent. Same with Toulomne Meadows in Yosemite. Not sure I always trust Wiki.
http://www.pronouncenames.com/pronounce/mokelumne" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://sierrawild.gov/wilderness/mokelumne" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

that's a logical conclusion but then for Tuolumne it shows this: http://www.pronouncenames.com/search?name=tuolumne" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm seeing a Knee there towards the bottom.

I'm thinking we're not the ones to answer this question.

personally, i include the N in both when i say either name. I don't trust the govt site either. "locals" has a different definition today.. and might just be a lazy tongue.

Hmmm...can't say that I've ever heard anyone call out the "n" in either Mokelumne or Tuolumne. Don't know what a local is, but I did grow up right on the river. If someone is more local than that, they must be treading water.

You're pretty much a local MK. But, that is the "dialect" you learned at that time. Who do we ask? must be an indian history buff out there somewhere who might have preserved the language.

According to Gudde's 1,000 California Place Names its pronounced mo-kel-um-ee, which is the name of the Muguelemnes Indians. The ending -umni means "people" or "the people of the Mokel," which was a Miwok village near Lockeford.