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More on New Orleans

Speaking Like a Local

New Orleans, like many other cities, has its own peculiarities in terms of speech. Because it was founded by the French, the city has many street names that a visitor might be inclined to pronounce true to the French. In fact, local pronunciation is quite different. There are also some local terms that can be confusing if you're not aware of them.

Various theories claim that the similar accents found in such places as Boston, New York, and New Orleans evolved because people from countries like Ireland, Germany, and Italy settled early on in these port towns. In New Orleans, you will not hear locals with thick, Georgia-peach drawls. But you might hear some "dese, dem, dat," and "dose," as in "Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?!"

One thing that always sets visitors apart is their reference to the trolley. It's a streetcar in New Orleans, not a trolley. And many locals say New-ahl-e-yuns, not New Or-lenz, N'aw-lins, or New Or-leenz. Still, you'll probably fit in fine with the easier-to-pronounce New Or-lenz; the key things to avoid are placing the emphasis on "new" rather than "Or" and using a long "e" sound in "leans." But -- here's a curveball -- it is Or-leenz Street.

You need to forget any French you've studied when pronouncing street names. This is where the Texan in the back of class whom everybody snickered at gets his revenge. If you ask what direction Freret (Frer-ay, in French) Street is, you will be met by a blank stare. (The correct pronunciation is Fer-et.) Burgundy Street is Bur-gun-dee; Carondelet is Cahr-ahn-duh-let; Chartres is Chart-ers; Conti is Con-tie; Iberville is Eye-berville; and Tchoupitoulas is Chop-a-tool-us. And if someone asks you, "Where y'at?," he or she is saying howdy, not asking where you are.

Bayou (by-you). Stemming from the Indian word bayouk or bayuk, a marshy inlet.

Banquette (ban-ket). Sidewalk.

Beaucoup (bo-coo). Very; lots of.

Cold drink. Soda with ice.

Doubloons (dub-loons, or dub-loons, depending on your upbringing). Aluminum coins, often colored, which Mardi Gras krewes emboss with the theme and date of their parades and throw out to crowds.

Fais-do-do (fay-doh-doh). Country dance. A Cajun expression derived from the French verbs faire (to make or do) and dormir (to sleep): mothers wanted children to go to sleep so they could dance.

Gallery. Porch or balcony of a certain depth.

Gris-gris (gree-gree). Voodoo charm; often a small bag filled with several ingredients.

Krewe (crew). A club that parades at Mardi Gras.

Lagniappe (lan-yap). A little something extra at no extra cost.

Levee (leh-vee). Embankment.

Metairie (Met-a-ree or Met-tree). Sprawling district of Greater New Orleans. Old Metairie has some streets and homes as beautiful and exclusive as those Uptown.

Neutral ground. Median in a large thoroughfare, such as the land on which the St. Charles Avenue streetcar runs. It is so named because tensions between the Americans, who lived Uptown, and the Creoles, who lived in the French Quarter, were so keen in the early years of the colony that the land separating the two rival neighborhoods was considered a neutral area.

Parish. County.

Shotgun house. Common architectural style: a long narrow house so-called because a bullet could pass from the front to the back door without hitting a wall.

Ward. Division of the city, as in Sixth Ward.

Where y'at? How are you doing? Correct response is "Hey, where y'at?" or "Alright."

Vieux Carré (View kah-ray). French Quarter; translated directly as Old Square.

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