How do you write a New Orleans accent?

Question

Im writing a story with a character from New Orleans. he has a very thick accent. the only problem is, ive never heard a New Orleans accent. how could I write it out, y'know, thinkin' 'stead of thinking, ect.

he's from the 'french quarter'. for those who know, he's actually supposed to talk sorta like the x-men gambit.

Answer 1

It really depends on who the character is. Right off the top of my head I can think of four distinct types. The Cajun/coon *** is a patois of French and English spoken by rural whites, mostly, similar to that found in Quebec. The urban blacks have their own distinct accent, similar to that found in southern Mississippi but with a different cadence (French influenced, maybe) and a different set of expressions, again after the French. Rare now and disappearing quickly is the pure Creole accent, mostly indistinguishable from French except for the vernacular. And last, the typical white person from NO has an accent that is markedly different than any other location in the South, mostly resembling that which you might find in Brooklyn. Given the similar waves of Sicilian and Irish immigrants in both places, and New Orleans' insularity, this is not so surprising as it might seem.

Answer 2

New Orleans Accent Audio

Answer 3

If you can aford it...go to New Orleans. If not, do the next best thing and find movies in which they use the accent. : ) IE...Love Song for Bobby Long, Not only will you get the accent, but you will pick up on some culteral aspects as well that might help in your writing.

Also...go to www.imsdb.com for scripts...there you can read how they wrote some accents to movies.

Hope this helps

Answer 4

First things first.....learn the correct name of the city to a native.....It's called N'awlins.


Seriously the accents in New Orleans vary from certain parts of the city. Dig up some videos from the local tv news and you will get a good idea about it.

WWL TV
WVUE
WDSU
WGNO

hope this helps you.

Answer 5

Please be careful. Using a different writing system to represent someone's accent can often be insulting. If he's speaking English, you should consider using normal English spelling.

On a literary note, if you are using a character from a place you don't know, that person's speech probably won't be very authentic. You might want to stick to characters who speak dialects of English that you are familiar with.

Answer 6

i agree.. if you are able to .. visit New Orleans urself.. that would be the only 100% accurate way.. but there are Many new orleans accents .. unless you are speaking of a Cajun accent .. which is quite distinctive

Answer 7

Learn the International Phonetic Alphabet and phonetic theory. Learn a couple featural alphabets, especially, as those passively force you to learn phonetic theory. Then go to New Orleans, and you will know how to write it.

Answer 8

Dat dere 'coon dink he gon eets mah food.

Translation: That there raccoon thinks hes going to eat my food. Read "A Cajun Christmas" you will have ALL you need lol

New Orleans=Happiness :)

Answer 9

Write it however it sounds to you -- remember Hukt on Foniks?

Answer 10

(said in New Orleans accent)Blah Blah Blah
:)