| OPINION
| SEPTEMBER 23, 2005
Guest Column
A ‘Fur Piece’ from Home
With the influx of New Orleans
students, Texans might learn a thing or two
I’m so proud of the fact that the
campus has taken many displaced New Orleans students. It’s
a win-win situation. They’re all brilliant cooks, wonderfully
mellow, resourceful and much more attractive (my family’s
from there). We’re very hospitable and accommodating, with
lots of churchgoers — yes, despite its depraved reputation,
religion is very important to many New Orleans natives.
I think the hardest part for all of us is language. We twang, they
drawl, but in the end it’s still English — well mostly.
It seems like pilgrims from Brooklyn, Biloxi and Paris got together
and formed the Crescent City. It’s definitely different. When
you’re Texas-bred, you might have trouble understanding them
and being understood.
I couldn’t always understand my cousins and grandparents,
but as I’ve gotten to know them, I’ve realized how cool
they all are.
Accents are one of those empty barriers, like skin color, religion
or national origin. Trying to tell a person’s character from
his or her dialect doesn’t work. But there are a few tips
to help everyone get past those first hurdles.
For us it’s important to know some French. Beaucoup means
a lot. Parishes are counties. The words “your people”
refer to extended family and those important to you. The words “for
true” are used when the truth is in question.
In the Crescent City, explaining cardinal directions is impossible
because of its design, so points of reference are better than giving
north and south. The streets in New Orleans are rougher, so those
of us who have a habit of saying things like “shut up”
as a joke: don’t. It’s not done that way in Bayou Country.
If someone says something mean to your face, they want to start
something.
For people from the New Orleans area, it’s important to realize
we make up words. To “tump” something over is to spill
it. To “wersh” is to wash.
Slang phrases are also important. “That dog won’t hunt,”
means something’s not right about a person or situation. “It’s
a fur piece,” means it’s a long distance between here
and there.
Texans tend to be insulted at refusal of hospitality, so if someone
offers to do something small, just say yes. If you’re compelled
to refuse, you must point out how wonderful they are for offering.
Don’t say anything mean about Texas, the Cowboys or the Rangers.
We don’t always like these items ourselves, but we still love
them, and no one likes to hear bad things about the people and things
they love.
A simple conversation may go like this:
“Excuse me, I’m trying to find my way to the Administration
Building, but this map is beacoup crazy,” says a woman from
New Orleans.
“It’s a fur piece to Davis Hall from the bookstore.
I might could drive you,” says a gentleman from Texas.
“Thank you, baby. You are so sweet, but I have to learn my
way around campus, so I can do it myself,” she says.
“Well head over yonder until you see a big waterfall,”
he says. “Cross the bridge and stick to your left. It’s
the closest building to Cooper, so I reckon it’ll stick out,
like a car salesman at a lawn party.”
“Thank you, baby. Your people raised you right,” she
says.
See. It’s not so hard.
Whether they’re here for a few months or years, it’s
worthwhile getting past the differences in dialect. I’m glad
they’re here. I think you will be, too.
— Richard-Michael Manuel is a journalism senior
|
|
