Lafayette pronunciation

Ok, It's the offseason, Question: "How do You pronounce Lafayette"?.. Or should I ask, what is the proper way to pronounce it?.. there are two basic pronounciations.. The way I know... Laff-ee-yette. And the alternative Lah-fay-yette.. (which is how Stevie p pronounces it.. no offense stevie.. I guess it's just how you learned...I know we have name issues with the university, but lets get on the same page with the city name also. this might be a good "poll' question.....

Laff-ee-yette, unless you have a Cajun accent, then laf-fie-yette is acceptable. :-)
igeaux.mobi

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Originally Posted by leeman

_ Ok, It's the offseason, Question: "How do You pronounce Lafayette"?.. Or should I ask, what is the proper way to pronounce it?.. there are two basic pronounciations.. The way I know... Laff-ee-yette. And the alternative Lah-fay-yette.. (which is how Stevie p pronounces it.. no offense stevie.. I guess it's just how you learned...I know we have name issues with the university, but lets get on the same page with the city name also. this might be a good "poll' question..... _

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The French way is correct like General Lafayette. In Mississippi there is a Lafayette but pronounce it La Fayette. BTW You do realize we all say New Orleans wrong including the locals in NOLA. It should be pronounced like the city in France. R Lay Ons!:)

I say Laf-ee-yette. And cringe when I hear people say Laf-i-ette.

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Originally Posted by ULtimateCajun

_ I say Laf-ee-yette. And cringe when I hear people say Laf-i-ette. _

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I always wondered why a city that embraces the French and Cajun culture doesn't pronounce the city name with a French accent.

Well, it's certainly become more than just a French culture around Lafayette. French is only part of it. There's also the African, Spanish and Indian cultures, not to mention the American culture, that add as much if not more flavor to the mix.

Take Chartres Street in New Orleans. It's pronounced "charters," when the "real" French pronunciation would be something like "shartr". Just the way it's evolved.

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Originally Posted by AirBill

_ Well, it's certainly become more than just a French culture around Lafayette. French is only part of it. There's also the Spanish and Indian cultures, not to mention the American culture, that add as much if not more flavor to the mix.

Take Chartres Street in New Orleans. It's pronounced "charters," when the "real" French pronunciation would be something like "shartr". Just the way it's evolved. _

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You can't forget about the African influence. Without them we wouldn't have gumbo, okra or jambalaya. Can you imagine South Louisiana without gumbo!.~.

Woops! I'm a coullion for that one! Fixed it.

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Originally Posted by AirBill

_ Well, it's certainly become more than just a French culture around Lafayette. French is only part of it. There's also the African, Spanish and Indian cultures, not to mention the American culture, that add as much if not more flavor to the mix.

Take Chartres Street in New Orleans. It's pronounced "charters," when the "real" French pronunciation would be something like "shartr". Just the way it's evolved. _

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I've never figured out the real pronunciation of Chartres. whether it's char-ters, shar-tre's, or something else

I say shar-tres. Of course i'm not french so.

It's funny how NOLA has so much French their but they don't pronounce anything the way the french do. Like Trahan Richard, etc.

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Originally Posted by ULtimateCajun

_ I've never figured out the real pronunciation of Chartres. whether it's char-ters, shar-tre's, or something else

I say shar-tres. Of course i'm not french so.

It's funny how NOLA has so much French their but they don't pronounce anything the way the french do. Like Trahan Richard, etc. _

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I would imagine 100 years ago they pronounced it correctly but as English took hold it went away. I love how 95% of the tourists think that Bourbon Street is named after the whiskey.

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Originally Posted by leeman

_ Ok, It's the offseason, Question: "How do You pronounce Lafayette"?.. Or should I ask, what is the proper way to pronounce it?.. there are two basic pronounciations.. The way I know... Laff-ee-yette. And the alternative Lah-fay-yette.. (which is how Stevie p pronounces it.. no offense stevie.. I guess it's just how you learned...I know we have name issues with the university, but lets get on the same page with the city name also. this might be a good "poll' question..... _

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forget about steve. he can't pronounce the "h" in houston. either way is acceptable. the problem with the way people like stevie say it is if you're gonna give the first syllable the french "lof" pron., then finish it off with the rest of the french pron., "foyette." thus, the french "lofoyette" with the "o" sound as in "top." it has always been an anomaly that the anglicized version has become more prevalent even as we sell our frenchness to outsiders. it stems partly from our being made to feel inferior to the "americans" who invaded in the '50's and 60's. but that's a topic that's best left to barry ancelet.

