Pronounciation of Cajuns names

[krc1995]

Eleven years into working in a Louisiana school system, I still struggle with these dang French-Cajun-Spanish names.  Few names are pronounced the way they look.  I'll start a few easy one:

 

How would you pronounce:

Richard

Champagne

Smith

Theriot

Simon

 

Here's a few that are a little more difficult:

Theodile

and after our own all Big 8 linebacker- Etienne, as in Leroy 

 

 

[NUance]

 

The real question is, how would Farmer Fran pronounce them?  

[GSG]

2 hours ago, krc1995 said:

Eleven years into working in a Louisiana school system, I still struggle with these dang French-Cajun-Spanish names.  Few names are pronounced the way they look.  I'll start a few easy one:

 

How would you pronounce:

Richard

Champagne

Smith

Theriot

Simon

 

Here's a few that are a little more difficult:

Theodile

and after our own all Big 8 linebacker- Etienne, as in Leroy 

 

 

Here's what I got:

 

Ree-shard

Pass

Wut

Terri-o

Sí-moan

[JJ Husker]

How would you pronounce:

Richard - Deke

Champagne - Shawm-pon

Smith - Smeet

Theriot - Terry-o

Simon - Sigh-moan

 

Here's a few that are a little more difficult:

Theodile - Teo-deal

Etienne - A-tea-en

 

 

[krc1995]

49 minutes ago, MyBloodIsRed16 said:

Do you think Earl Campbell would go back and choose a different path?  I doubt it.  Only reason anyone knows his name is because of the way he ran the ball.  

 

6 hours ago, JJ Husker said:

How would you pronounce:

Richard - Deke

Champagne - Shawm-pon

Smith - Smeet

Theriot - Terry-o

Simon - Sigh-moan

 

Here's a few that are a little more difficult:

Theodile - Teo-deal

Etienne - A-tea-en

 

 

Not bad. 

One more syllable in terr-e-o with accent on 2nd syllable 

 

Etienne is 2 syllables aesh-n. Is the best way I can write it

 

Theodile. Toe-deal. Don’t understand why but it is

 

Simon- locally pronounced Cee-moan. 

 

Smith was a joke. There are no Smiths

 

 Champagne is correct. 

 

[JJ Husker]

4 hours ago, krc1995 said:

 

Not bad. 

One more syllable in terr-e-o with accent on 2nd syllable 

 

Etienne is 2 syllables aesh-n. Is the best way I can write it

 

Theodile. Toe-deal. Don’t understand why but it is

 

Simon- locally pronounced Cee-moan. 

 

Smith was a joke. There are no Smiths

 

 Champagne is correct. 

 

 

I thought I had Etienne right for sure. That’s the way they always pronounced his name when he played for us.

[krc1995]

5 minutes ago, JJ Husker said:

 

I thought I had Etienne right for sure. That’s the way they always pronounced his name when he played for us.

I know. I wonder what it was like for him to never have heard his names pronounced like he was used to. Sad update, he lives in the same town as me. My neighbor was telling me that he’s one of the “old” drunk guys that spends his days wandering up and down one of the towns worst ghetto streets and we live in a very violent town. I feel bad and wish there was an outreach program through the University. Maybe there is.