And now for an excerpt from Villere’s column:

Let’s go over a few basics on the rue tip:

Milan: Forget the Italian city you thought you knew as mee-lahn, in New Orleans it’s my-lann.

Conti / Tonti: While many favor a –tie it’s preferred as a –tee, as in con-tee / tawn-tee.

Clio: The storied street that crosses St. Charles is not klee-oh, it’s kly-oh — or if you’re really in the know then cee-elle-ten (C-L-10).

Treme: Just because HBO made a show by the same name doesn’t mean most know it isn’t tream but tremm-aa.

Iberville: This one’s a toss up, as one hears ibber-ville just as much as eye-ber-ville.

Jena: Many newbies go for Gee-na as in Davis, but we go for Jenn, so it’s jenn-uh.

Cadiz: Like Iberville, this one cuts both ways as either cuh-deez or cay-dizz.

Peniston: Everyone’s favorite but avoid being phallically challenged, shoot for pen, and go pen-iss-ton.

Dufossat: The preferred is doo-faucet but on occasion one will hear doofus-at.

Colapissa: you’re on your own.

Good luck neo-New Orleanians!

Thanks for the tips, Jean-Paul! Other tips we’ve learned:

Burgundy Street is “bur-GUN-dy” not “BURG-gun-dy.”

And, it’s “New Or-lins” or “New Or-le-uns.” Say “New Or-leens” and you are automatically pegged as an outsider. And “eaux” equals “o.” For example, “geaux” is pronounced “go” and “Dedeaux” is pronounced “Dedo.”

Jean-Paul Villere is the owner of Villere Realty and Du Mois Gallery on Freret Street and a married father of four girls. In addition to his Wednesday column at UptownMessenger.com, he also shares his family’s adventures sometimes via pedicab or bicycle on Facebook,Twitter, and YouTube.