How do you say Louisiana? We need your help.

As the Crow Flies is available at Amazon in paperback, large print, and ebook. No shipping charge if you’re a Prime Member.

Whitney Ann needs help on pronouncing these unique La. words for Audible.

 

A Word from Curt

And the word is Louisiana. I’ve heard it pronounced probably four different ways. In As the Crow Flies,  Unk Dyal always calls it “Louisianer.”

How would you phonetically pronounce Louisiana the way we say it?

We need your feedback on this. Whitney Ann Jenkins, our narrator for the Audible version of As the Crow Flies, is doing a marvelous job recording Missouri telling her story, but there are some unique words and ways we say things in our state.

We’ve worked on the Calcasieu River, deciding it’s CAL-ka-SHOO with emphasis on the first and last syllables.

We shorten the city of Alexandria to “Alex” but pronounce it EL-Lick.

We don’t even pronounce Alexandria as they do in Egypt or Virginia. We say, “I’m going to EL-ick-zan-dre-a.”  (or is it EL-lick-zan-dre-ah) What say you?

Here are other regional words Whitney and I’d like your help on:

 

  1. Calcasieu .   COW-ka-SHOO
  2. Sabine .       Louisiana way and the Texas way
  3. Conestoga (wagon)
  4. Alexandria .  4a.  Alex
  5. Cherry Winche .    How would a local Ten Miler, like Unk Dyal, say it.  Then what’s the normal way of saying the name of the Creek?
  6. Melungeons
  7. New Orleans .    We all know there are various ways to say it.  How do you think Missouri and others in 1881 would say it?
  8. Secesh .      a term for those who fought for the South (Secessionists).
  9. gearrchaile .   Irish (Gaelic) for girl child.
  10. Lagniappe   My favorite Louisiana word. I’ve heard it pronounced two different ways. What say you?
  11.  What?   For Ten Milers only.  It’s a reply to a incredible statement. I love to hear it from folks in that area.  Robert Friday and Leslie Maddox, help me out.
  12. Wray .  a family name in Ten Mile.  Pronounced as “Ray.”
  13. Foisy Street .   same as Noisy.  A street in Alex.
  14. Rapides.   This is a tough one. We all know how to say it, but how to explain it to someone else.  (I remember in the 1960’s that baseball legend Dizzy Dean did a commerical for the Rapides National Bank.  It came out as something like Rap-ah-peed-deez Bank.  Of course, this is the same man who often said, “He slud into second on national TV broadcasts). What say you?

You can leave a FB comment (@curtiles) or reply to this StoryLetter or email us at curt@creekbank.net 


Other notes:

  • I’m returning to Africa for a month in September. I’ll split my time between teaching at our Uganda Baptist Seminary and visiting our Upcountry Uganda churches and refugee camps. Pray for this trip.
  • We’ll soon be taking pre-orders of The Old House in Large Print
  • In addition to our upcoming Audible book, As the Crow Flies, is in production in Braille.

Speaking and Appearances

  • Feb. 17 . THIS SATURDAY SW La. Book Festival/Lake Charles. Central Library 10-4
  • Feb. 22 . I’ll be at Dry Creek Camp’s Community Lunch.
  • Feb. 23-24 .  Creekbank Weekend .  Several spots still open.
  • March 8-10 . Louisiana Library Association   Alexandria
  • March 8   How La. Helped Win the War Seminar: Hotel Bentley Alexandria 7 pm
  • March 9     DeQuincy Chamber of Commerce Banquet

 

 

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