Louisiana Locals’ Pet Peeve: Most Annoying Mispronunciations

We asked which 'Louisiana' words you hated to hear mispronounced the most and here's what locals had to say.

Have you ever wondered which 'Louisiana' words get under the skin of locals when mispronounced? Well, we asked, and boy, did you deliver! It turns out that when folks get the name of stuff or places wrong in the Bayou State, it really grinds our gears. So, buckle up for a hilarious journey through the linguistic pet peeves of Louisianans.

The thing that was mentioned most when we posed this question online was how to say the word 'pecan.' If you were wondering, the proper way to say it is 'puh-can.' No one wants a pee-can! Another food item that incenses people when it's mispronounced is 'praline.' Get rid of the long 'a' and say it like a native. It's 'praw-lean!'

It seems that mispronouncing food items is one of the most common pet peeves we have. Andouille and Boudin made this list and so did doberge, which is a type of cake that I have trouble saying, too! In case you're wondering, it's 'doh-bash.'

The next biggest pet peeve for locals was how people mispronounce locations... like Brook-SHIRE Grocery Arena. That drives me nuts! It's 'Brook-shure.' Learn it, love it! While no one mentioned my pet peeve, folks had issues with people saying 'New Orleens' with a long 'e' as opposed to the correct way to say it, 'New or-lins.' How to say Bossier correctly came up several times as well. Michael Walker had this story to share:

I remember the building dedication of Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital at Ft. Polk back in August 1983. The MC for the event (a Lieutenant Colonel, as I recall), introducing the dignitaries, recognized "4th District Congressman Charles "Buddy" Roemer from..." then, yes, he actually said "BOSS-ee-yay" City, followed by a collective very loud groan from the crowd.