How do you recognise a New Orleans accent?

The median strip is the “neutral ground”. Non-rhotic — “car” ends in a vowel. “Pin” and “pen” often sound the same. Plural “you” is “y’all”.

Which famous people have a New Orleans accent?

Harry Connick Jr. is a speaker whose recorded speech anchors the New Orleans English profile used by DialectGuessr.

How do I test whether I have a New Orleans accent?

DialectGuessr's free accent test asks 29 questions about the words you use and how you pronounce them, then scores your answers against the New Orleans English profile and every other profile in the survey. It takes about two minutes and needs no account.

New Orleans and the Gulf Coast

The New Orleans accent

New Orleans English is a Southern city variety that dropped its R and kept a French street plan’s vocabulary. The strip in the middle of the boulevard is the neutral ground. “Pin” and “pen” often merge, and “ride” can stay on one sound, which is what separates it from rhotic Texas.

Take the quiz and see how close your accent is →

How to recognise a New Orleans accent

The median strip is the “neutral ground”.
Non-rhotic — “car” ends in a vowel.
“Pin” and “pen” often sound the same.
Plural “you” is “y’all”.

Also known as New Orleans accent, Yat accent, Louisiana English, NOLA accent. Spoken in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, United States.

The New Orleans pronunciation fingerprint

These are the answers the quiz expects from a New Orleans speaker on its 30 pronunciation questions. Where a feature varies within the region, more than one answer counts as a match.

“bath” takes the short vowel of “cat”
The Trap–Bath Split: Does “Bath” Rhyme With “Cat” or “Father”?
“car” ends in a vowel, with no R sound
Rhotic vs Non-Rhotic: Do You Pronounce the R in “Car”?
a quick D-like tap in “bottle”, or a clear T in the middle of “bottle”
Bottle, Bo'le or Boddle? The T in the Middle of a Word
“cot” and “caught” stay distinct
The Cot–Caught Merger: Do “Cot” and “Caught” Sound the Same?
“Mary”, “marry” and “merry” all sound the same
Mary, Marry, Merry: One Sound, Two or Three?
“day” is one flat sound — deh, or “day” ends on a slight “ee” — day-ee
The Vowel in “Day”: Gliding or Steady?
“go” ends on a slight “oo” — go-oo
The Vowel in “Go”: Gliding or Steady?
“tune” sounds like “toon”, without a Y sound
Tune, Toon or Choon? The Y After a Consonant
no — they sound different
Do “Singer” and “Finger” Rhyme? The Velar Nasal Plus
one — “film”
“Film” or “Fillum”? The Helping Vowel in Highland and Irish English
no — they end in a vowel
The Bristol L: Why “Area” Can Sound Like “Areal”
a th sound
“Dat” for “That”: TH-Stopping in the Function Words
“ship” and “sheep” have different vowel sounds
Ship or Sheep? The Vowel That Divides Native and Learned English
“put” and “putt” have different vowels
The Foot–Strut Split: Do “Put” and “Putt” Rhyme?
“three” starts with a TH sound, with the tongue against the teeth, or “three” sounds like “tree”, starting with T
Three, Free or Tree? What Happens to Your TH
the H in “house” is pronounced
H-Dropping: Do You Say “House” or “'Ouse”?
“fur” and “fair” stay distinct
Fur and Fair: The Merger That Marks Liverpool
“beer” and “bear” stay distinct
Beer and Bear: The Merger That Marks New Zealand
“happy” ends on a long “-ee”
Happy: Does It End in “-ee” or “-ih”?
“wine” and “vine” start with different sounds
Wine or Vine? Where V and W Fall Together
“school” starts straight on the S
“Eschool” for “School”: The Vowel Some Accents Add
“bed” ends with D and “bet” ends with T
Bed or Bet? Final-Obstruent Devoicing
a smooth R, without tapping or rolling the tongue
Rolled, Uvular or Neither? How the R Is Made
“pin” and “pen” sound the same
Pin or Pen? The Southern US Vowel Merger
the vowel in “ride” stays as one sound, or the vowel in “ride” glides from one sound to another
Does “Ride” Stay on One Sound? Southern PRICE
“celery” and “salary” stay distinct
Celery or Salary? Melbourne's Quiet Giveaway

