NOLA facts and useless trivia to amuse you....

[GGJ5]

Or to read while you wait for an interaction. XD

So first section here is the dialect. Contrary to popular belief, we do NOT speak like the people out of Steel Magnolias or Waterboy or Benjamin Button (btw, Brad Pitt lives down here-- he should know that). But there isn't just one dialect, either. It mixes and shifts and such, and depends on race and socioeconomic status and location in and around the city, etc. So, here's some stuff that we/they say differently than a lot of the country:

Unless you're Cajun [and NOLA isn't Cajun Country], most words' emphasis is on the first syllable: IE "insurance" is "INsurance", not "inSUREance". {I was unaware of the uniqueness of this until linguistics class... heh}

Only if you specifically over-enunciating will you actually pronounce the 'g' on -ing words.

Depending on who you are, "ask" may come out as "ax".

Oh, and pretty much no native person actually SAYS it like "NAH-lins" like you hear on TV... or "New Or-LEENS." It's usually "New Orlins", "N'orlins" or "N'worlins" or "New Orle-uns", rarely. And we don't magically loose a syllable in Louisiana. It is Loo-EE-zee-ANN-uh. Not "LOOSE-iana". We don't loose.

Examples of white, middle-class {growing up} speakers of New Orleans dialects are Ellen DeGeneres and that woman that plays Abby on NCIS... she and her character are both from NOLA.

Fun things we say that you might not use out of this area:

Boo- a term of endearment, like "sweetie" or "hun"... Wikipedia thinks it's from the French for "beaux", which I guess could be true... Anyway. It's a fun word. You should use it sometime.

Bobo- according to my research, no one else calls wounds/injuries a bobo? D: I mean, sure, it's usually used for kids, but still... no one else says this? Really?

The sidewalk is a banquette, only used in NOLA-- no one says this in my area. Same goes for: break tag [inspection sticker] and neutral ground [the median of a road].

--Note: should you choose to google this stuff, I already have, and some of it is a total lie... just thought you should know. It's one reason I'm doing this for you. --

Y'all is a word. Yes. It is y'all, and not, NOT "ya'll". If someone says "you guys", etc., you'll get weird looks... and possibly a girl going, "um, I'm not a guy...."

One who lives in NOLA is a New Orleanian.

Dialects: Yat dialect: found primarily spoken by white, middle-to-upper class and/or suburban folks. Pretty much it sounds like Brooklyn, NY accent. Named after the common greeting among this group, "Where y'at?"

A lot of times things that start with "th" are changed in this area to a "t" or "d", as in , "dat's fine" instead of "that's fine" or, especially for the older generation, "you too t'in" instead of "you're too thin".

Oh, another thing: it's totally common for a lot of people, especially for lower- to middle-class speakers to drop auxiliary/helper verbs. Like "What you doin'" drops "are".

Annnd here's a short, short video, just for kicks! : D

NOLA expressions!

And weather! Haha... all you northern folk... so cute. ^.^ Okay, see, our winter is from December to February and the coldest it ususally gets is mid-20s, and that's about 2-3 weeks out of the year at the most... and then we're all just about dead from frostbite because no one knows how to dress in the cold... It warms up quick-- by March this year we were in the eighties. And it rains a LOT in the summer-- thunderstorms just about every other day. Humidity averages above 50 percent usually... let me tell you, straightening hair is SO much fun like that...! Hehehe... ^.^

Um... Okay, so dialects and climate. What else would y'all wanna know? >.>

[hanashyrexchana]

haha, I feel like I made this necessary. ;P

hmmm... how about describing the average Joe? Like... someone you would see when walking down the street.

[GGJ5]

hahaa... no, Hana, you just reminded me of something I had told myself to do weeks ago! XD I kow the culture's pretty unique and has a lot of stereotypes, too, so I'd wanted to write something like this for y'all... I just kept not doing it. XD

Eh? Hehe... I really don't know how to do that! ^.^ I mean, I figure we all look the same as everyone else, no? XD

I will say there's usually more pedestrians in NOLA than in other places. And it's a predominately minority-filled city, so lots of blacks, latinos, Asians, etc. Whichmeans you might get to hear someone talking in their native language on a cell phone or something as you walk by.

[Elda Forever]

LOL...Bobo? I think I've used the term a lot around all these munchkins. But I always spell it 'Booboo'. :/

Re: minority on a cell: Like Japanese?! : D *smacks self for lameness*

How about any city-specific tradition or festivals of the sort? Besides Mardi Gras, of course.

And I seem to think(though I may be totally brainfarting and be wrong) that since Mardi Gras is French, there may be a wee bit more Frenchfolk or French traditions in the city? Anything come to mind?

[GGJ5]

No, bobo rhymes with Toto, like the dog from TWoO. (:

ahahaha yeah, I suppose... I will say I've heard plenty of native Asian speakers on their cells at LSU and smile a little inside when I can catch a word or two.

Hm, well, besides Mardi Gras... there's the Jazz Fest that is every year. It just happened last week, and had SO many artists... like, I think U2 was even there. D:

Essence Festival is an annual event-- prediminantely hip-hop/r and b, rap, etc.

Sugarbowl-- college football annual highlight that's a pretty big to-do in the fall.

Actually, the only French influence culturally are in names, religion (lots of lovely Catholic churches), and architecture. Most of what you're thinking, the Cajun culture, is in southwestern/central Louisiana. Though some of the Cajun slang has leaked into NOLA dialect, IE the beignet, lagniappe, etc.

ETA: Forgot about Voodoo Fest. It's another music festival. Nothing to actually DO with voodoo... though there are some, a very few some, that practice that....

