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[Opinions] WDYT of Irie?
There was a girl called Irie in a very good book I read recently. She was of Jamaican origin, and her name means "OK" or "all right" in Patois. I really like the sound of it and I find it a really sweet name. What do you think? Is the meaning too simple? Would you consider using it? Thank you.
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Patois isn't a language! It's a word used to describe a certain type of language. The language, Jamaican Creole, is a patois.www.answers.com/patoisIrie is fine, although I don't really like word names. It's a little on the cute and nicknamey side, but it's also sweet.
ChrisellAll we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. - J.R.R. Tolkien.

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I wouldn't use it because to me it's entirely Jamaican, and since I'm completely not, it wouldn't feel appropriate to me. To be fair I also wouldn't name my child something like Emmanuel (too Biblical for me) or Borislav (too Slavic, which I am not in the least), so it's not that it's Jamaican so much as it's a distinctive part of another culture that I'm not connected to in any sense.

www.qwantz.com
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White Teeth!I love that book! :)I love the name. I would definitely consider using it, it's gorgeous and definitely not too simple, although it's short.
R.I.P. Steve Irwin
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I'd think the parents were serious potheads.
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PotheadsI had a similar reaction. :-) For me it just screams "trustafarian"-- "privileged white kids who subscribe to the hippie lifestyle (because they can) since they have no worries about money, a job etc. They can then devote their lives to eating organic, following Phish, and wearing dreadlocks (no need for job interviews)www.urbandictionary.com**Edited to add that every Jamaican I've met has had a name like Nigel or Pauline or Wesley, so when I hear "well-know, distinctive piece of exported Jamaican culture" I don't assume that Jamaicans will be using it, hence the white American connotation. Just to clarify.

www.qwantz.com

This message was edited 9/12/2006, 9:03 PM

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Yeah, it just makes me think of some dumb college kid way into smoking pot throwing around slurred phrases like, "I feel soooo irie, man..."
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*snorts*I've never heard the term Trustafarian before. I can't wait for an opportunity to use that in conversation.
“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”
~Mark Twain
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Rastafarian is a religious movementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rastafarian
Not all Rastafarians are pot-smoking, dread-lock-wearing, phish-following, tie-dye-loving hippies.
"Chan eil tuil air nach tig traoghadh"
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds - Half of writing history is hiding the truth.
- Serenity
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I know that.But my comment was about the usage of irie as a name, not about Rastafarians. It sounds like a "white America getting attached to something Jamaican" name to me.

www.qwantz.com
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I was just wanting a clarification since you said "hippy" in your original response, not "Jamaican", and there are some people out there who don't know the difference so my own response wasn't directed to only just you but to everybody who may not know.
"Chan eil tuil air nach tig traoghadh"
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds - Half of writing history is hiding the truth.
- Serenity
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I like the sound of Irie but it seems very Rastafarian to me. I'm not very Rastafarian so I wouldn't use it but it would be nice on someone else's kid.
“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”
~Mark Twain
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Irie is a Jamaican slang word, I'm pretty sure...pro EYE-ree, I saw it on keychains when I was in Jamaica. They use it like "all good"/"cool"/"great"/"life's chill"/"all right" etc...edit: I just saw a def. on a website of Jamaican slang that says Irie means "to be happy" - like that song "Don't Worry, Be Happy!" lol I remind my tour guide telling me that.edit: here's the website, http://www.speakjamaican.com/glossary.html
"Chan eil tuil air nach tig traoghadh"
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds - Half of writing history is hiding the truth.
- Serenity

This message was edited 9/12/2006, 8:59 PM

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Jamaica and Rastafarianism are intertwined. Irie is listed as a Rastafarian term on wiktionary and other sites.I knew a girl named Irie and she pronounced it eye-REE which I think would be indistinguishable from EYE-ree in most conversation. I believe she had a caribbean background although I'm not sure if she was necessarily Jamaican.
“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”
~Mark Twain
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Not everybody in Jamaica is Rastafarian though - I actually saw more Christian churches than anything while I was there. Just as Rastafarianism isn't contained to JUST Jamaica... however, I've been to several of the Caribbean islands several times and only in Jamaica have I heard "irie" used in conversation...
edit: which is why I preferred to say it's a Jamaican term rather than Rastafarian.
"Chan eil tuil air nach tig traoghadh"
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds - Half of writing history is hiding the truth.
- Serenity

This message was edited 9/12/2006, 10:08 PM

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