N'awlins vs. Noo Awlins vs New Awleeunz etc.
Posted by: Cathy at Fri Jun 14 15:38:46 2002
Message:
Growing up in N.O., I just don't remember the pronunciation we see nowadays, "N'awlins". The city name was pronounced various ways within the city; the most common I remember was "Noo Awlins", but there were others - like Hap Glaudi's "Noo Awlyins" - but for the life of me, I don't remember "N'Awlins"...just as I don't ever remember "The Big Easy"...but then, I'm probably showing my age! :)
-----
"Noo Awlins". I remember Chep Morrison and Vic Schiro using the "Noo Awlyins" pronunciation and I believe Moon Landry (Landrieu, hehe!) even used it. I don't have a clue where N'Awlins came from, it just popped up one day. Maybe Bunny Matthews invented it for Vic 'n' Nat'ly.
-----
I never remember n'awlins until recently. Frank Davis might have made it up because that is the first time I heard it. I think the term "big easy" came from a movie with the same name. I believe that is also recent (within the last 20 years).
-----
"New Awl'Yuns" as well as "New Awe'LeeYuns" and "New Are'LeeYuns".
I never heard "N'Awlins" either.
Posted by: Rita at Mon Jun 17 20:17:00 2002
Message:
I thought I was weird. I never heard of N'Awlins til I heard Pete Fountain say it YEARS ago when he appeared on the Danny Kaye Show (showing my age). I asked my Mama what the heck that was. It's always been Noo Awlins to me.
Posted by: Cathy at Thu Jun 20 20:48:56 2002
Message:
My husband says "N'Awlins". He's not dat old an' he's not uneducated. Grew up in Jefferson around St. Agnes. He stawted sayin' "N'Awlins" sometime in tha 80s (if I rememba correctly). I couldn't figure it out. Only thing I can think is that he was travlin' a lot fah his job an' thought it was cool to say he was from "N'Awlins"--so people would say "where?".
I don't know when this "N'Awlins" thing started. My guess is that it's a combo of Frank Davis, Bunny Matthews (Vic and Nat'ly), and movies filmed in the city with really bad dialect coaches.
I do remember reading an article about one of the Hollywood dialect coaches who said that if they REALLY made the actors tawk like we really tawk that no one else would understand much of what was being said. So they coach them to use some kind of generic southern drawl--which is apparently how most Americans think we tawk.
I understand this because when I'm out of town I do notice that people often look puzzled after I make some statement or response. Then I SLOW DOWN and repeat what I've said. And then they get it. If you think about it, we talk faster than "Americans" while we combine words. For example "Watcha mean?" for "What do you mean?". Which might account for out of towners hearing our pronunciation of "New Orleans" as "N'Awlins". It might not be what we say, but maybe that's what they hear.
Posted by: Cathy at Thu Jun 20 20:48:56 2002
Message:
My husband says "N'Awlins". He's not dat old an' he's not uneducated. Grew up in Jefferson around St. Agnes. He stawted sayin' "N'Awlins" sometime in tha 80s (if I rememba correctly). I couldn't figure it out. Only thing I can think is that he was travlin' a lot fah his job an' thought it was cool to say he was from "N'Awlins"--so people would say "where?".
I don't know when this "N'Awlins" thing started. My guess is that it's a combo of Frank Davis, Bunny Matthews (Vic and Nat'ly), and movies filmed in the city with really bad dialect coaches.
I do remember reading an article about one of the Hollywood dialect coaches who said that if they REALLY made the actors tawk like we really tawk that no one else would understand much of what was being said. So they coach them to use some kind of generic southern drawl--which is apparently how most Americans think we tawk.
I understand this because when I'm out of town I do notice that people often look puzzled after I make some statement or response. Then I SLOW DOWN and repeat what I've said. And then they get it. If you think about it, we talk faster than "Americans" while we combine words. For example "Watcha mean?" for "What do you mean?". Which might account for out of towners hearing our pronunciation of "New Orleans" as "N'Awlins". It might not be what we say, but maybe that's what they hear.
Posted by: Cathy at Thu Jun 20 20:48:56 2002
Message:
My husband says "N'Awlins". He's not dat old an' he's not uneducated. Grew up in Jefferson around St. Agnes. He stawted sayin' "N'Awlins" sometime in tha 80s (if I rememba correctly). I couldn't figure it out. Only thing I can think is that he was travlin' a lot fah his job an' thought it was cool to say he was from "N'Awlins"--so people would say "where?".
I don't know when this "N'Awlins" thing started. My guess is that it's a combo of Frank Davis, Bunny Matthews (Vic and Nat'ly), and movies filmed in the city with really bad dialect coaches.
I do remember reading an article about one of the Hollywood dialect coaches who said that if they REALLY made the actors tawk like we really tawk that no one else would understand much of what was being said. So they coach them to use some kind of generic southern drawl--which is apparently how most Americans think we tawk.
I understand this because when I'm out of town I do notice that people often look puzzled after I make some statement or response. Then I SLOW DOWN and repeat what I've said. And then they get it. If you think about it, we talk faster than "Americans" while we combine words. For example "Watcha mean?" for "What do you mean?". Which might account for out of towners hearing our pronunciation of "New Orleans" as "N'Awlins". It might not be what we say, but maybe that's what they hear.
