I am a Louisianan, born and raised, as we say in the South. I've not met any of the folks on the show, but I have family who could be those people when it comes to language. They didn't hunt gators but they did lots of crabbing, crawfishing, and hunting.
When I said to my sister that the translation is ridiculous, she said absolutely not, it's necessary. But she has lived away from home for about 30 years. I guess you can take the country out of the girl. :-)
My biggest worry about the show is that people will think we're ALL the same. I've been all over La. and love it dearly, but I am as different from Troy and the gang as you are. It's not good or bad, that's just how it is. I love La. too much to want us stereotyped into any one niche. Afterall, I doubt that Lisbeth would want to be stereotyped into my line of work...a teacher and quilter. And let's not forget the exterminator guy or the logging guy! Nope we have all kinds of people here, too.
But yes, we do love the show! Watched 8 hours one day when my gs was here for the weekend!