Did the pronunciation of "Labadee" change?

[loveandcruises]

My daughters and my coworker both came back from seeparate cruises stopping at Labadee, and they said that where we used to say "LAH-badee," now all of a sudden it's "La-ba-DEEEEE" with a thick Creole accent. Was there some sort of Royal Caribbean communication put out to pronounce it more ethnically? I suppose in the age of Peking/Beijing, Bombay/Mumbai, Calcutta/Kolkata, it's the politically correct thing to do.

[Merion_Mom]

My daughters and my coworker both came back from seeparate cruises stopping at Labadee, and they said that where we used to say "LAH-badee," now all of a sudden it's "La-ba-DEEEEE" with a thick Creole accent. Was there some sort of Royal Caribbean communication put out to pronounce it more ethnically? I suppose in the age of Peking/Beijing, Bombay/Mumbai, Calcutta/Kolkata, it's the politically correct thing to do.

Huh?

[loveandcruises]

Huh?

I really wish they had audio on this thread. What I'm trying to say is that I've been told, on 2 occasions, that Royal Caribbean crew are pronouncing "Labadee" differently now. They used to say "Labadee" -- rhyming (sorta) with "gravity." But now the accent is on the "DEE" -- sorta rhyming with "Climb a tree."

[ONECRUISER]

I really wish they had audio on this thread. What I'm trying to say is that I've been told, on 2 occasions, that Royal Caribbean crew are pronouncing "Labadee" differently now. They used to say "Labadee" -- rhyming (sorta) with "gravity." But now the accent is on the "DEE" -- sorta rhyming with "Climb a tree."

Was just in FLL and my cab driver was from area, Cap-Haiten Haiti. He pronounced it like "Gravity"...

[Dennis#1]

Been cruising for many years and been to Labadee numerous times. I have not observed any changes in the pronunciation of Labadee by RCCL crew over the years.

[Cruise or Lose!]

For the second reported usage to become the norm, the spelling of the place name would have to be changed to L’Abadie! L’Acadie is pronounced as “Climb a tree” (I live in Montreal and am fluent in French).

 

 

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[ColoradoGurl]

Perhaps it’s just a difference in the accents of the crew they spoke to.

 

 

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[mcatmcat]

⤴️I think ...

 

 

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[darthvadrouw]

For the second reported usage to become the norm, the spelling of the place name would have to be changed to L’Abadie! L’Acadie is pronounced as “Climb a tree” (I live in Montreal and am fluent in French).

 

 

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The name of the place is actually "Labadie", named after le marquis de la Badie. Royal changed it to Labadee so that it could be pronounced more easily by english speaking people. As a french speaker myself, I pronounce it the French way, I assume some of the crew do too, others use the english way.

[Cruise or Lose!]

You’re kidding...they ignored the history and culture of the area completely?!

 

 

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[pwake]

Regarding Peking/Beijing, the pronunciation didn’t change, the language changed. Peking is Northern Capital in Guangzhouhua (Cantonese), the language of south China. Beijing is Northern Capital in Putonghua (Mandarin), the language of north central China and now the official language of China. Just a fun fact to impress your friends.

 

 

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[darthvadrouw]

You’re kidding...they ignored the history and culture of the area completely?!

 

 

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They didn't officially change it, it's official name is still the french one. The English version is used by Royal for marketing,press, signage,... and is also the one that is communicated to the passengers.

[cb at sea]

It really doesn't matter how you say it! Just go, and enjoy!

[jchiefs13]

As long as I am understood when I ask for another round of Labadoozies, they can call the island whatever they want :)

Judy

[LMaxwell]

As long as I am understood when I ask for another round of Labadoozies, they can call the island whatever they want :)

Judy

They can even call it an island

[Zach1213]

When I was in Cap-Haitien for business, they pronounced it "La-ba-dee"

[florisdekort]

Does anyone really care?

 

 

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[Zach1213]

Does anyone really care?

 

 

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Some of us do care about how a local population pronounces their own cities/locations, yes.

[darthvadrouw]

Some of us do care about how a local population pronounces their own cities/locations, yes.

 

 

I agree with you.

[RNRcruisers]

My first cruise in 1990 stopped there and it was pronounced the second way.

[A&L_Ont]

Yes, it would be nice to pronounce it properly. In all honesty so long as you bring cash the locals won’t really mind if the pronunciation is off.

[Zach1213]

Yes, it would be nice to pronounce it properly. In all honesty so long as you bring cash the locals won’t really mind if the pronunciation is off.

 

Absolutely. In my case, I just like to know the proper pronunciation of things, even if I never use it.

[Cruise or Lose!]

I have family members whose last name is Bisson, which should be pronounced BEE-SEW. They live in Nova Scotia, where they are known as the BISS-UNs. Yes, it bothers me.

 

 

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[Greenmomma]

I have family members whose last name is Bisson, which should be pronounced BEE-SEW. They live in Nova Scotia, where they are known as the BISS-UNs. Yes, it bothers me.

 

 

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I would pronounce that BY SON :(

[Cruise or Lose!]

[emoji847]

 

 

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