Wildfire in Los Angeles-Route Fire

[W2R]

It’s not N’AW-lins said with a drawl?

Not by us. I have heard it said that way on TV, but not in real life among people I know (except when joking about the way somebody else says it). But then, that doesn't mean it's wrong - - there are a million different authentic ways to pronounce New Orleans depending on socioeconomic background. The way we say things conveys so much more than the words alone! I've heard that speaking Chinese is like that - - subtle differences in inflection can make all the difference.

 

[audreyh1]

I like the French pronunciation.

 

[W2R]

I like the French pronunciation.

That would work. It helps to retain all three syllables of "Orleans", which the French pronunciation would do.

 

[Koolau]

"Hone- a loo-loo"? I didn't know that.

But then I didn't know the 4 string little guitar was an "ook-a-lay-lee", not a "Yuke-a-lay-lee" either (learned that from Jake Shimabukuro)

Things like "Cali" and "Frisco" bother me too, even though I'm not from there. If the locals don't like it, it is disrespectful to intentionally use the term (and hopefully, a local will gently correct you if done out of simple ignorance). IMO.

Oh boy, this is the worst case of thread drift of a serious subject yet!

-ERD50

Yeah, folks in Hawaii rarely correct tourists, etc. We "hang loose" and realize most such mistakes are unintentional and not from malice. I used to correct folks when they would mention "flying back to the States." I thought it would actually be to THEIR advantage to recall that Hawaii IS a state. Now, I just let it go. Local Hawaiians generally prefer that haole (outlanders in this case) would not attempt to speak pidgin. We're not very good at it. I do find myself slipping in an occasional pidgin word once in a while as it's solidly in the vernacular in the Islands. Returning you now...

 

[Major Tom]

Things like "Cali" and "Frisco" bother me too, even though I'm not from there. If the locals don't like it, it is disrespectful to intentionally use the term (and hopefully, a local will gently correct you if done out of simple ignorance). IMO.

Oh boy, this is the worst case of thread drift of a serious subject yet!

-ERD50

Yes, we do indeed have serious thread drift here - and I am not helping

I have lived in California for 35 years, since my early 20's, and the Bay Area for the last 14 years. Like you, I do not use the terms Cali or Frisco. However, California is such a large, diverse, and populous state, that I'm not sure the term "local" applies in the same way it would in some other places. If I'm not mistaken, further up this thread was an example of a Californian using the term Cali, though perhaps they were doing it for comic effect. San Francisco has a quite significant transient population, meaning folk who move in and then out a few years later. (I'm not talking about the homeless population. That's a whole other subject.) Certainly, there are people in SF, both newcomers and long-time San Franciscans, who would rankle at hearing the term "Frisco". However, although I have no data to back this up, I have a strong feeling that there are also many, many long term SF locals who, like people everywhere else, are far more concerned with getting to work, looking after their kids, and paying the bills, than the name someone uses for their city. One thing I have always liked about California, is that there's room for all sorts here. Even those who don't use language the way we'd like them to

Yeah, folks in Hawaii rarely correct tourists, etc. We "hang loose" and realize most such mistakes are unintentional and not from malice. I used to correct folks when they would mention "flying back to the States." I thought it would actually be to THEIR advantage to recall that Hawaii IS a state. Now, I just let it go. Local Hawaiians generally prefer that haole (outlanders in this case) would not attempt to speak pidgin. We're not very good at it. I do find myself slipping in an occasional pidgin word once in a while as it's solidly in the vernacular in the Islands. Returning you now...

Perhaps, when talking about "flying back to the States", they're using it as verbal shorthand for flying back to the continental US? I would think that Hawaiians (both native and long-time residents) are quite proud of the fact that the islands are distinctly different from the mainland US. I'm quite surprised that a mainlander talking about "flying back to the States" from Hawaii would bother a local. However, unlike you, I'm not a resident of Hawaii.

Hopefully no-one is rankled by this post

 

[stepford]

Time to really inflame the debate by invoking the NorCal vs. SoCal rivalry...

I've spent years living in both the LA and SF Bay areas. My impression is that Bay Areans are quite particular about how one refers to their region. "The City" is the preferred term for San Francisco and the use of anything else brands one as an outsider and, hence, the object of faint pity and scorn.

LA people, by contrast, don't seem to waste much mental energy worrying about this sort of terminology. Everybody down here is from somewhere else anyway, so the concept of being an outsider is pretty much moot.

 

[zippy2020]

FYI a reminder: check your furnace filter, especially if you are running the fan (with the windows closed). All that soot can clog it up pretty quickly.