[ti:The Heart of Dixie, The Last Frontier, The Aloha State and More] [ar:] [al:Words and Their Stores] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]Now, the VOA Special English program [00:15.24]Words and Their Stores. [00:17.82]A nickname is a shortened form of a person's name. [00:23.17]A nickname can also be a descriptive name for a person, place or thing. [00:30.79]America's 50 states have some of the most historically interesting nicknames. [00:38.54]Alabama is known as the "Heart of Dixie" [00:43.47]because it is in the very middle of a group of states in the Deep South. [00:49.85]Dixie itself is a nickname for the American South. [00:55.56]It started when Louisiana printed notes [01:00.18]with the French word for "ten" on them. [01:03.93]"Deece," or D-I-X, led to "Dixie." [01:09.98]Way up north, Alaska is called the "Last Frontier" [01:16.29]for understandable reasons. [01:19.51]Near the Arctic Circle, [01:21.91]it was the final part of the nation to be explored and settled. [01:27.04]Arizona is the "Grand Canyon State" [01:31.78]because of the famous winding canyon carved by the Colorado River. [01:37.46]The southern state of Arkansas is the "Land of Opportunity." [01:43.34]The state legislature chose this nickname. [01:47.02]Arkansas is rich in natural resources [01:51.48]and has become a favorite place for older people to retire. [01:56.66]In a popular Spanish book, [02:00.10]a fictional island called "California" was filled with gold. [02:05.63]Sure enough, [02:07.79]plenty of it was discovered in the real California, in 1848. [02:14.37]This started a gold rush unlike any other in American history [02:20.49]in the "Golden State." [02:23.23]You would think Colorado would be known as the "Rocky Mountain State." [02:29.92]But its nickname is the "Centennial State." [02:34.20]That is because it became a state in 1876, [02:39.94]exactly 100 years after the nation declared its independence. [02:46.12]Connecticut is called the "Nutmeg State" after a spice. [02:52.61]Connecticut Yankees, [02:54.81]as people in this northeast state are called, [02:58.44]are known to be smart in business. [03:01.48]So smart that it was said they could sell wooden, [03:06.06]meaning false, nutmegs to strangers. [03:09.16]Little Delaware is called the "First State" [03:14.36]because it was the first state -- [03:17.49]the first to approve the new United States Constitution. [03:22.65]The southern state of Florida likes to tell about its sunny days and fine beaches. [03:30.38]So Florida is the "Sunshine State." [03:34.24]Florida's neighbor to the north grows some of the sweetest fruit in America. [03:41.04]So Georgia is the "Peach State." [03:45.35]Hawaii, far out in the Pacific Ocean, is the "Aloha State." [03:52.55]That is the friendly greeting that means [03:56.34]both "hello" and "goodbye" in the native Hawaiian language. [04:01.28]So, aloha for now. [04:04.33]Next week we will tell you about the nicknames of more American states.