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Originally Posted by leeman

_ Ok, It's the offseason, Question: "How do You pronounce Lafayette"?.. Or should I ask, what is the proper way to pronounce it?.. there are two basic pronounciations.. The way I know... Laff-ee-yette. And the alternative Lah-fay-yette.. (which is how Stevie p pronounces it.. no offense stevie.. I guess it's just how you learned...I know we have name issues with the university, but lets get on the same page with the city name also. this might be a good "poll' question..... _

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It depends... the same person will pronounce it different ways, depending on who he is talking to, and of course, what language he is speaking.

LAH FIE YET with all syllables emphasized is the French and the Cajun pronunciation. The rest of the time, it's LAUGH ee yet. In Mississippi, it's la FAYE et County (faye rhymes with say), wherein lies Ole Miss.

As for New Orleans, the Creole language has long been gone, replaced by English spoken with Irish-German-Italian accents, the same immigrant groups that give New Yorkers their accents. Which is why New Orleans and New York accents are similar.

So most of the names in New Orleans are pretty much uglified.

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Originally Posted by CajunFun

_ It depends... the same person will pronounce it different ways, depending on who he is talking to, and of course, what language he is speaking.

LAH FIE YET with all syllables emphasized is the French and the Cajun pronunciation. The rest of the time, it's LAUGH ee yet. In Mississippi, it's la FAYE et County (faye rhymes with say), wherein lies Ole Miss.

As for New Orleans, the Creole language has long been gone, replaced by English spoken with Irish-German-Italian accents, the same immigrant groups that give New Yorkers their accents. Which is why New Orleans and New York accents are similar.

So most of the names in New Orleans are pretty much uglified. _

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You want uglified NO street names? Better start with the Muses.

ka-lie-oh-pee becomes cal-i-ope

And God only knows how they pronounce Terpsichore or Euturpe. Not to mention the other ones that I can't spell... lol They may be close on Erato, though...

I say it Laff-ee-yette.

The way I see it, is that Laff-ee-yette is correcte because its spelled Lafayette. If it were to be pronounced Lah-fay-yette, it'd be spelled LaFayette like other places spell it. Laff-ee-yette is more laid back sounding, like more Cajun, than Lah-fay-yette. If that makes any sense.

I hate when people call it Lah-fay-ette.

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Originally Posted by VObserver

_ You want uglified NO street names? Better start with the Muses.

ka-lie-oh-pee becomes cal-i-ope

And God only knows how they pronounce Terpsichore or Euturpe. Not to mention the other ones that I can't spell... lol They may be close on Erato, though... _

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Funny thing is, a lot of people in NO and outside, think cal ee ope is the proper pronunciation.

When kah lye oh pee is closer to the correct (or rather, Classical) pronunciation, kah lee oh pay. terp see koh ray becomes terp sick core, and u terp ay becomes u terp.

Then, of course, there's Tchoupatoulas, Poydras and BurGUNdy...

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Originally Posted by CajunFun

_ Funny thing is, a lot of people in NO and outside, think cal ee ope is the proper pronunciation.

When kah lye oh pee is closer to the correct (or rather, Classical) pronunciation, kah lee oh pay. terp see koh ray becomes terp sick core, and u terp ay becomes u terp.

Then, of course, there's Tchoupatoulas, Poydras and BurGUNdy... _

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HAHA Tchoupatoulas that one gives outsiders A LOT of trouble. They always want to pronounce that T.

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Originally Posted by ULtimateCajun

_ I've never figured out the real pronunciation of Chartres. whether it's char-ters, shar-tre's, or something else

I say shar-tres. Of course i'm not french so.

It's funny how NOLA has so much French their but they don't pronounce anything the way the french do. Like Trahan Richard, etc. _

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Or, for God sakes, Caliope, Burgundy, Iberville. I'm from there and I'm corrected by waiters when I use the correct pronunciation. When they insist on correcting me, I only ask if they went to public school in NO!!

Trust me from my experiences of working in Baton Rouge, its hard for anyone with a country twang to even attempt Cajun French. Of course there will be cajun people in Baton Rouge....transplants. It's a redneck town, it will always be a redneck town, no ______ing matter what they want to be. It's a cultural dead zone with gobs of money. Just a polished terd if you ask me. Time to flush.

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Originally Posted by CroCajun1003

_ My guess would be that nobody "stole" the swamp name. I have a feeling both universities came up with it around the same time.

