For All You Cajuns Need Help in pronouncing your State and Lafayette (New Orleans: military, office)

[009811]

I was calling the post office hotline, their automatic reponse use La - fa- yet, lou - weez- e - ana.

[ZomgLeslie]

Originally Posted by WesternPilgrim

So, how long does it take for California transplants to learn to pronounce all those Acadian French names correctly?

Please don't take this the wrong way, but don't be surprised if you pronounce the priest's French last name wrong when he's giving you your final rites.

[DanielWayne]

Old post, but...

I was raised in Orange, Tx which borders SW La. So I grew up knowing how to pronounce things like Calcasieu, Lafitte, and Hebert (A-bear).

We always heard:
Louisiana- Loo zee an uh (Sometimes Louise e an uh)
Lafayette- Laffy ette.

[Innotech]

I say Laf-ee-yet Loo-wee-zee-anna

[sluggermatt15]

I'm a Louisiana transplant, but here's how I understand.

Lafayette is Laugh-a-yet.
Louisiana is Loosi-ana

[bpollen]

Originally Posted by Gigihere

I want to make certain I know how to pronounce your city and state

Is the correct way to say Louisiana "lou - weez- e - ana" or
"Lose - e - ana"?

Same for Lafayette is it "La - fee- et" or "La - feet" or "La - fa- yet" or "La-fa-et"

I am serious and do not want to insult my prospective employer when I talk with her. I understand it is a different dialect in south Louisiana and is Lafayette considered South Louisiana?

I say Lou-weez'-e-ana (like the French name Louise)
and

Laugh-ee-yet' (pronounced fast...lafeyet)

I'm a cajun from Louisiana (my family has been in the SW region for centuries). My grandparents spoke French before English. My dad is fluent in French. (not me) Anyway, that's the way we pronounce those names, and most other people we knew.

[halleda]

I will have to disagree with a lot here. The word Louisiana is pronounced loo i zee ana not loo ee zee ana. A short i not a long e. No weezee in it. Loo i zee ana. I grew up there and studied speech there including phonetics, got a degree in it too. It was only recently(1960s) that they started pronouncing it like Mrs. Jefferson's name on the Jefferson's. Most people do not hear the difference.

[selogic]

I'll pronounce it the way I want to . I really don't care about anybody's Degree or how long they lived here or how their MeeMaw always said it . Enjoy the diversity .

[BeeDee77]

Originally Posted by darylwi

I can't stand it when people say "Lose E Ana". To me it's a sign of ignorance and lack of education although I know many rural people in the state say it like that mostly out of habit. But I can't help but hate that pronunciation.

Hi, I think it's actually a northern part of the state vs. the southern part of the state issue. My mother is from Shreveport, and very educated, master's degree in psychology, etc. etc., so I don't think it has to do with education levels. She would always say that the state was named after King Louis, and Queen Anna, and there was no one named Louise involved, so she hated hearing it pronounced with the name Louise as a part of it. "Looziana" is the way she and all her intelligent family members proudly pronounced it.

[selogic]

The Queen's name was Anne . Just saying ...