Tactical Explorer
Say What?

by Archie 

The “Old Ones” gave us names for our places, and apparently they spoke a language we avies are still working on. Can you say…”Cangrejo” or “Burojo”? It does not sound like a form of Tiki Lingo to me, although, while in There, speak like a Therian. 

Think a little Spanish, like “burrito”  accent on the letter “i” which sounds a long “e”. Burojo has a “j” that sounds like an “h”, a “silent” letter. Same for some others like Jobaji, although it sure is tempting to say “ho-BAH- jee” or even “joe-BAH-jee” I think either way is safe. So the deadly cliffs are gone, but the meaning of the word is about the same. 

Okay, “Cangrejo” is one of the worst offenders…it is for sure not  “CAN- gredge- Oh” think of softening the “can” to “kahn- GRAY- ho” it rolls of the tongue like billionaire with a jutting lower jaw.  Try it! Say it with style… “Kahn-GRAY-ho” lol! 

Now ‘Piaz” is a tricky one, I don’t think I’ve heard “Piaz” the same way two times in a row. I figure it’s probably like this…”pie-az” or maybe more like that long “ee” sound as in “pee-ahz” maybe like that celebrity named Pia Zadora. …Ya think? A question for the Real Life Gathering. ‘hmmm 

The “Old Ones” who named the places in this world were a seriously mixed bag ‘o nuts.

Saja…what’s up with that?  I want to say “Sahdge-ah” don’t you? I sorta doubt it’s “Sah- Ha” with a soft “h” on the letter “j”. I’m sticking with “Sahdge-ah”. Say it again softly,…slooowly…”Saaahhhdge-ahhhh”…isn’t that nice? 

“Nene” that famous volcano,  is another just bonkers word in print. I try to explain to newbies that I think were looking for “Knee-knee” on that, not something that rhymes with “mean” or “nay-nay” or “neh-neh”, which is possible because in many latin based languages, the “e” sounds more like an “eh” sound. But hey, those Therian Tiki native types, had some real seriously island-bound speech patterns. It’s only natural that it’s going to take a while to acclimate to it. 

Thanks for exploring with me!

Archie