Literal translation
To speak pointedly, with a sharp accent
Meaning
to speak French with a northern accent
Explanation
Speaking French without a southern accent. The adjective pounchu, pointy, already appeared in camina pounchu, walking pointy, walking with a snobbish air, an allusion to the gait of aristocrats in heeled shoes when common people wore clogs or espadrilles. Its opposite was camina plat. This pointed metaphor names any stiff, affected behavior in Provence. French first arrived as the language of official writing, then was spoken by people of power and money, which gave it its image of a ceremonious, haughty tongue. When Provençaux shifted to French, they pronounced it their own way and came to see the Parisian accent as that of the bourgeoisie and, worse, of the renegades aping Paris, called francihot. The expression is derogatory : to drive the point home, people say speaking pointy requires pursing the mouth like a chicken's rear.