Hi ej. Thanks! Right now it's Grenada, then Dominica, then Carriacou, but Bequia could sneak in there somewhere.

We did get our accommodations on Grenada and Dominica lined up only because we have flights to Dominica already and need to be sure we have a place to stay close to where Kimani - my CCF child - lives.

On Carriacou, we plan to wing it again. (Whee, just call me Miss Spontaneity!)

Hairoun is a pretty good beer, but only when it's REALLY cold. (As is the case with most I suppose.)

curious, I had planned on maybe staying at Paradise when we were there last time but I could not get any response to e-mails. I was told the restaurant has closed, and when we walked up to the bar from Hardwood, it was closed and there was no one in sight. I'll ask around about it once we're on-island. Didn't look abandoned, just quiet.

Seems like someone said there was a medical issue with Elin or Joseph? Not for sure if I heard that or not.

joan, conch is one of my absolute favorite things to eat on this planet. I have had it so many ways and enjoyed every one. I also had a whelk patty on Tortola. It's quite similar to conch but it was cut more finely than conch sometimes is. It was seasoned and cooked in a flour Jamaican-style patty. Wow. Quite an amazing taste sensation with hot sauce. ((6))

One of my pronunciation peeves? When someone pronounces Cay as "kay" instead of key. (But it is admittedly confusing...)

iw, tell your travel agent Nee-vis is the way the people who live there pronounce it. Perhaps they are all wrong? What does he say it SHOULD be?

I might have to take a trip to Corolla. (I am in Raleigh.) I'd go a long way for some good conch!

btw, they also call conch lambie in the Caribbean. Anyone know if it is pronounced lam-mie or lam-by? :-\

Diana, I'm so glad you asked that. I have no idea about the lambi pronunciation.

Can't wait to hear back about your trip--this time I'll hold you to doing a complete trip report, especially about Dominica and Kimani.

I do know that when I was in Jamaica that I mistakenly pronounced ackee and bammy with a short "a" sound instead of an "ah" sound. I suppose that's more of an American English vs British English thing, eh?

ackee and bammy are both pronounced with a short "a" sound.

Ackee: Say hack...then drop the h and add y and that's how you pronounce ackee. It's not "ah-kee"

Bammy is the same "a" sound that's found in the word "bam". It's just "bam" with a y on the end.

Another one: Ocho Rios, Jamaica
I hear this little town's name pronounced "Ochos Rios" so many times. It's OCHO RIOS or "OCHIE" for short.

JAgirl, I find that interesting, because the way you suggest pronouncing those words is how I said them, with an American short a sound. But every Jamaican I spoke to about food pronounced them with a Latinate "a" sound, so ackee was ahh-kee and bammy was pronounced with the first syllable like "bomb."

maybe they were playing with you ejcrowe :0)
I'm Jamaican and I've never heard them pronounced that way :0) bomby? Naah...Ahh kee? I think not :0)

Well, it's certainly possible. Or it could be that there are regional differences within Jamaica. I was in the Treasure Beach area and all of the folks in those parts pronounced it like I said above. I blame it all on the Great Vowel Shift of the Middle Ages, natch. :D

Diana...he says Nevis with the short e. We are returning for our 2nd visit, so I know it is Knee-vis. I just smile and politely pay him.:)
The place for conch in Corolla, is actually in Duck and it is at the shops in Scarborough Faire (sp) and the place is called Fishbones Raw Bar and Grille, right in the front of the place. It's a joint, but yummy! Also Duck News and Cafe has awesome she crab soup! My mouth is watering! If you do get to the northern end where Corolla is, I love Nicoletta's Italian Restaurant and Mike and Dianna's Grill Room. Oh...and North Banks, again, a cool joint with really good food.

EJ, I would certainly agree with your observations about regional pronunciation differences in Jamaica :-)

In TB I heard aahkee...which with my broad New England *a* made sense ;-). I also heard bammy ( as in slammy )...but usually I was working on Patois *listening skills* :-)

I loved hearing local names for fuits/vegetables. I will always ask for pawpaw...and I learned that a garden egg has nothing to do with eggs ;-)

Marion

ej, when were were in JA, I heard ackee said a lot (because I loooooove it and got it every time I could - especially for breakfast along with jerk sausage) and it was always pronounced ah-kee.

