Shug used to joke that it was pronounced Jordan, “like the river”… as if the name of the site of Jesus Christ’s baptism was, you know, pronounced the way he pronounced his last name (and wanted everyone else to pronounce it), not the way that the basketball player or Martha Reed Garvin pronounces it.
Only… he may not have been joking.
Because just like how the Auburn Athletics Department once instructed sports writers and TV guys on the proper pronunciation of “Jordan,” so, too, did the United Methodist Hymnal, which was apparently convinced that good ol’ Samuel Stennett wanted his most popular hymn sung by sanctuaries full of Shug Jordans, not Martha Reed Garvins.
Yes, you’re seeing that correctly. The Methodists, at the very least, pronounce “Jordan” in “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand” as “jerdan.” There’s an asterisk and everything.
All of which is to say, brothers and sisters and Auburn media studies majors interning for ESPNU or whatever, is that it’s time to enter the promised land of proper pronunciation. It’s not just some accent idiosyncrasy of the Black Belt — Shug pronounced it “Jer-dan,” i.e. he pronounced it “Jordan.”
It’s pronounced Jordan. Like the river.
Eagle Eye Award: John Will Rice.
I’m sorry, but it is just plain ignorant to pronounce it “Jerdan”. It is JORDAN! There is no freaking “E” anywhere to be found. Only a bunch of in-bred hicks would ever call it “Jer-dan Hare Stadium! And I am an Auburn Fan!
Excuse me… I meant illiterate, inbred redneck hicks.
Pretty sure Shug could read… https://www.thewareaglereader.com/2014/03/shug-jordans-last-name-was-once-included-in-the-pronunciations-section-of-auburn-football-media-guides/
I would like to respond to the comment from Billy English. My father’s name is Jordan, pronounced Jerdan. I assure you that no one in my family is ignorant, nor are we a bunch of illiterate, inbred, redneck hicks. I questioned the pronunciation of the name for many years, with no answers, until 1 day, while watching t.v., I saw Bill Jordan’s Outdoors, pronounced Jerdan, (specifically Jer-dun). Instead of coming up with your own IGNORANT theory on why it’s pronounced Jerdan, maybe you should pick up a book, and do some real research. I’m assuming, you know what a book is, and how to use it.
I suspect that the People in the South (my family included) who call themselves
Jerdun have French ancestry because that is similar to the French pronunciation of Jordan. I have never met a “Jerdun” outside of the deep South. I started using the
standard American version when I went to college and realized that “Jerdun” was
incorrect. I wish that everyone would do the same….there seems to be an inexplicable
lack of flexibility here. On the other hand, why do people from New Orleans insist
on calling it “Nawlins.?” Why do people from Boston leave the r out of park and car?
I blame the educational system for all of this nonsense. If people can’t be taught to
conform on the simple things, how can we ever expect to reach accord on the big issues?
I am a Jerdun as well, spelled JORDAN. I assure you I’m neither inbred or illiterate and I do hail from the great state of Alabama. And with that I’ll leave you with a big old Roll Tide Roll!
Dear Mister Incorrect-English,
The Irish/Scottish surname Jordan derives from the Hebrew name “Yarden.” Pronouncing it “Jerdan” is closer to the proper original pronunciation of the name, and everyone else is actually saying it incorrectly. If you are well-educated and fluent in other languages besides English, you’d realize that the way Americans pronounce a lot of things is incorrect.
Sincerely,
The Educated, Non-inbred, Southern People of Class