[GGJ5]

I'm slicing through the things that I haven't found applicable... XD

THINGS I LEARNED LIVIN' IN LOUISIANA

1) A possum is a flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road.

2) There are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 of them live in Louisiana .

3) There are 10,000 types of spiders, and all 10,000 of them live in Louisiana .

4) If it grows, it'll stick ya. If it crawls, it'll bite cha.

5) "Onced" and "Twiced" are words.

6) It is not a shopping cart, it's a buggy.

7) "Jawl-P?" means, "Did y'all go to the bathroom?"

8) People actually grow and eat okra.

9) "Fixinto" is one word.

10) There is no such thing as lunch. There is only dinner and then there is supper.

11) Iced tea is appropriate for all meals, and you start drinking it when you're two. We do like a little tea with our sugar.

12) Backwards and forwards means, "I know everythin' 'bout you."

13) The word "jeet" is actually a phrase meaning, "Did you eat?"

14) You don't have to wear a watch, because it doesn't matter what time it is. You work until you're done or it's too dark to see.

15) You don't PUSH buttons, you MASH 'em.

16) You measure distance in minutes.

17) You switch from heat to A/C in the same day.

18) All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, insect, or animal.

19) You know what a "Dawg" is.

20) You carry jumper cables in your car - for your own car.

21) You only own five spices: salt, pepper, Tony Chachere's, Tabasco , and ketchup.

22) The local papers cover national and international news on one page, but require 6 pages for local gossip and LSU football.

23) You think that the first day of deer season is a national holiday.

24) You find 100 degrees "a bit warm."

25) You know all four seasons: Almost summer, summer, still summer, and Christmas.

26) Going to Walmart is a favorite past time known as "Goin' Walmartin" or "off to Wally World."

27) You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good gumbo weather.

28) Fried catfish is the other white meat.

29) We don't need no dang Driver's Ed. . ... if our mama says we can drive, we can drive.

30) You understand these jokes and forward them to your Louisiana friends and those who just wish they were from Louisiana !!!!

[The Phantom of Paris]

Dude...a TON of those apply for Michigan as well, like #17 and 18, and #22, although up here those pages are devoted to the U of M vs. MSU games!

And this one: 25) 'You know all four seasons: Almost summer, summer, still summer, and Christmas. '? We've got that here too. Except here it's Almost Winter, Winter, still Winter, and Road Construction.

[GGJ5]

Here's another one for ya! Some of these are repeated in the first one, but most are new...

You know you're from South Louisiana if...

You can properly pronounce Lafayette, Bossier, Natchitoches, Opelousas, Shongaloo, Pontchartrain, Ouachita, and you know that New Orleans doesn't have a long "e" sound anywhere in it

You think people who complain about the heat in their states are sissies.

A tornado-warning siren is your signal to go out in the yard and look for a funnel.

You know that the true value of a parking space is not determined by the distance to door but by the availability of shade.

You cringe every time you hear an actor with a Southern or Cajun accent in a "New Orleans-based" movie or TV show.

You measure distance in minutes.

You listen to the weather forecast before picking out an outfit.


Someone you know has used a football schedule to plan their wedding date.

You aren't surprised to find movie rental, ammunition, beer, and bait all in the same store

A Mercedes Benz isn't a status symbol. A Chevy Silverado Extended Bed Crew Cab Truck is

You know everything goes better with Tony's or Tabasco.

You actually get these jokes

You are 100% Louisianan if you have ever had this conversation:

"You wanna coke?"
"Yeah."
"What kind?"
"Dr Pepper."

you have ever had to switch from heat to AC in the same day.

you use "fix" as a verb. Example: "I am fixing to go to the store."

All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, insect, or mammal.

You know only four spices: salt, pepper, Tabasco, and Tony's

The local newspaper covers national and international news on one page, but requires six pages for local gossip and sports.

You know all four seasons: Almost summer, summer, still summer, and Christmas.

You know whether another Louisianian is from New Orleans, North Louisiana, or South Louisiana as soon as they open their mouth.

You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good gumbo weather.

Fried catfish is the other white meat

You reinforce your attic to store Mardi Gras beads.

Your sunglasses fog up when you step outside.

Your ancestors are buried above the ground.

You take a bite of five-alarm chili and reach for the Tabasco.

You sit down to eat boiled crawfish and your host says, "Don't eat the dead ones," and you know what he means.

You don't learn until high school that Mardi Gras is not a national holiday.

You push little old ladies out of the way to catch Mardi Gras beads.

Little old ladies push YOU out of the way to catch Mardi Gras beads.

You leave a parade with footprints on your hands.

You believe that purple, green, and gold look good together.

Your last name isn't pronounced the way it's spelled.

You know what a nutria is but you still pick it to represent your baseball team.

No matter where else you go in the world, you are always disappointed in the food.

Your town is low on the education chart, high on the obesity chart and you don't care because you're No. 1 on the party chart.

You know that Tchoupitoulas is a street and not a disease.

Your grandparents are called "Maw-Maw" and "Paw-Paw."

Your Santa Claus rides an alligator and your favorite Saint is a football player.

You have to reset your clocks after every thunderstorm.

When it starts to rain, you cover your beer instead of your head.

You eat dinner out and spend the entire meal talking about all the other good places you've eaten.

you know what is meant by 'K&B purple

You know what it means for food to come 'dressed'...

you 'ax' for things...

when you ask people where they went to school, they answer with their high school

You save newspapers, not for recycling but for tablecloths at crawfishboils

Drive-thru daquiris -- it's not drinking and driving until you put the straw in.

You stand on the neutral ground at parades and have no idea what a 'median' is.