Everyday words in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast

Expected everyday vocabulary for a New Orleans speaker.
Question	Usual answer
What do you usually call a sweet carbonated drink?	Coke (as a general term)
What do you call shoes worn for sport or exercise?	Sneakers
What do you usually call the main evening meal?	Dinner
What do you call a small, round piece of bread for one person?	Roll
What do you call thin strips of potato served hot and fried?	Fries
What is your general word for small sugary treats?	Candy
What do you call the wheeled basket used in a supermarket?	Shopping cart
What do you call restaurant food collected to eat elsewhere?	Takeout
What do you call a public fixture you drink water from?	Water fountain
What do you call a small neighbourhood shop selling everyday items?	Convenience store
How do you usually address a group of people informally?	Y’all
What do you call the household container for unwanted rubbish?	Trash can
What do you call the narrow passageway between or behind houses?	Alley / alleyway
What do you call the insulated box you carry cold drinks in?	Cooler
You are waiting your turn behind other people. What are you doing?	Waiting in line
“Man’s getting emotional.” Who is “man”?	It does not make sense to me
What do you call rubber sandals held on by a strap between the toes?	Flip-flops
What do you call the red-amber-green signal at a junction?	Stoplight
What do you call a circular junction you drive around?	Traffic circle
How do you say “the” in a phrase like “I’m going down the shop”?	A full “the”
“We’ll not be home while seven.” What does that sentence mean to you?	It does not make sense to me
“I’m after having my dinner.” What does that sentence mean to you?	It does not make sense to me
What do you call a shared minibus used as public transport?	I do not have a word for that
Does “she be working on Fridays” sound like a normal way to say she works Fridays regularly?	No — it does not sound like my English
Does “the car needs washed” sound normal — without “to be”?	No — I would say “needs to be washed”
What do you call a long sandwich in a split roll?	Sub / submarine
What do you call a multi-storey building for parking cars?	Parking garage
What do you call the strip of ground in the middle of a dual carriageway?	Neutral ground
Can “da kine” stand in for a thing you have not named?	No — that is not a word I use

How Louisiana answered the Harvard Dialect Survey

The Harvard Dialect Survey, collected by Bert Vaux and Scott Golder in 2002–2003, recorded how respondents in every US state answered the same questions. These are Louisiana’s answers, most common first.

Louisiana, Harvard Dialect Survey.
Question	Answers in Louisiana
Soda, Pop or Coke? The Map of How America Orders a Fizzy Drink	coke 59% · soda 13% · pop 4%
Traffic Circle, Roundabout or Rotary?	traffic circle 57% · roundabout 14% · rotary 1%
Water Fountain, Drinking Fountain or Bubbler?	water fountain 95% · drinking fountain 5% · bubbler 0%
Lightning Bug or Firefly?	lightning bug 41% · firefly 19%
Crawfish, Crawdad or Crayfish?	crawfish 95% · crawdad 2% · crayfish 1%
Roly Poly or Potato Bug?	roly poly 51% · potato bug 1%
You Guys, Y'all or You All?	y'all 79% · you all 7% · you guys 6%
Kitty-Corner or Catty-Corner?	catty-corner 66% · kitty-corner 9%
Garage Sale or Yard Sale?	garage sale 75% · yard sale 19%
Tennis Shoes or Sneakers?	tennis shoes 82% · sneakers 11%
Trash Can or Garbage Can?	trash can 39% · garbage can 29%
Frosting or Icing?	icing 50% · frosting 9%
Scratch Paper or Scrap Paper?	scratch paper 49% · scrap paper 9%
Frontage Road, Service Road or Access Road?	service road 69% · frontage road 17% · access road 6%
Does “Route” Rhyme With “Out” or “Hoot”?	rhymes with "out" 37% · rhymes with "hoot" 20%
Caramel: Two Syllables or Three?	with 3 syllables ("carra-mel") 69% · with 2 syllables ("car-ml") 13%
Mischievous or Mischievious?	mischievious (4 syllables) 39% · mischievous (3 syllables) 35%
Rubber Band, Hair Tie or Elastic?	rubber band 50% · hair tie 13% · (hair) elastic 3%

Data from the Harvard Dialect Survey (Bert Vaux and Scott Golder, 2002–2003), used under the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence. A self-selected sample from two decades ago: how people spoke then, not a census.

Speakers with a New Orleans accent

Harry Connick Jr.
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
A New Orleans English reference profile; Connick was born and raised in New Orleans.

Accent profiles are anchored to primary-source regional recordings from the International Dialects of English Archive, not to any individual performance.