As far as the Geaux thing goes...its pretty dumb for LSU to claim ownership.

Ask a BR person where they are from and you'll hear something like "bat'n roosh". No French pronunciation at all.

How did these people come up with a French pronunciation of "Go" when they don't even pronounce the French name of their city in French?

That being said, it really doesn't bother me if they use "geaux". There isn't much stuff going on in BR. They are stuck between two major cultural areas in New Orleans and Lafayette. They need all the help they can get. _

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The irony is ask someone from Lafayette where they are from and they'll say "Laugh-a-yette"--no french pronounciation at all.

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Originally Posted by Membertou

_ The irony is ask someone from Lafayette where they are from and they'll say "Laugh-a-yette"--no french pronounciation at all. _

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It comes from an English pronunciaton of a word with a Cajun French accent. Have you ever heard a European French accent? It's completely different from Cajun French accents. That why we pronounce it that way.

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Originally Posted by Hooj_Cajun_Fan

_ I just came back from France. What I say is not ridiculous.

It's a different dialect. It's like saying that someone from England sounds the same as someone from America, they simply don't. Especially someone from the Yorkshire region of England, alot of those guys we would barely be able to understand.

The Cajun people were separated from France for hundreds of years. Over that time the dialect changed, words had to be invented, and pronunciations changed due to English and Spanish influences...among other things. _

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All of that is true enough, but it has nothing to do with why people from Lafayette pronounce the city's name as Laugh-a-yette. That short A sound does not exist in the French language--be it in France or Cankton. You're in way over your head here.

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Originally Posted by Membertou

The irony is ask someone from Lafayette where they are from and they'll say "Laugh-a-yette"--no french pronounciation at all.

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And down here we pronounce it laugh-e-ette. And that comes directly from our Cajun French accent and language, which is different from the French you spoke in France.



igeaux.mobi

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Originally Posted by Membertou

_ All of that is true enough, but it has nothing to do with why people from Lafayette pronounce the city's name as Laugh-a-yette. That short A sound does not exist in the French language--be it in France or Cankton. You're in way over your head here. _

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The way we pronounce Lafayette has absolutely nothing to do with what sounds are in the French language. However, it has everything to do with how our French language has translated over to English in the form of our Cajun English accent. Becuase the short A was not in the French language it is a bit different in our dialect, or accent, of English.

I've had a Cajun accent for a good while now. I'm not in "way" over my head. There's no reason to flex your muscles man. I'm just trying to have a discussion. No reason to try and be-little anyone else.

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Originally Posted by Hooj_Cajun_Fan

_ The way we pronounce Lafayette has absolutely nothing to do with what sounds are in the French language. However, it has everything to do with how our French language has translated over to English in the form of our Cajun English accent. Becuase the short A was not in the French language it is a bit different in our dialect, or accent, of English.

I've had a Cajun accent for a good while now. I'm not in "way" over my head. There's no reason to flex your muscles man. I'm just trying to have a discussion. No reason to try and be-little anyone else. _

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I grew up in rural north Lafayette Parish. French is my first language. My degree is in English. Lafayette pronounced "Laugh-a-yette" uses English, not French, not Cajun-English, but just plain old English phonetics. You're just plain wrong. There isn't anything wrong with the way we pronounce Lafayette, its the proper English way to pronounce it. I've just always found it ironic that most Americans pronounce the city's name using French phonetics, and the natives pronounce it using English phonetics. (an incidentally, in Cajun-French, Lafayette is pronounced exactly the same way its pronounced in Paris. The accent may be different, but the phonetics are identical.)

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Originally Posted by Membertou

_ I grew up in rural north Lafayette Parish. French is my first language. My degree is in English. Lafayette pronounced "Laugh-a-yette" uses English, not French, not Cajun-English, but just plain old English phonetics. You're just plain wrong. There isn't anything wrong with the way we pronounce Lafayette, its the proper English way to pronounce it. I've just always found it ironic that most Americans pronounce the city's name using French phonetics, and the natives pronounce it using English phonetics. (an incidentally, in Cajun-French, Lafayette is pronounced exactly the same way its pronounced in Paris. The accent may be different, but the phonetics are identical.) _

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Congrats on your English degree, and congrats on speaking French you are the man...but chill dude.

Again, no reason to flex your muscles. No reason to talk down to anyone. I was just trying to have a discussion.

Sorry for jacking the thread everyone. I apologize.