If You Can Pronounce These 16 Louisiana Names, You Must Be Cajun

Louisiana is a beautiful state full of culture, history, and—let’s be honest—some of the hardest-to-pronounce place names in the country. If you aren't fluent in Cajun French, Creole, or Native American dialects, trying to say names like “Fordoche” might leave you feeling like you just lost a spelling bee.

Even locals struggle. I live here, and I still get tongue-tied trying to pronounce half the places in this state. If you've ever tried to give an out-of-state friend directions and watched their face scrunch up in confusion, you know exactly what I mean!

Now, imagine needing an Uber and trying to tell the driver to take you to Atchafalaya or Natchitoches without completely embarrassing yourself. Good luck with that! With about 80% of our names reflecting Louisiana’s deep French, Creole, and Native heritage, it’s no wonder people point at Google Maps instead.

Yo.

Below is a list of cities, towns, streets, rivers, lakes, parishes, and neighborhoods that trip up just about everyone. Want to prove you’ve got what it takes? Take the Cajun French Challenge and try to pronounce them all! But no cheating—don’t click on the words first!

Algiers
Amite
Bogalusa
Leonidas
Bossier City
Chalmette
Fordoche
Grosse Tete
Keachi
Natchitoches
Lake Pontchartrain
Ouachita
Tchoupitoulas
Tangipahoa
Thibodaux
Zwolle

So how'd you do? If you couldn't say them all you need not worry. Truth be told, there are very few people in the world that can pronounce all of these. That includes half of the people living in the state of Louisiana! So, if you are still scratching your head trying to figure out how to say those words there is no shame in giving up.

I didn't make it past the second word myself. Besides, I got a feeling we probably did a better job than these poor souls anyway.

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Gallery Credit: Katherine Gallagher