Kwaj
English edit
Etymology edit
Shortening of Kwajalein.
Pronunciation edit
American English is usually spoken by Kwajalein island's American expatriate population, which has the father-bother merger; for accents without this merger (including Received Pronunciation), /ˈkwɒd͡ʒ/ is a possible realization. This is not technically wrong, because the aforementioned father-bother merger makes this pronunciation indistinguishable from /ˈkwɑːd͡ʒ/. Indeed, the name of the island's primary hotel, the Kwaj Lodge, is a word play on Kwaj and lodge rhyming.
Proper noun edit
Kwaj
- (colloquial) Kwajalein island; Kwajalein atoll.
Usage notes edit
- The common casual everyday name for Kwajalein island in Kwajalein atoll, by its American expatriate population. This name usually only applies to the island as part of the atoll, and not to the greater Kwajalein atoll, which is generally called by the unshortened name Kwajalein.
- In locative context, the phrase "on Kwaj" is far more common than "in Kwaj".