Parish/County
In Louisiana, those territorial divisions within a state that are usually called "counties" are instead called "parishes". For example, I live in East Baton Rouge Parish. The metropolitan area of New Orleans is actually split between two parishes -- Jefferson Parish and Orleans Parish.
As I read all these books written about Katrina, specifically the ones written by non-Louisianans, I keep coming across references to such-and-such *county* in Louisiana. Now I'm not sure if the people writing the books really *don't* know that counties are called parishes in Louisiana (in which case they clearly didn't do their research) or if they know, but figure the term would be confusing for anyone outside Louisiana and thus choose to replace it with the more universally understood "county".
If the latter, I can understand the motivations, but it doesn't change the fact that it's just plain *wrong*. There is no such place as "Jefferson County" in Louisiana. And really, how difficult is it to explain? A simple parenthetical note would work, i.e. "Officials in Jefferson Parish ('parish' is the local term for a county) said Monday . . ."
That wasn't so hard, now was it? Because otherwise people are going to read these books, thinking the authors know what they're talking about, and then they're going to come down to Louisiana and talk about this or that county and we're all going to laugh at them. Or worse, someone who *does* know about the parishes is going to read the book and assume the author *doesn't* know what he or she is talking about and dismiss what might otherwise be a good book.
As I read all these books written about Katrina, specifically the ones written by non-Louisianans, I keep coming across references to such-and-such *county* in Louisiana. Now I'm not sure if the people writing the books really *don't* know that counties are called parishes in Louisiana (in which case they clearly didn't do their research) or if they know, but figure the term would be confusing for anyone outside Louisiana and thus choose to replace it with the more universally understood "county".
If the latter, I can understand the motivations, but it doesn't change the fact that it's just plain *wrong*. There is no such place as "Jefferson County" in Louisiana. And really, how difficult is it to explain? A simple parenthetical note would work, i.e. "Officials in Jefferson Parish ('parish' is the local term for a county) said Monday . . ."
That wasn't so hard, now was it? Because otherwise people are going to read these books, thinking the authors know what they're talking about, and then they're going to come down to Louisiana and talk about this or that county and we're all going to laugh at them. Or worse, someone who *does* know about the parishes is going to read the book and assume the author *doesn't* know what he or she is talking about and dismiss what might otherwise be a good book.