Posted by: Cathy at Thu Jun 20 20:48:56 2002
Message:
My husband says "N'Awlins". He's not dat old an' he's not uneducated. Grew up in Jefferson around St. Agnes. He stawted sayin' "N'Awlins" sometime in tha 80s (if I rememba correctly). I couldn't figure it out. Only thing I can think is that he was travlin' a lot fah his job an' thought it was cool to say he was from "N'Awlins"--so people would say "where?".
I don't know when this "N'Awlins" thing started. My guess is that it's a combo of Frank Davis, Bunny Matthews (Vic and Nat'ly), and movies filmed in the city with really bad dialect coaches.
I do remember reading an article about one of the Hollywood dialect coaches who said that if they REALLY made the actors tawk like we really tawk that no one else would understand much of what was being said. So they coach them to use some kind of generic southern drawl--which is apparently how most Americans think we tawk.
I understand this because when I'm out of town I do notice that people often look puzzled after I make some statement or response. Then I SLOW DOWN and repeat what I've said. And then they get it. If you think about it, we talk faster than "Americans" while we combine words. For example "Watcha mean?" for "What do you mean?". Which might account for out of towners hearing our pronunciation of "New Orleans" as "N'Awlins". It might not be what we say, but maybe that's what they hear.
Posted by: Cathy at Thu Jun 20 20:48:56 2002
Message:
My husband says "N'Awlins". He's not dat old an' he's not uneducated. Grew up in Jefferson around St. Agnes. He stawted sayin' "N'Awlins" sometime in tha 80s (if I rememba correctly). I couldn't figure it out. Only thing I can think is that he was travlin' a lot fah his job an' thought it was cool to say he was from "N'Awlins"--so people would say "where?".
I don't know when this "N'Awlins" thing started. My guess is that it's a combo of Frank Davis, Bunny Matthews (Vic and Nat'ly), and movies filmed in the city with really bad dialect coaches.
I do remember reading an article about one of the Hollywood dialect coaches who said that if they REALLY made the actors tawk like we really tawk that no one else would understand much of what was being said. So they coach them to use some kind of generic southern drawl--which is apparently how most Americans think we tawk.
I understand this because when I'm out of town I do notice that people often look puzzled after I make some statement or response. Then I SLOW DOWN and repeat what I've said. And then they get it. If you think about it, we talk faster than "Americans" while we combine words. For example "Watcha mean?" for "What do you mean?". Which might account for out of towners hearing our pronunciation of "New Orleans" as "N'Awlins". It might not be what we say, but maybe that's what they hear.
Posted by: Cathy at Thu Jun 20 20:48:56 2002
Message:
My husband says "N'Awlins". He's not dat old an' he's not uneducated. Grew up in Jefferson around St. Agnes. He stawted sayin' "N'Awlins" sometime in tha 80s (if I rememba correctly). I couldn't figure it out. Only thing I can think is that he was travlin' a lot fah his job an' thought it was cool to say he was from "N'Awlins"--so people would say "where?".
I don't know when this "N'Awlins" thing started. My guess is that it's a combo of Frank Davis, Bunny Matthews (Vic and Nat'ly), and movies filmed in the city with really bad dialect coaches.
I do remember reading an article about one of the Hollywood dialect coaches who said that if they REALLY made the actors tawk like we really tawk that no one else would understand much of what was being said. So they coach them to use some kind of generic southern drawl--which is apparently how most Americans think we tawk.
I understand this because when I'm out of town I do notice that people often look puzzled after I make some statement or response. Then I SLOW DOWN and repeat what I've said. And then they get it. If you think about it, we talk faster than "Americans" while we combine words. For example "Watcha mean?" for "What do you mean?". Which might account for out of towners hearing our pronunciation of "New Orleans" as "N'Awlins". It might not be what we say, but maybe that's what they hear.
Posted by: Cathy at Thu Jun 20 20:48:56 2002
Message:
My husband says "N'Awlins". He's not dat old an' he's not uneducated. Grew up in Jefferson around St. Agnes. He stawted sayin' "N'Awlins" sometime in tha 80s (if I rememba correctly). I couldn't figure it out. Only thing I can think is that he was travlin' a lot fah his job an' thought it was cool to say he was from "N'Awlins"--so people would say "where?".
I don't know when this "N'Awlins" thing started. My guess is that it's a combo of Frank Davis, Bunny Matthews (Vic and Nat'ly), and movies filmed in the city with really bad dialect coaches.
I do remember reading an article about one of the Hollywood dialect coaches who said that if they REALLY made the actors tawk like we really tawk that no one else would understand much of what was being said. So they coach them to use some kind of generic southern drawl--which is apparently how most Americans think we tawk.
I understand this because when I'm out of town I do notice that people often look puzzled after I make some statement or response. Then I SLOW DOWN and repeat what I've said. And then they get it. If you think about it, we talk faster than "Americans" while we combine words. For example "Watcha mean?" for "What do you mean?". Which might account for out of towners hearing our pronunciation of "New Orleans" as "N'Awlins". It might not be what we say, but maybe that's what they hear.
