Listening to advertising on the radio air is just part of life! It totes the freight for a great American tradition; listening to our favorite songs and legendary performers.

Sometimes, however, I feel it necessary to call to task some of the copywriters and announcers for those ads, because, well doggone it, I WRITE and VOICE some of those ads! It's just another part of being a radio person, but that's another story I'll tell later.

The thing I'm wondering today is WHO ARE WE in the great state of Loo-e-z-ana? And is it really pronounced "Loo-e-z-ANY? Are we - now read carefully - LOUISIANANS or Loo-e-z-ANY-ANZ?

Personally, I believe we are the former, not the latter. I've never heard of a MISSISSIPI-AN-IAN or a TEX-I-AN-IAN...or an Ar-kan-Z-ANY-an. How about a Alabami-an-i-an or Oklahom-an-ian; a Tennessee-i-an-ian?

And I could go on and on! It just grates on my ears and nerves to hear our state residency designation said that way. I'd like to meet the person who dreamed up Loo-e-z-ANY-ee-anz and ask them why THAT pronunciation?

Perhaps it's because others think we as southerners have "lazy tongues" anyhow. But if that's so, that extra syllable sure takes a lot of energy. For my energy outlay, I think I'll stick with LOUISIANANS.

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