Governments decree official language use, but the population decides for itself.

Recently I bought a copy of Garner’s Modern American Usage, a language reference book that can be read for fun and profit.

Perusing it this morning, I noted this entry:

Michigander; Michiganian; Michiganite. By popular consensus, Michigander is the predominant form, appearing more than twice as often in print as Michiganian (the form decreed by state statute). Michiganite is a rare variant used by the U.S. Government Printing Office.

You read that right. At some point the state legislature got into the act and declared the official term. It was in the 1970s, if I recall, though I can’t find it online at the moment. It was probably a resolution rather than a statute, but then again, maybe the matter actually rose to the level of a statute.

There are arguments against each of the terms: Michigander is “rustic” and seems to equate state residents with birds. Michiganite sounds like the name of a mineral. Michiganian is pretentious, and its preferred pronunciation is not clear.

Call me a rustic old bird, but this Michigan native prefers Michigander. The state’s two major newspapers are split, though. Last time I checked, the Detroit Free Press prefers Michigander, while the Detroit News takes Michiganian.

By the way, one English professor lays the credit (or blame, if you wish) for Michigander on Abraham Lincoln.

As Ted Nesbitt, a reference librarian, puts the matter on About.Com, “The people have made the decision. And the people probably didn’t consult an ‘etymological rules.'”