We had a taxi driver from Negril to Ochi who explained a little about the history and the various preparations of ackee. He is infatuated with it, and calls it ah-kee as well. He said, "I could eat ackee three meals a day every day!"

iw, thanks for the dining tips. A trip over that way to the beach is planned for later in the year. I'm from Wilmington, and we were there last week. My little town has grown up!

Maybe you can start misprounouncing your TA's name. Like Bile if it's Bill. Hee hee. :>

Marion, I always am fascinated by the fruits and vegetables in the markets. Some of the things (many, in fact), I have never seen and have no idea what they are. We had some friends visit from Tobago, and I had to go along with them to the buffet line and explain what everything was. Totally different from what they have on the island.

Viva la difference! :D

I have to say that discussions like this always fascinate me. But since none of us happen to be using actual linguistic/phonetic markings, I'm still having a hard time "hearing" some of these pronunciations.

Marion, are you saying that you heard an "ah" sound to make it rhyme with "hockey" or more like JAGirl's pronunciation to rhyme loosely with "Tacky?"

Diana, I loved ackee, too, but I only had it once while down there. Am I remembering correctly from our taxi driver that it's the local food that has to be prepared at a certain time vis a vis the fruit's development, or else it is poisonous?

And Marion, what is a garden egg? Is pawpaw a papaya in local lingo? When I was growing up in MS, it had a different meaning.

EJ,

Pawpaw is papaya and a "garden egg" is eggplant...although smaller and tastier than what we have available.

I undretand what you mean about the written pronunciation not translating well, especially with regional differences in this country.

Perhaps the universal aaaaaahhhhhhhhh :-), might help with ackee. And it is good for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as is the fruit ;-)

Marion

This has been a great thread! Definitely learned a few things. I would have had no idea that Statia and Saba were pronounced like that. The one that I actually have to make a conscious effort not to say is Cay, for some reason, "key" does not want to come out of my mouth. BTW, I had a thread going about how to pronounce Charlotte Amalie before I went to STJ. We heard both Charlotte A-mall-ya and A-mall-lee.

Adding again.
It's interesting to see what non Jamaicans hear when they listen to Jamaican pronunciation.
EJ, Ackee is like tacky yet you might hear it pronounced as hockey by a Jamaican speaking to an American or other tourist.
Reason? As strange as this may sound, there are some Jamaicans who insist on using what's called an "accident" in Jamaica: i.e. an accent.
They use this accent because they believe that it's better to speak with an accent to a foreigner than to use patois. Go figure. It sounds silly...but anyway.

Anyway...that would probably explain why so many people on this thread say they hear the sound like hockey instead of tacky.
It also explains why "no problem mon" appears on so many t-shirts when the generally accepted pronunciatin in Jamaica is "no problem mAn"! :0)

Interesting thread this one!!

Although maybe when I say "no problem man" you might hear it as no problem mon" ! :0)
You know...people with an accent can just never hear how they pronounce words! :-)
Ahh it doesn't matter! Ackee's that yellow fruit that is traditionally eaten with saltfish and is our (Jamaica's) national dish.
Yes it's poisonous if it's not cooked properly and if it's eaten before it's fit to be eaten.
There was a case in Haiti not too long ago where quite a number of people died from ackee poisoning.

And yes, it really is Neeevis as opposed to Nehvis. That's a common mispron.

Joan, I used to live in STT and I never met anyone while living there who pronounced it like that - with the "Y" :)

I've enjoyed reading all these place names--even ones I won't be visiting! We're off to Grand Cayman next week--does anyone know how to pronounce Bodden Town? I'd love to get the correct pronunciation, as that's where we're staying.
Thanks!
JS

MIM,
We only heard Charlotte Amalie with a "Y" a couple of times during our visit. One time was the guy working at the ferry dock and I think he was Hispanic, so that may have played a role. Back to the "accent issue".

It's Bod den, just like she nas a nice bod.
Charlotte Amalie was a Queen in Denmark. The Danes say it E meal yah. Short E. In English, the Danes say A mall lee. I suppose the reason we say A mall yah is a bastadized form of the Danish pronounciation. I prefer the A mall yah.

RL

How do you pronounce Vieques?