Realizing that being from Southwest Louisiana means saying things a bit differently, there is the pronunciation of a ship's name that I've been wondering about.

Is it the USS Gato as in "gay-toe" or USS Gato as in "got-toe"?
Please help a confused cajun out.

Kenny

I had always heard Gay-toe. But don't just take my word on this.

In some regions, it is "gat-oh", in others, "gaw-toe", then elsewhere, "guh-tow". In the Pacific, it was often "Torpedoes incoming!"

--Karl

Don't worry, Kenny, we won't hold it against you. I lived in New Llano, LA, for awhile & I can vouch for the cajun accent!

I've always said gay-toe. Don't know if it's correct, but that's what i've always said. However, since the USS Gato was the first Navy ship named for the gato, a species of small catshark found in waters along the west coast of Mexico I have to assume that it is supposed to be pronounced ga-toe(like the Spanish for cat).

Jim

Hi Kenny and guys

If you look over at Gato and Balao (or my guess Balão (baloon)) class submarines there are a few named by fishes in... Portuguese
My wild guess is that there were some portuguese or portuguese related person(s) when naming the new subs!
So, in portuguese you should say Gah-tuh

It may should strange, but there are Peixe-Gato (Cat fish) and Peixe-Balão (Baloon-fish).

Rui

EDIT: a quick search at NavSource online revealed (not only Gato/Balao):

- SS 163 Barracuda
- SS 165 Bonita
- SS 170 Cachalot (it should be Cachalote (Sperm-whale))
- SS 188 Sargo
- SS 198 Tambor
- SS 226 Corvina
- SS 244 Cavalla (or Cavala)
- SS 248 Dorado (or Dourado)
- SS 264 Pargo
- SS 273 Robalo
- SS 363 Guitarro
- SS 301 Roncador
and so on....

Boa noite! I rest my case, though those names could be Spanish, too.

Ducking & running!

Jim

Hi Jim, Boa noite!

No need to hide
You almost could be right if it wasn't the Balao - in spanish it would be Balon
Just a friendly discussion here (as usual).



Rui

Here´s another way to pronounce Gato...
In the phrase "I´ve got to go !!!", the way you pronounce "got to" is real close to Gato...there you have it !!!

.

This reminds me of a wonderful postwar article in the Naval Institute Proceedings written by a gentleman who worked, in of all places, the ship naming office during the war.

It appears the submarine construction program was proceeding so quickly, the Navy Department was having difficulty in finding enough fish names to go around. The office eventually resorted to fish nicknames and even re-wording of established fish names to keep pace. In fact, an ichthyologist consultant admitted that his colleagues were going to name newly discovered species after some submarines!

Perhaps the best bit in the article was the problem of satisfying the occasional request for a picture of the namesake fish for the new sub. The author had visions of a muscle-bound pre-commissioning sub captain taking an accurate photo of some tiny, unferocious, spindly-legged, eye-stalked reef-dweller and smashing it over his head. Instead, he forwarded a suitably formidable picture of a trout.

--Karl

Thanks for the colorful story behind it, Karl!



Rui

Thanks for all the help guys. It looks like it's just a matter of where you are as to how you say it!

Kenny

Hi Kenny

I could always throw in a kiwi pronunciation but heck we cant even pronounce "tomato" correctly.

Cheers

Sean

"You say tomato, I say tomah-to. You say potato, I say potah-to"

Eveybody! Sing along!

All kidding aside, this thread raises an interestng point. Of all of the countries that speak English as the primary language {England (duh!), Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Canada (eh!), The United States, South Africa, Austrlia, New Zealand, The Bahamas, Jamaca, etc.}; none of pronounce words the same. And I'm not just refering to accients. Heck, we don't even spell words the same. Does this happen in other languages? Rui & Jose, is Portuguese the same in Portugal, Brazil, & The Azores? How about Spanish? Is it the same in Spain, Mexico, & Cuba (for example)? What about French? Is the French they speak in France the same as in Belgium, Quebec, Haiti, or Louisiana?

I know that languages are ever evolving, and there are outside & local influences for different words; but you'd think the base would be the same, wouldn't you?

Bonne nuit, gute Nacht, buona notte, boa noite, buenas noches, спокойная ночь, καληνύχτα, good night.

Jim

No way !!! Even in the Portuguese mainland we have diferences in the way we say some (most) words. Those in the northern part of Portugal, have a very different way of pronouncing the same exact words, the way those from the South do. And then there are the Azores, as you said, Madeira Islands too, and of course, Brazil....not to mention other Portuguese language speaking countries, such as Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde Islands, S. Tomé Islands and Timor.

And don't forget Macau in China... and Goa in India

It's the strangest portuguese spoken language (Macau - with fewer and fewer persons speaking portuguese, although some surnames continue to show their roots, as well as the street names), and also there are still some portuguese speaking community in Goa.
But no mater the accent or pronunciation, as long as you can make your self understood, that is what is really important!

Miau or Meow


Rui

I understand Swiss German is unique and that French films shown in Quebec often require French-Canadian subtitles?

--Karl