Quote Originally Posted by jjoseph
Well, the capital is Baton Rouge (properly pronounced bahtohn-roojzh) which means "red stick". One of you history buffs will have to explain that one...

"La Nouvelle Orléans" is named after Orléans, France (pronounced Or-leh-ahn)...

Now we have a little thing called the Louisianna Purchase, so imagine a bunch of 'not-quite-English-anymore' speaking Southerners trying to say New Or-leh-ahn. Put that in the pot and let is stew 4 or 5 generations and you get Norlenz. C'est fini ça.
Not to mention the "melting pot" that is Nawlens -- Creoles, Cajuns (although I must point out that Nawleans and Cajun are not interchangeable, regardless of what many believe!), Germans, Italians, Irish -- you name it, and Nawleans has it. No wonder they don't talk like anyone else! :mrgreem:

T.