Dreamy, huh? This button is based on a painting called “Natchitoches, Louisiana at Night” by Lenora De Lude of Shreveport, Louisiana. Though only a few of you may be able to pronounce the town’s name (nothing like it looks), you could be familiar with it as the real town on which Steel Magnolias was based. The play, written by Robert Harling, was about the death of his younger sister, and the movie was filmed in Natchitoches. (The town was renamed Chinquapin in the movie.) Natchitoches is the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase, and is the sister city of Nacogdoches, Texas (much easier to pronounce).
Sadly, Natchitoches is also the place where singer Jim Croce died on September 20, 1973.
“Though only a few of you may be able to pronounce the town’s name (nothing like it looks)…”
Please end the suspense . . . 😀
Ha! Well, since I’m not a Natchitoches native, I can only tell you that to me, when natives say it, it depends on their drawl whether it sounds like:
NACK-uh-dish, NACK-uh-TISH, NACK-ah-dish, or NACK-ah-tish.
Hee! You’re so right – I’d never have got it!
Thanks!!
I think I love this painting almost as much as I love the movie. I’m finally going to get to see th eplay next month at TPAC. I can’t wait!
Natchitoches (pronounced /ˈnækətəʃ/ NAK-ə-təsh). (I ♥ Wikipedia!)
‘K’?? Wha? I would have guessed it was a similar pronunciation to Nacogdoches. Using the above guides, I’d end up *trying* to say it “NAK-uh-tuh-sh”. Am I close?
Very close! To me, when natives say it, it can sound like:
NACK-uh-dish, NACK-uh-TISH, NACK-ah-dish, or NACK-ah-tish. It depends on how deep the drawl is.
I’ve heard the TX variant pronounced by Dan Rather when the space shuttle crashed on re-entry about 5 years ago. I would have guessed “natch-tosh” for the one in Louisiana….lord, how did they get that pronunciation? Although, having taken French in high school, I made the mistake of pronouncing Versailles, Kentucky, like the French would.
Versailles, KY is one of my favorite cities to pronounce for People Who Don’t Know (a/k/a, “Y’all aren’t FROM HERE, are you?”). Also in this category: LaFayette, AL and Arab, AL.