The Cajun Test, Can You Pronounce All of These Louisiana Words?

Although I have been in Louisiana for four years now, there was a time when I would have to run to people in the office and ask for help pronouncing things.

Why Did it Feel Like Everything Had a French Accent?

I thought Herbert was pronounced just like it was spelled, Her-Bert. However, leave it to Louisiana forever confusing this Californian.

This video popped up after four years and I almost forgot we made this video. I remember Erin McCarty from Keel News trying to welcome me into Louisiana in her own unique way. She said, "Are you okay with us filming you trying to pronounce some words from Louisiana?" Of course, I agreed, I mean how difficult could it be?

I got threatened that I would get kicked out of Louisiana because I claimed something was a "dumb rule" but come on, there is no way that these words are pronounced "correctly" anywhere other than Louisiana.

I Tried to Pronounce Lagniappe as Lag Nipple. Also, the Word Tchoupitoulas Should be Outlawed Completely.

About three words in I realized that six months in the Bayou state still doesn't help you get the pronunciation down, there is way too much to learn. Although I am far from being a Cajun I have hung out with enough of them to understand that there are certain words that just don't make sense to me, however, I must pronounce them like I was taught.

I Know That I Have Come a Long Way Since This Video Was Shot.

I still have to catch myself when I read the word Herbert, I don't think that I can ever see that word and correctly say it off the top.

At Least I Did Better Than "It's a Southern Thing".

Have you seen the video where the staff tried to pronounce Louisiana towns? Check out the video below.