Readers weigh in on NOLA vs New Orleans
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Souvenirs often use the NOLA acronym, like these magnets seen in a French Quarter shop last week. Photo: Carlie Kollath Wells/Axios
Y'all feel some sort of way about the NOLA acronym for New Orleans, especially when said aloud.
Why it matters: The debate highlights how a seemingly small linguistic choice can carry major weight in conversations about authenticity and identity.
Catch up quick: Last week, we talked with experts about how the acronym has become a flashpoint for gentrification conversations post-Katrina.
- NOLA was used before the storm, but now the tension with the term seems to focus on who gets to define a place, according to Virginia Tech professor Katie Carmichael and Tulane anthropologist Nathalie Dajko.
- And our inbox reflected that. Responses from natives tended to frown upon the use of NOLA, while transplants and visitors were more likely to be OK with it.
Zoom in: Many of you emailed to say New Orleans and NOLA are not interchangeable.
- "As a transplant myself, I really bristle when people say NOLA," writes Jacob E. "This is not some place a person conquests with a car sticker, like it's just another OBX or a PDX. ... A NOLA-er is a person who doesn't understand, on the most fundamental level, where he is or what he's a part of."
- When she was a young girl in the city, Jean J. writes, she was confused after reading headlines about a "NOLA man" accused of committing crimes. "Wow, I don't know where NOLA is, but it sounds like a dreadful, scary place."
- "I should think most New Orleanians cringe at someone actually using NOLA in everyday speech," writes Michael H. "It is just like people saying "N'awlinz."
Yes, but: There are some exceptions, you say.
- "NOLA is acceptable shorthand when referring to the city in something like a text message or an email," writes New Orleans native Zach L. "Under almost no circumstances is it acceptable to say aloud, unless you're saying 'NOLA, baybay.' Even then it's borderline."
- That sentiment was echoed by many of you.
Zoom out: Anand T., a Jazz Fest fan who has been visiting for 25+ years, says the story changed their mind.
- "As a long time New Orleans fan (I guess I can't say NOLA-phile anymore), I've used NOLA," Anand writes. "However, understanding that locals feel it's gentrifying, I will stop."
- "To be honest, I did not realize it touched as deep a nerve as it does," says Micheline M. "So, I'll be judicious from here on out."
Meanwhile, some of you said it's not a big deal.
- "TOTALLY disagree with people who claim Nola isn't authentic," writes Shawn O. "I'm 65 years old and I've lived here my entire life and I say Nola all the time. Hell, the city's own website is Nola.gov."
- Charlotte L. is a native and says she has had "nola" in her email address since 1997, "so I'm fine with NOLA or New Orleans."
Yes, but: Others say we have bigger things to worry about in the city than what we call it.
- "Good God – what a thing to fight over," says Brian O. who visits the city multiple times a year. "Get over yourselves and revel in the fact that people LOVE the City no matter what they call it."
- "Seems like a total non-issue that an acronym of the city + state has grown in popularity and boggles the mind that people would get upset over it," writes Jack M. "I'm glad some folks are still transplanting to the city. Don't care what they call the city."
The bottom line: Whether you say NOLA, type it or avoid it altogether, what matters most is understanding where you are and respecting the people who've called it home long before you.
Go deeper: Why NOLA hits a nerve with residents