Silly Pronounciation Question

[Praise2Him]

I know I'm probably being nitpicky, but...
I got my Disney Cruise DVD today (YAY!) and noticed something. I already knew from reading my Passporter that Castaway "Cay" is pronounced "Key". So in my mind I've been pronouncing the restaurant Parrot "'Key", but on the video it's pronounced just like it looks - "Kay". Is that correct? And if so, why??? Sorry, I just like consistency! LOL

 

[ThreeCircles]

The word cay can be pronounced both "KEY" or "KA" (with a long A). Neither is more correct than the other. If the Passporter states that it can only be pronounced "KEY" then the authors are incorrect.

This is from Merriam-Webster Online:


One entry found for cay.


Main Entry: cay
Pronunciation: 'kE, 'kA
Function: noun
Etymology: Spanish cayo -- more at KEY
: a low island or reef of sand or coral



If you go to the site (http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?cay) you can hear audio clips with both pronunciations.

 

[TheWog]

I only heard it referred to on board as "key".

 

[EmmasGrammy]

Key or Kay... What the hey!!
Both places are fantastic!!
The food is great at the buffet,
And the island is "bomb bastic!!"

Sorry Just feeling alittle silly today!!!

 

[TheWog]

Originally posted by EmmasGrammy
Key or Kay... What the hey!!
Both places are fantastic!!
The food is great at the buffet,
And the island is "bomb bastic!!"

Sorry Just feeling alittle silly today!!!

we don't understand why

 

[CRSNDSNY]

On our first Wonder cruise, our Bahamian dining room server pronounced Castaway Cay as KAY and that threw me off. But, what ThreeCircles posted is what I also found out afterwards in my research. It can be either. I usually say KEY in all situations, though, out of habit.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Originally posted by EmmasGrammy
Key or Kay... What the hey!!
Both places are fantastic!!
The food is great at the buffet,
And the island is "bomb bastic!!"

Sorry Just feeling alittle silly today!!!

Gee, EmmasGrammy...with all of that excitement and enthusiasm one would think you're going on a cruise soon.

 

[abitjaded]

Interesting. We had this discussion in the Kindergarten just a few weeks ago. One kid came up with CAY for a word starting with the letter C. They were pronouncing it long A. We looked it up in the classroom hard copy dictionaries. The only pronounciation was long E. Maybe this is one of those words that has been pronounced wrong so many times that usage has made both long A and E acceptable. Kind of like momento and memento. What ever happened to our word pronounciation-spelling thread???

Carla

 

[ThreeCircles]

Hmmm...

Just checked my dictionary too. (You piqued my interest!) Webster's 1989 Encyclopedic Dictionary has both pronunciations listed.

 

[ColeenD]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by EmmasGrammy
Key or Kay... What the hey!!
Both places are fantastic!!
The food is great at the buffet,
And the island is "bomb bastic!!"

Sorry Just feeling alittle silly today!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


EmmasGrammy....you're on a roll today! Have a GREAT 1st cruise, and tell us all about it when you return.

 

[pdarrah]

A number of years ago on a visit to Bequia (pronounced Beck-whee!) in the Grenadines, we were told that "Cay" is pronounced either way, but that the "correct" pronounciation is whatever is accepted common usage for that particular little island. "Key West" is from the same word - just spelled as American's would expect. We visited a gorgeous little islet called Tobago Cay which was rhymed with hay since that is how "everyone" pronounced it, but another islet in the area - I don't remember the name - was Somethingorother Cay (rhymed with key.)

Disney imagineers may have purposely used both pronounciations just for fun!

 

[Spectro is #1]

Main Entry: cay
Pronunciation: 'kE, 'kA
Function: noun
Etymology: Spanish cayo -- more at KEY
: a low island or reef of sand or coral

 

[JerseyMom]

That's what I love about this board - you learn something new everyday. I was also confused hearing it pronounced both "key" as well as "kay".

:thewave: