Peggy Williams wrote:
>
> >
> >Concha in, the Spanish language, Castellano, is the name usually applied to
> >bivalves or flat shells and Caracol is applied to the spiral shells as in the
> >gastropods. The common name for Conch is Cobo and for Cittarium pica the
> >name is
> >Cigua ( a delicacy if prepared correctly).
>
> Emilio,
>
> In which country? Not Mexico, Venezuela, or Honduras, at least where I've been!
>
> Peggy
Hello!
 
Hi Peggy and all,
 
All I did was point out the correct meaning of the words in
Castellano(Spanish) per the dictionary. It IS my native language though
I am not or consider myself "expert" on the language. I suppose every
country, in which Spanish is "the native tongue", has different common
usages and meanings for nouns as well as verbs. It is a very rich
language ie a lot more "verbose" than English. This is why the use of
Concha and Caracol as an example. Of course the "natives" as well as the
non natives do bastardize the language.
 
You probably can find some examples of usage discrepancies between
England, the US and Canada.
 
I do strongly recommend that the word Concha NOT be used in Argentina;
for example "Fuimos a coger conchas a la playa." or "Cogimos muchas
conchas en la playa." Not only is concha NOT a shell but the verb,
coger, does not mean what the dictionary says it means. A good Spanish
dictionary points these embarassing country specific usages out to the
reader.
 
As for the roots of the word Conch it is probably Greek/Latin and not
due to the invasion of Cayo Hueso by the Cubans (pre Castro).
 
Later,
 
 
Emilio Jorge Power
 
 
"Ella fue a coger conchas a la orilla del mar."
     - Uttered by a tourist prior to being jailed for
       speaking indecencies in public, Buenos Aires, 1972