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Regarding today's word - "cay", from the Spanish "cayo", I have an anecdote I've always found amusing and typical of inter-language phonetic translations.
Growing up in Cuba in the 1950s, Key West was always referred to as "Cayo Hueso" - literally - "Key Bone". (Cayo, by the way, is also the common word in Cuba for a "corn" as in a toe corn.) When I moved to the U.S. and learned English, I was baffled as to why Key West, which would be translated as "Cayo Oeste", was called "key bone". It took a while, but I finally realized that Cayo "Hueso" was the way the Spanish ear hears "West." As far as I know, to this day, Key West is referred to as Cayo Hueso in Spanish. I guess the Spaniards never gave that key a name. Very similar to the Puerto Rican word "safacón" for garbage can which was originally how the Puerto Ricans read the stamped name on the side of the American trash cans - Safety Can. But that's another story.
Ozzie Alfonso
Entire Thread Subject Posted By Posted Words form Spanish Enrique García 05/23/07 07:17 PM Re: Words form Spanish Myridon 05/23/07 07:47 PM Re: Words form Spanish AnnaStrophic 05/23/07 08:07 PM Re: Words form Spanish The Pook 02/21/08 05:07 AM Re: Words form Spanish twosleepy 03/20/08 02:46 AM Re: Words form Spanish Zed 03/20/08 06:52 AM Re: Words form Spanish zmjezhd 03/20/08 12:42 PM Re: Words form Spanish Zed 03/22/08 04:48 AM Re: Words form Spanish Ozzie Alfonso 05/25/07 03:21 PM Re: Words form Spanish Myridon 05/25/07 07:47 PM
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